Stephen Kirkwood, a two-term Auckland City councillor in the 1980s and mayoral aspirant, has died aged 78.

Mr Kirkwood stood for the Citizens and Ratepayers ticket in the 1983 election and was re-elected in 1986 before being defeated in 1989. He stood for the mayoralty in 1992 under the Maori political party banner, Kia Ora.

Councillor Bill Christian, who defeated Mr Kirkwood in 1989, recalls Mr Kirkwood’s commitment to the poorer eastern suburbs communities.

“He was regarded as a Kaumatua for the Glen Innes, Pt England and Tamaki areas and was a strong advocate for the disadvantaged people of those suburbs,” says Councillor Christian.

Mr Kirkwood was the national secretary of the NZ Maori Battalion for 12 years, chairman of the Ruapotaka Marae in Glen Innes and vice chairman of the Tamaki College Board of Governors.

A long-time conservationist, Mr Kirkwood also advocated for “more transport alternatives for individuals travelling in cars to work in the city from the suburbs, to limit air pollution and congestion.”

MORE

Page Two

During his time on the council, Mr Kirkwood supported the unsuccessful call for a fast rail transit system which would have delivered people to downtown Auckland.

Mr Kirkwood was buried in Te Teko in the Bay of Plenty.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:
Councillor Bill Christian, tel: 527-8648.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>