Councillor Lisa Austin has claimed one of her peers is pushing to “oust” her from Nelson City Council and that she could be vacated from her seat.
By Max Frethey for Local Democracy Reporting
The first-term councillor recently escaped prosecution by the Auditor-General over her financial interests in a company she co-owns that is sometimes hired by council contractors.
The Auditor-General eventually said prosecution would not be in the public interest, and the Minister for Local Government said there was no indication she had done anything wrong, but a law expert has posited that she should not have run for election because of her interests.
But in a statement released on Friday, Austin said councillor Aaron Stallard was “challenging my right to serve” on the council.
“I thought this matter was over when the Auditor General decided not to prosecute, but councillor Stallard has chosen to relitigate it,” she said.
“I have been put under pressure to resign, but I have no intention in doing so. I have done nothing wrong, and I will not let down the Nelsonians who voted for me at the last October elections.”
She has written to all elected members seeking their support, saying that she had also been advised by the council that it may declare her seat vacant and call a by-election.
“I feel misled as such a decision amounts to a dismissal. I am also told I would be prohibited from re-standing. This is worse than being prosecuted by the [Auditor-General], as at least through that process I would have had an opportunity to defend myself in court,” she wrote.
Austin maintains that she has done nothing wrong and has been transparent with her business interests, and added that “mistakes” by council staff while she attempted to gain Auditor-General approval for her interests had jeopardised her position.
Alongside her statement, she shared an email reply from Mayor Nick Smith to questions from Stallard about Austin’s circumstances that were circulated to councillors.
Stallard declined to comment, instead referring to a statement from Mayor Nick Smith.
In his statement, Smith said Stallard had assured him that he was not seeking to oust Austin.
“I believe him. Councillor Stallard is responsibly performing his role as a councillor in seeking to understand and mitigate the risk that this issue brings to the council organisation, as we all are.”
“We are all working together – staff and councillors – to get a solution that, if possible, avoids a by-election.”
A by-election is expected to cost about $200,000.
Smith added that the matters involved were legally privileged and will be discussed in a confidential session of an extraordinary meeting of the Audit, Risk, and Finance Committee on Thursday June 4.
“Council asks that the confidentiality of this issue be respected until it is resolved. We recognise it is a matter of significant public interest and will make a public statement as soon as possible,” he said.
Smith firmly defended Austin when they both publicised her potential prosecution in early May.
The regular council meeting scheduled for Thursday June 4 has since been postponed.
In the first iteration of vote counting for the city’s Central Ward in October’s local elections, Austin received 1767 votes, the most out of her ward’s candidates.
– Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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