A cartoon published in a West Coast newspaper has been labelled “racist and abhorrent”.

The cartoon by Hokitika cartoonist David Thomas Healy was published in the Greymouth Star on Thursday.

It depicts a Māori person at The Three Waters Table saying ‘It’s not theirs it’s mine’ along with a Pākehā person asking a group ‘Do you ratepayers want your water?’.

The editor of the newspaper is Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio chairman Paul Madgwick, who did not respond to requests for comment.

Madgwick published an apology for the cartoon on the Greymouth Star’s front page on Tuesday though.

“This cartoon is in bad taste,” he wrote.

“It was an error of judgment to publish and I apologise for any offence taken.”

Healy, who draws under Healy’s View, defended the cartoon, saying the Māori character was Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta representing the Government, not all Māori.

The Government has announced it will take control of water services and assets from the 67 local councils, and set up four regional bodies governed by a “regional representation group” of which members would be a 50-50 split between local council representatives and iwi group representatives.

A Media Council spokesperson said no complaints had been received about the cartoon.

A Stuff project, which culminated in a public apology, Our Truth, Tā Mātou Pono looked at how Stuff and its newspapers perpetuated stereotypes and revealed how its coverage of Māori had been biased and unjust. Stuff came under fire in 2013 for a cartoon stereotyping Polynesian people as spending their money on cigarettes and gambling.

The Greymouth Star is partly owned by Allied Press, which owns the Otago Daily Times (ODT). The ODT apologised in 2019 after publishing a cartoon by illustrator Garrick Tremain mocking the deadly Samoan measles epidemic.

In 2020, the Greymouth Star published another Healy’s View cartoon depicting Māori as cannibals about to eat then Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage in a hāngī.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Lisa Tumahai said she was saddened by the cartoon.

The Otago Daily Times apologised for this cartoon by Garrick Tremain published in 2019, as Samoa was going through a measles epidemic.

“I am appalled the Greymouth Star has published such racist and abhorrent cartoons which should never have been drawn, let alone published,” she said.

Tumahai said the outdated racist depictions in cartoons had received well-deserved criticism.

She called the Three Waters cartoon disgraceful, but also factually incorrect.

“Ngāi Tahu has never sought to own three waters infrastructure, and we have always backed public ownership and safeguards against any potential privatisation,” she said.

“Our goal through partnership is to ensure the health of local waterways is not compromised, and all communities have equitable access to safe and resilient water services. Three Waters co-governance will allow councils and mana whenua to share environmental, cultural, and governance expertise.”

Healy said the cartoon was not intended to be racist, it simply depicted Mahuta and the Government wanting to control the water.

The man at the table represented the councils trying to give water to the ratepayers with Mahuta telling the ratepayers the water was not the council’s to give, it was hers.

“It’s about what’s happening with the Government and Three Waters. It’s a coincidence that Ms Mahuta is Māori. She’s just who’s in charge of it. She’s pushing for it. They want control of the water. The ratepayers and councils here on the West Coast are objecting to it,” he said.

He agreed his previous depiction of Māori as cannibals was “controversial”, but so was his depiction of speaker Trevor Mallard as a dog biting Winston Peters and no-one “jumped up and down about that”, he said.

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said it was unhelpful and counterproductive when groups of people were pitted against each other as Aotearoa New Zealand worked towards an inclusive and cohesive society.

“We should all rise above the use of divisive language and steer clear of stereotypes and sentiments that negatively frame whole communities.”

Addressing historical grievances that had led to current inequities was a must and should not be feared, he said.

The cartoon sparked outrage with former adviser to Jacinda Ardern and director of Victor Strategy and Communications Clint Smith saying the cartoon portrayed Māori as greedy thieves taking water from Pākehā. He said it was not the first time Healy had drawn racist caricatures of Māori in an unflattering, racist and ugly way.

Cartoonist Rod Emmerson tweeted that he would be amazed if the cartoon did not end up before the Media Council and Human Rights Commission.

“Foundation of any political cartoon is facts – and this is factually incorrect / what co-governance means – and what 3 Waters means. Plus the tone is racist. Should never have seen the light of day,” he said.

Mahuta has been approached for comment.