Mayor Sophie Barker told yesterday’s Dunedin City Council meeting she sought legal advice over comments by a member of the public, later confirmed to be candidate Jo Galer.
With Ms Galer sitting in the public gallery, the mayor opened the meeting by denying suggestions of unlawful behaviour, relating to two point-of-order rulings she made at a meeting early this month.
In a lengthy Facebook post on Sunday, Ms Galer said Ms Barker appeared to have used standing orders to censor dissenting views, breaching free speech laws and possibly the council’s code of conduct.
"This is untrue and speaks to a lack of understanding of standing orders with the legal and practical framework around them," Ms Barker said.
"It is a very serious matter to accuse the mayor of appearing to act unlawfully and I [reject] the allegation totally," she said.
Ms Barker confirmed to the Otago Daily Times she was speaking of Ms Galer’s post and said she was assured by lawyers her actions were lawful.
It was important to publicly "refute" the accusation as it had spread widely on social media, she said.
At the meeting, Ms Barker put councillors on notice regarding points of order — requiring a precise reason for raising one — noting a chairperson’s decision was final and standing orders did not allow for points of order over differences of opinion.
Ms Barker also relayed guidelines from electoral officer Anthony Morton for by-election candidates speaking in public forum — they should not use the presentation opportunity to promote their candidacy.
Speaking in public forum, Ms Galer said the council’s credibility was suffering over poor communication with the community.
After the meeting, Ms Galer told the ODT she felt it "was a very hostile environment" and she did not receive the "warm reception" afforded to other speakers.
She said expectations for by-election candidates’ speeches were circulated beforehand and revisiting them "was designed to intimidate".
Ms Barker said the guidelines were shared for the benefit of all attendees — by-election candidate Andrew Whiley also spoke in public forum — and she was sorry Ms Galer took it personally.
