A Gisborne district councillor is under investigation after they allegedly said "not enough" local Māori were killed by Captain Cook.
Gisborne district councillor Meredith Akuhata-Brown said in a conversation during a lunch meeting last week, councillors were speaking about the killing of local Māori when Captain Cook arrived and one said: "not enough were killed".
"We still have a way to go when it comes to tolerance and understanding," Ms Akuhata-Brown wrote in a Gisborne Herald column about the incident.
Two councillors are now involved in a code of conduct review after one alleged the other was responsible for the comment, NZME reports.
Deputy mayor and code of conduct committee chair Rehette Stoltz told NZME the councillors face a code of conduct review.
"As signatories to our code of conduct we expect our elected members to act with the utmost integrity and respect in any forum in which they participate," she said.
"We will be working through a process to determine whether the principles of our code of conduct have been breached.
"I am disappointed with what has happened here and any breach will be dealt with swiftly and accordingly."
Ms Akuhata-Brown did not name the councillor responsible for the remark, and declined to comment while the code of conduct review is underway.
Newshub.