Graffiti telling people to "Go back to Auckland" in the Bay of Plenty has left the local Mayor "very disappointed".
The graffiti at Omokoroa skate path said: "Go back to Auckland we dont need any JAFFA'S. From the tangata whenua."
Western Bay of Plenty Mayor Garry Webber told Newshub he's "very disappointed that somebody would graffiti a kid's skate path like that."
When he saw the taggers had tried to blame tangata whenua for the graffiti, he says it was "the last straw".
"Most New Zealanders are just over this sort of rubbish," the Mayor said, noting that the graffiti is "not the sort of thing that happens" in Omokoroa.
He didn't believe that tangata whenua were behind the vandalism, and said the cynic in him wondered if it was because the council was currently holding a referendum on whether to introduce Māori wards.
Omokoroa has 3500 residents, with Mr Webber being one of them. He said the local kids were proud of the skate path, which had been built with the help of community fundraising.
The council was alerted to the graffiti on Thursday morning and it was removed that afternoon.
Mr Webber said the Western Bay of Plenty District Council is part of the Government's Welcoming Communities migrant pilot program and the area has a large migrant community.
Welcoming Communities was set up by Immigration New Zealand along with Internal Affairs, the Office of Ethnic Communities and the Human Rights Commission.
Through the program, councils work with communities to work on strategies to welcome and support migrants to feel at home.
Newshub.
