Gardyne rejects accusation of ‘disrespectful' conduct

Otago Daily Times

2 days ago

The chairman of a southern council group is unrepentant about his behaviour at a recent meeting, which was dubbed "disrespectful" by a council leader.
Mataura catchment liaison committee chairman Hugh Gardyne has also rejected the use of "kia ora" in an email which reprimanded him for his actions.
The committee Mr Gardyne oversees is one of eight in the region that support Environment Southland with local river work.
In May, Mr Gardyne gave a blunt presentation to councillors alleging catchment management was in "a state of paralysis" under the watch of the council chief executive and communication was ineffective with the general manager in charge.
He was shut down at the end of his talk when he mentioned an abatement notice — later revealed to be one issued by Environment Southland against itself.
A letter from council chairman Nicol Horrell on May 28 warned Mr Gardyne about his behaviour, saying parts of his presentation were factually incorrect and disrespectful.
"My intention is both to correct your understanding of the facts, and to inform you that councillors will not tolerate any criticism levelled at staff in public meetings, or disrespectful behaviour," Mr Horrell wrote.
Mr Horrell said it was incorrect to suggest catchment work was in a state of paralysis and accused Mr Gardyne of not having all the facts.
"I would be interested to know from where you are getting your information."
The letter ended with a suggestion Mr Gardyne apologise to the chief executive and manager in question.
But Mr Gardyne has defended his actions, saying his criticism was about questioning professional ability.
"It doesn't, in my opinion, deserve a response or an apology."
Mr Gardyne said he would speak at the council again in the future and the response from the general manager had been "great" following the presentation. Separately, he also took exception with the use of "kia ora" in the email sent by Mr Horrell which contained the reprimand.
Mr Gardyne requested he instead be addressed with "hello" or "dear".
Mr Horrell told Local Democracy Reporting it was common practice to use the te reo Māori greeting and he did not think its use would have been Mr Gardyne's biggest issue.
"I would have thought that that's almost a wee bit racist," Mr Horrell said.
In a letter back to Mr Horrell, Mr Gardyne doubled down on perceived issues with river management and questioned whether the chairman's concerns were shared by other members.
Environment Southland oversees eight catchment liaison committees, which help the council develop annual maintenance programmes and budgets.
Mr Gardyne has been involved with the Mataura group since the early 1990s.