Meng Foon

Meng Liu Foon (born c. 1959) is a New Zealand politician who served as the mayor of Gisborne from 2001 to 2019. Since August 2019, he has been New Zealand's race relations commissioner. He is one of a handful of people of Chinese descent to have become a mayor in New Zealand. He is fluent in English, Cantonese and Māori. At the time of his departure from the mayoral position he was still the only mayor in New Zealand who is fluent in Te Reo Maori.[3]

Meng Foon
廖振明
Foon in 2016
11th Race Relations Commissioner
Assumed office
26 August 2019
Preceded bySusan Devoy
Mayor of Gisborne
In office
October 2001[1] – 22 August 2019
Preceded byJohn Clarke
Succeeded byRehette Stoltz
Personal details
Bornc. 1959[2]
NationalityNew Zealand

Biography

Foon was first elected onto Gisborne council in 1995 and became mayor in 2001.[3] He is the first person to serve five consecutive terms since Harry Barker retired in 1977.[4] However, in 2016, Foon won his sixth consecutive term as mayor of the Gisborne District, beating out three other mayoral candidates. His mayoralty extends across New Zealand's easternmost province with the largest proportion of native Maori population (according to the New Zealand census of 2005).

Foon has several interests outside of politics. He has released a musical number, Tu Mai, which includes various native tracks, he has been chair of Gisborne/Tarawhiti Rugby League since 2007, and is a board member of the New Zealand Rugby League board.[5][6]

Following confirmation of the Ngati Porou deal, arranged under the controversial Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, Foon was quoted as saying that "he did not believe many people would be disadvantaged by reduced access to the beach, as 90 per cent of the East Coast population was Maori anyway."[7] Foon announced in March 2019 that he would not stand again in the 2019 local elections.[3]

On August 8, 2019, the Gisborne District Council voted unanimously to appoint Rehette Stoltz, the current deputy mayor of Gisborne, as mayor when Foon formally resigned on August 22, 2019.[8]

In early November 2020, Foon as Race Relations Commissioner defended Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta's kauae moko facial tattoos after right-wing blogger Olivier Pierson mocked them as the "height of ugly, uncivilised wokedom." Foon stated that Mahuta's kauae moko was special to Māori and should be celebrated. He also urged people to abandon their racism and prejudices and to accept that the world is changing and that the Māori economy is growing.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Mayor Meng Foon" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  2. "National Portrait: Meng Foon, te reo Māori speaker, race relations commissioner". Stuff. 8 August 2019.
  3. "Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon steps down after 18 years". Radio New Zealand. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  4. Gillingham, Marianne (11 October 2010). "Meng Mayor again". Gisborne Herald. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  5. Gisborne Herald, Blog. "Mayor Meng Foons song Tu Mai". Gisborne Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  6. "The Board". New Zealand Rugby League. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010.
  7. David Fisher and Cliff Taylor (18 January 2009). "Maori deal will 'close access to public beaches'". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  8. "Rehette Stoltz is Gisborne's new mayor". The Gisborne Herald. 8 August 2019.
  9. Feek, Belinda (4 November 2020). "Author Olivia Pierson's offensive comments about Nanaia Mahuta's moko kaue: The backlash". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
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