An Invercargill councillor has refused to apologise for words spoken during a tense public exchange this week.
By Matthew Rosenberg of Local Democracy Reporting
On Tuesday, elected members endured a 12-second wait for an apology from Ian Pottinger over a comment aimed at chairwoman Alex Crackett during a committee meeting.
But the six-term councillor could not be moved by the deafening silence, prompting Crackett to say she would take the matter up “offline”.
The situation unravelled during discussion about a projects report when Pottinger criticised council spending on the town's historic clock.
Crackett told Pottinger the matter was not up for discussion that afternoon, and debate would take place when the report came back.
Pottinger then took exception to Crackett asking if he had a question.
“Yeah, I asked the question, were you listening?” he said.
The comment drew disapproval from councillor Grant Dermody, who called for a point of order and apology from the councillor.
“I think Mr Dermody, you just refrain and learn about council before making comments like that,” Pottinger retorted.
Crackett told Pottinger she would appreciate an apology, leading to a standoff which was finally broken by Crackett saying the pair would talk "offline".
Both councillors have since confirmed to Local Democracy Reporting that an apology has not been made.
Crackett said it was appropriate to keep discussion relevant and ask councillors to hold onto opinions until information was complete.
"As the chair, I was well in line to pull him up. Strong and robust debate is [a] really vital part of our democracy but it has to be conducted with professionalism and with respect."
She indicated she might follow up on the matter, which would be handled through governance processes.
Meanwhile, Pottinger was still unsure what he needed to apologise for.
He pointed out Dermody could not raise a point of order because he was not a member of the committee — a detail which was confirmed by the council.
It is not the first time Pottinger has caused a stir at a council meeting.
In May, he irked councillor Darren Ludlow by saying he hadn't received the email that democracy was not in place that day.
The incident followed a situation in March where he apologised for assuming the gender of mayors.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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