Mayor Supports Retention of Suffrage Memorial

On Monday, 21 June, Manukau Mayor Len Brown will be showing his support for the Auckland Suffrage Memorial by signing the petition launched by the National Council of Women of New Zealand.

“The petition calls for a binding commitment from Auckland City Council to retaining the Suffrage Memorial at Lower Khartoum Place, thus protecting this national treasure for future generations,” says Margaret Wilson, spokesperson for the Auckland Branch of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ)

Community organisations need to stay actively involved with local government members, to ensure that they are aware of what the public really values, and to get commitment from our elected representatives that they will give due consideration and attention to these important issues.

Although NCWNZ is a non-political umbrella organisation which covers a multitude of interests and concerns, we have a vested interest in the Suffragist Movement and honouring the memory of the women involved. Those portrayed on the tiles of the Auckland Suffrage Memorial happen to be the very same women who founded the National Council of Women just three years after their victory in Parliament which won the vote for women in this country, and ensuing generations have continued to strive for humanitarian issues ever since.

“We can not and would not tell people who they should vote for in the upcoming local elections, and it is important that we make that very clear,” says Margaret Wilson. “However, we do commend Mayor Len Brown who has shown that he is prepared to put himself on the line, share our opinion, and seek to reflect that honestly and publicly. The Suffrage Memorial is eminently worth fighting for, as is ensuring that the public participatory process does not become the greatest victim in the run-up to the Super-City Elections.”

Mayor Len Brown will be meeting with NCW Auckland Branch members, and other Suffrage Memorial supporters, on Monday, 21st June 2010 at 12.40 pm in Lower Khartoum Place off Lorne Street in the Auckland CBD. He is able to spend approximately half an hour in discussions and has indicated that he supports the retention of the Memorial in situ “in perpetuity” which he will confirm by signing the petition.

For more information on the fight to protect the Suffrage Memorial: http://ncwnz.org.nz/save-the-auckland-suffrage-memorial/

ENDS

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