"The nasty mayor, Michael Laws invited the children into his chamber for tea, but none of them wanted to go..." FAIRY TALES FROM THE FUTURE. 5 September 2009

Cartoon shows a mother reading a fairytale to her small daughter who looks frightened and cowers under the bedclothes. The fairy tale is about a nasty mayor called Michael Laws who invited children into his chamber for tea but they didn't want to go. Refers to the news that seven pupils aged 11 to 13 at Otaki School's kura kaupapa unit wrote to Mr Laws in Maori in August 2009 as part of their literacy programme, urging him to insert the letter "h" into the city's name. They were upset with his reply, which said "there are so many deficiencies of both fact and logic in your letters I barely know where to start." He continued, "When your class starts addressing the real issues of Maoridom particularly the appalling rate of child abuse and child murder within Maori society, then I will take the rest of your views seriously," and added, "Perhaps sacking your teacher for allowing such misapprehension to flourish?" Mr Laws invited the girls and their parents to have afternoon tea in his mayoral office, so he could explain the real history of the naming of Wanganui and why it should not be seen as an offence to Maori.

Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).