Report leaked to DCC candidates: Privacy Commissioner to be notified
A series of candidates for the council said they received an email disclosing the content of a report by King's Counsel Maria Dew about council boss Sandy Graham's conduct.
Until this week, only a few people had seen the investigator's report and most city councillors had not been allowed access to a copy.
Ms Dew had looked into a complaint about Ms Graham's conduct and the council said the investigation was extremely thorough.
It resulted in "a resolution that involved an apology by Ms Graham and additional leadership training", a council spokesman said.
"The matter is now at an end.
"We encourage all parties — including councillors and election candidates — to respect the ongoing legal and privacy obligations in relation to this matter."
This included warning them against forwarding or sharing confidential information, as this risked breaching the Privacy Act.
"The DCC will be notifying the Privacy Commissioner," the spokesman said.
Candidates had a mix of reactions to the leaks, including one producing a video on social media and others deleting the report or declining to read it.
The Otago Daily Times cannot report on the content of the report for legal reasons.
Mayoralty candidate Andrew Simms, who is leading a Future Dunedin team ticket, said the whole issue had not been handled well by the council.
He was one person who noted a decision-making panel of three saw the investigator's report — Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich and Crs Bill Acklin and Marie Laufiso — but a dozen councillors were denied official access.
"The whole matter is gravely concerning and the disappointment for me is that it wasn't decisively dealt with at the time," Mr Simms said.
The situation now was "furthering the impression that things are not as they should be between the mayor, the council and the chief executive officer".
Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope responded to an email chain that he did not want to be involved, as he still had to work with the council and staff until the election.
"I have a responsibility to my community to look after their interests, rather than my own political ones, and I have a job to do until then," Mr Pope wrote.
"With that in mind, I want no part of it and I don't want to be sent a copy."
Mr Pope later received an email and said he stopped reading it once he worked out what it was.
Cr Andrew Whiley said the report was filtered out into his junk email and he deleted the file without looking at it.
He was concerned the report had been received and read by some people in the community.
Cr Whiley said he did not believe the council's one-year extension of the chief executive's contract should be revisited.
Cr Sophie Barker said she was appalled a confidential employment matter had been leaked.
As a past employer of staff, she was highly aware of proper processes and the legal and moral obligations to follow them, she said.
Cr Steve Walker said he did not have a copy of the report.
"I always adhere to the various confidentiality requirements when they are imposed upon us, and I have no doubt that the public expect us to uphold that responsibility," he said.
Confidentiality existed to protect the health and safety of employees and councillors had a duty to uphold trust, he said.
Green Party mayoral candidate Mickey Treadwell said he had not received a copy of the report.
He was not interested in reading it unless it was a publicly available document, he said.
"I appreciate transparency around council matters, certainly, but there are things that are confidential for a reason."
grant.miller@odt.co.nz
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Report on council boss leaked to DCC candidates
The Privacy Commissioner will be notified after a confidential report about behaviour by the Dunedin City Council chief executive was leaked among election candidates. A series of candidates for the council said they received an email disclosing the content of a report by King's Counsel Maria Dew about council boss Sandy Graham's conduct. Until this week, only a few people had seen the investigator's report and most city councillors had not been allowed access to a copy. Ms Dew had looked into a complaint about Ms Graham's conduct and the council said the investigation was extremely thorough. It resulted in "a resolution that involved an apology by Ms Graham and additional leadership training", a council spokesman said. "The matter is now at an end. "We encourage all parties — including councillors and election candidates — to respect the ongoing legal and privacy obligations in relation to this matter." This included warning them against forwarding or sharing confidential information, as this risked breaching the Privacy Act. "The DCC will be notifying the Privacy Commissioner," the spokesman said. Candidates had a mix of reactions to the leaks, including one producing a video on social media and others deleting the report or declining to read it. The Otago Daily Times cannot report on the content of the report for legal reasons. Mayoralty candidate Andrew Simms, who is leading a Future Dunedin team ticket, said the whole issue had not been handled well by the council. He was one person who noted a decision-making panel of three saw the investigator's report — Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich and Crs Bill Acklin and Marie Laufiso — but a dozen councillors were denied official access. "The whole matter is gravely concerning and the disappointment for me is that it wasn't decisively dealt with at the time," Mr Simms said. The situation now was "furthering the impression that things are not as they should be between the mayor, the council and the chief executive officer". Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope responded to an email chain that he did not want to be involved, as he still had to work with the council and staff until the election. "I have a responsibility to my community to look after their interests, rather than my own political ones, and I have a job to do until then," Mr Pope wrote. "With that in mind, I want no part of it and I don't want to be sent a copy." Mr Pope later received an email and said he stopped reading it once he worked out what it was. Cr Andrew Whiley said the report was filtered out into his junk email and he deleted the file without looking at it. He was concerned the report had been received and read by some people in the community. Cr Whiley said he did not believe the council's one-year extension of the chief executive's contract should be revisited. Cr Sophie Barker said she was appalled a confidential employment matter had been leaked. As a past employer of staff, she was highly aware of proper processes and the legal and moral obligations to follow them, she said. Cr Steve Walker said he did not have a copy of the report. "I always adhere to the various confidentiality requirements when they are imposed upon us, and I have no doubt that the public expect us to uphold that responsibility," he said. Confidentiality existed to protect the health and safety of employees and councillors had a duty to uphold trust, he said. Green Party mayoral candidate Mickey Treadwell said he had not received a copy of the report. He was not interested in reading it unless it was a publicly available document, he said. "I appreciate transparency around council matters, certainly, but there are things that are confidential for a reason."
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Report leaked to DCC candidates: Privacy Commissioner to be notified
The Privacy Commissioner will be notified after a confidential report about behaviour by the Dunedin City Council chief executive was leaked among election candidates. A series of candidates for the council said they received an email disclosing the content of a report by King's Counsel Maria Dew about council boss Sandy Graham's conduct. Until this week, only a few people had seen the investigator's report and most city councillors had not been allowed access to a copy. Ms Dew had looked into a complaint about Ms Graham's conduct and the council said the investigation was extremely thorough. It resulted in "a resolution that involved an apology by Ms Graham and additional leadership training", a council spokesman said. "The matter is now at an end. "We encourage all parties — including councillors and election candidates — to respect the ongoing legal and privacy obligations in relation to this matter." This included warning them against forwarding or sharing confidential information, as this risked breaching the Privacy Act. "The DCC will be notifying the Privacy Commissioner," the spokesman said. Candidates had a mix of reactions to the leaks, including one producing a video on social media and others deleting the report or declining to read it. The Otago Daily Times cannot report on the content of the report for legal reasons. Mayoralty candidate Andrew Simms, who is leading a Future Dunedin team ticket, said the whole issue had not been handled well by the council. He was one person who noted a decision-making panel of three saw the investigator's report — Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich and Crs Bill Acklin and Marie Laufiso — but a dozen councillors were denied official access. "The whole matter is gravely concerning and the disappointment for me is that it wasn't decisively dealt with at the time," Mr Simms said. The situation now was "furthering the impression that things are not as they should be between the mayor, the council and the chief executive officer". Otago Peninsula Community Board chairman Paul Pope responded to an email chain that he did not want to be involved, as he still had to work with the council and staff until the election. "I have a responsibility to my community to look after their interests, rather than my own political ones, and I have a job to do until then," Mr Pope wrote. "With that in mind, I want no part of it and I don't want to be sent a copy." Mr Pope later received an email and said he stopped reading it once he worked out what it was. Cr Andrew Whiley said the report was filtered out into his junk email and he deleted the file without looking at it. He was concerned the report had been received and read by some people in the community. Cr Whiley said he did not believe the council's one-year extension of the chief executive's contract should be revisited. Cr Sophie Barker said she was appalled a confidential employment matter had been leaked. As a past employer of staff, she was highly aware of proper processes and the legal and moral obligations to follow them, she said. Cr Steve Walker said he did not have a copy of the report. "I always adhere to the various confidentiality requirements when they are imposed upon us, and I have no doubt that the public expect us to uphold that responsibility," he said. Confidentiality existed to protect the health and safety of employees and councillors had a duty to uphold trust, he said. Green Party mayoral candidate Mickey Treadwell said he had not received a copy of the report. He was not interested in reading it unless it was a publicly available document, he said. "I appreciate transparency around council matters, certainly, but there are things that are confidential for a reason."
