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A new code of conduct has been approved at Invercargill City Council in hopes it will slow down escalations.
On Tuesday, councillors voted to replace the existing code with a draft version from the Government which aims for earlier intervention and resolution.
“This is quite a significant step forward and will enable council to hopefully resolve issues short of having to engage an independent investigator each time,” council manager Michael Morris said.
The decision comes on the heels of a recent $33,000 investigation into deputy mayor Grant Dermody, the findings of which were ultimately rejected by the council.
Councillors have rejected the findings of the investigation which found deputy mayor Grant Dermody said “you f…ing d..k” or “you’re a d…head” and breached the council's code of conduct.
Following that investigation, mayor Tom Campbell posted on social media that its “ridiculous” cost should have been avoided, and said council staff had been asked to work on a modified code of conduct.
A 75 percent majority was required to replace the existing code on Tuesday, but that proved no hurdle as elected members voted unanimously for change.
The new code is a draft version of a national code of conduct from the Local Government Commission which the council thought would be in place across the country by the start of the year.
A report prepared for the council meeting said the new code was designed to minimise escalation and protect governance integrity at councils.
It said although there was more scope for resolving issues without an investigation, that did not mean formal investigations should not happen.
Since 2020, the southern council has spent more than $125,000 on code of conduct complaints, with two in 2024 against former mayor Nobby Clark costing more than $63,000 combined.
The council previously said there was a bill to come for the recent investigation into Dermody but has since confirmed the final amount was $33,000.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
