His induction began with a mihi and karakia from Rangitāne kaumatua Wiremu Te Awe Awe, who made special mention of “my Muslim brother”, Zulfiqar Butt, who was elected to the council in 2019. Te Awe Awe said Mikalad and his family, many of whom were in the public gallery for the ceremony, had chosen the best country in the world, and the best city in New Zealand to live. He praised Mikalad and his family for working hard to overcome challenges most New Zealanders had never experienced. “We are so spoiled in New Zealand, we take everything for granted.”
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“None of us voted ‘independent’ in the recent general election.” The success of former deputy mayor Tangi Utikere in winning the Palmerston North parliamentary seat for Labour and his resignation from the council had sparked the need for a councillor by-election. Asquith said he would be recycling the same election signs he used last time, because he could not afford to buy new ones each time he contested an election. He said his chosen label was fine with the electoral officer Warwick Lampp of Electionz.com, so was fine with him. He was surprised the Labour Party would not be endorsing a candidate.