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Firms call for govt to step in over paint issue
The Dunedin City Council's "overly risk-averse" approach to lead paint in soils added $200,000 to the cost of a six-unit new build in the city, a group representing developers says. In a publicly released letter, the group is now calling on the government to intervene. The 10-page letter, signed by Terramark, TL Survey Services and Patersons and addressed to Housing Minister Chris Bishop, lays out a litany of complaints about the city council. "DCC are concerned that historic use of lead-based paints on residential properties categorises them as 'potentially contaminated'," the letter says. "We consider the DCC's application of the [national environment standards] for inorganic lead in soils is inappropriate, overly risk-averse and adds unjustified complexity, delays and costs to new housing projects." The letter also included a cost breakdown from two Terramark clients who had recently developed near affected land. It said the total cost of dealing with the lead in soil was $206,472 for a development of six two-bedroom units, while the cost to develop two sites for a new build comprising 18 units was $302,000 for lead remediation. "While there is no denying lead contamination can have adverse effects on human health, there is no evidence to support the approach taken by the DCC is actually reducing that. "Development actually reduces the potential contamination pathways. Doing nothing ensures the risk to human health remains higher — entirely the opposite of what the national environment standard is trying to achieve." The letter said the group had examples of homeowners terminating plans for minor house extensions once they discovered the potential cost and delays due to the DCC's interpretation of the national environmental standards. Terramark resource management planner Darryl Sycamore told the Otago Daily Times the three firms were compelled to write the letter out of "sheer frustration". "The council is over-interpreting the rules. It's impacting development, and it's pushing people who are developers to move to other regions." The firms' concerns were echoed by consultant environmental scientist Andrew Nichols, of Dunedin, who told the Otago Daily Times the city council should change its approach. Mr Nichols, whose work includes reviewing land contamination reports, said there was "precisely zero" public health data showing New Zealand residential soil was a public health risk due to its lead content that would justify the removal of the soil. He said the actual documented risks were from inhaling lead in petrol and from children chewing toys with lead paint — neither of which were issues today, let alone related to lead in soils. "This strict interpretation of HAIL [Hazardous Activities and Industries List] obligations as it applies to residential activities is great for me and others as contaminated-land professionals," Mr Nichols said. "But is an absurdity; a solution created for a problem that doesn't exist in residential development. It must change," he said. The firms' letter calls on Mr Bishop, who is also minister for the Resource Management Act, to intervene to establish a nationally consistent approach to the implementation of the national environmental standards. "In particular, we respectfully request the minister advise the DCC that their current implementation is flawed and to cease that practice without delay." Mr Bishop told the Otago Daily Times he had received the letter. "Councils are required to implement the national environmental standard for managing contaminants such as lead in soil. "Councils interpret and regulate the standards based on their local context. While I am primarily responsible for the RMA, councils are responsible for its day-to-day implementation. I encourage developers to work directly with the council." Mr Bishop said new legislation would be introduced to Parliament later this year to replace the RMA. Dunedin City Council acting general manager customer and regulatory Paul Henderson said councils received updated guidance from the Ministry for the Environment, as well as the findings of an independent review by Stantec. "It says homes and other structures built prior to 1945 could be potential or unverified HAIL sites, due to the use of lead-based paint. "This is because lead can, over time, find its way into soil surrounding such buildings, creating a potential risk to human health. "Only a small number of pre-1945 painted wooden or roughcast houses are demolished each year in Dunedin, and we continue to assess the impact in our city as being minor." While he acknowledged "a small number of developments" were likely to face additional costs as a result, he said they would not be of the order suggested, and "we didn't expect the new approach will have a significant impact on homeowners or development in Dunedin".
