Page 5 - Simon Woolf News Today

Georgina Campbell: Wellington City Councils secrecy over code of conduct complaints unacceptable 7 May, 2021 05:00 PM 4 minutes to read Mayor Andy Foster and Wellington City Council chief executive Barbara McKerrow. Photo / Mark Mitchell OPINION: It feels like Wellington City Council is putting a brick wall between code of conduct complaints and the public, when it should be striving for transparency. First it happened with a complaint made against councillor Simon Woolf, which the council refu...

Report says Wellington mayor Andy Foster should be censured over Shelly Bay meeting 7 May, 2021 06:39 AM 4 minutes to read Wellington mayor Andy Foster. Photo / Mark Mitchell Wellington issues reporter, NZ Heraldgeorgina.campbell@nzme.co.nz An independent report recommends Wellingtons mayor be formally censured after he shared potentially defamatory and previously discredited information before a controversial Shelly Bay vote. Councillor Jenny Condie made a code of conduct complaint against m...

Wellington City Council (WCC) has released a complaint made against councillor Simon Woolf, alleging he caused staff considerable distress and failed to co

Local Government code of conduct complaints have turned into a monster 3 May, 2021 05:00 PM 5 minutes to read Local Government New Zealand president Stuart Crosby. Photo / George Novak Wellington issues reporter, NZ Heraldgeorgina.campbell@nzme.co.nz A law expert says the local government code of conduct complaints process is a well-intentioned idea that has grown into a monster. In the Wellington Region alone complaints have ranged from whether it was accurate to refer to councillors eating a...

The Herald complained about the council's refusal to release information 16 months ago.

Wellington.Scoop The Wellington City Council today confirmed the decision of its strategy and policy committee and agreed to add mana whenua representation to council committees, with the representatives having a vote and being paid. Mayor Andy Foster and Cr Sean Rush changed their votes and supported the plan, leaving opposition from only three councillors. They had voted against the plan at the previous committee meeting. A historic day for council with agreement to share power with mana when...

Iwi representatives will sit on all committees except the chief executive review committee from July. John Coffey, chairman of the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust that manages Taranaki Whānui’s treaty settlement package, said iwi and the council shared similar goals. “What you want as a council for the people of Wellington is what we want too,” Coffey told the councillors. “You will not succeed without us, and we will not succeed without you. It’s as simple as that.” KEV...

Woolf’s appointment is set to be overturnedbecause of concerns among councillors about his chequered history with council staff. Woolf was the subject of a Code of Conduct complaint in 2019 after he criticised the amount of money the council spent defending claims of bullying of a former staff member. The Employment Relations Authority decision found the staff member had not been bullied or unjustifiably dismissed, but awarded her $20,000 for the council’s inadequate investigation of the...

Analysis: Wellington City Council is not brand Coca-Cola 22 Apr, 2021 04:09 AM 5 minutes to read Wellington City councillors considered an independent review into the councils governance at a committee meeting today. Photo / Mark Mitchell Wellington City councillors considered an independent review into the councils governance at a committee meeting today. Photo / Mark Mitchell ANALYSIS: Some Wellington City councillors have decided to make no apologies for being politicians in a world where th...

“It’s hard to hear that council is destroying city’s pride,” councillor Laurie Foon said. Councillor Tamatha Paul put the council’s reputation bluntly: “We’re a bit of a joke around the country. We need to restore that mana.” Around the table, councillors mostly accepted the review’s blunt findings and several expressed relief that it wasn’t even harsher. MONIQUE FORD / STUFF/Stuff “The report was generous to us. We got off lightly,” councillor Simon Woolf said. Dep...