On Tuesday, councillors voted against boycotting 112 companies connected to illegal Israeli settlements within Palestinian territory — a decision sealed by the mayor’s casting vote following a 6-6 split.
The list of companies was created by the United Nations and brought to the council’s attention by Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) at an earlier meeting.
PSNA Invercargill member Seren Palliser-O’Donohoe said an opportunity for the group to reinforce the motion on Tuesday was refused by the mayor.
Ms Palliser-O’Donohoe said she then requested to present to the council on a personal level with hopes of sharing a wider context of the occupation, but was also rejected.
"It’s so important that the voices of ... affected communities that live in New Zealand get heard about this," Ms Palliser-O’Donohoe said.
"That was refused, unfortunately."
In response to questions, Mr Clark said he believed he only refused individual members the right to speak, but he would have declined the group too had he been asked.
Mr Clark said members had emailed him and others to promote their views between meetings.
"They spoke at the previous council meeting and I committed to a staff report that was tabled at yesterday’s meeting."
He said the council supported the United Nations declaration and the government’s support of it but decided not to include it in the procurement policy.
There was no evidence the council had ever dealt with any of the listed companies, Mr Clark said.
Councillors discussed the matter for 30 minutes at Tuesday’s meeting, Mr Clark making it clear he did not support the boycott.
Deputy mayor Tom Campbell agreed, questioning where the council would stop in relation to other countries.
Cr Lesley Soper took a different view, urging the companies be barred on ethical and legal grounds.
"We are handed on a plate the list of companies that we can say are excluded suppliers because they’re involved in human rights violations," she said.
Cr Soper was supported by Cr Darren Ludlow, who gave the example of councils declaring themselves nuclear-free in days gone by.
Cr Alex Crackett said the council was involved in international relations whether it accepted it or not, while Cr Steve Broad said he was guided by the thought of his nieces and nephews one day asking how he had acted.
The staff recommendation was to alter guidelines for procurement, which would have still allowed the council to engage with the listed companies under exceptional circumstances.
The United Nations resolution was supported by the government when it was adopted in 2016, and has been included in procurement guidelines at the Christchurch City Council, Nelson City Council and Environment Canterbury.
Companies on the United Nations list encompass a variety of sectors, and include Airbnb, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Booking.com and Motorola.
— Matthew Rosenberg, Local Democracy Reporter
— LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
