Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt was in the passenger s seat of the mayoral car, with his partner Asha Dutt driving, on Wednesday.
The Invercargill deputy mayor believes Sir Tim Shadbolt needs to respond to questions about his driving status. On Wednesday, Mayor Shadbolt was being driven around in the mayoral car by his partner, Asha Dutt after the car had been parked beside the council office in Esk St. Shadbolt did not return any phone calls, texts or emails from Stuff asking him to explain if someone else was driving him in the mayoral car and, specifically if he is legally able to drive or if his licence has been suspended.
Council executive manager Pete Thompson said Shadbolt was offered one-on-one weekly IT training sessions, but the Mayor had not taken them up. Thompson said Shadbolt has also received informal one-on-one IT training from administrative staff and IT staff as requested. “These requests have usually been impromptu in relation to a specific issue/device,” Thompson said. Deputy Mayor Nobby Clark also provided one-on-one training for Shadbolt on November 26, 2020, he said. On top of that Thompson said Local Government Training New Zealand digital training was offered to all elected members but Shadbolt declined to attend. A Specialised Diligent Boardbooks training (the software used for council agendas - accessible via council-provided iPads) was offered to all elected members in October 2019, Thompson said.
McKenzie said it was up to council to decide if any other action would be taken. Cr Rebecca Amundsen said a public apology was requested because the chairs committee felt the incorrect comments painted the council in a bad light. Given Shadbolt declined, Amundsen put up a motion at Tuesday s council meeting which stated that: “The council record its concern about the factually incorrect statements His Worship the Mayor made in the ODT when he claimed that he had been denied one on one IT training by the council, and [council’s] disappointment that he has failed to correct the facts, and to apologise in an equivalent public forum for the harm caused to the organisation.”
The proposed protocols will ask councillors to agree to focus on council issues and activities when speaking to the media, rather than actions or decisions of other elected members or staff. “The media has the ability to shape and influence community views of the organisation and therefore elected members agree the need to take care when sharing views,” the report on the media protocols says. It says the protocols do recognise the right of all elected members to share their views with the media and have differing opinions. The report was authorised by chief executive Clare Hadley and prepared by council staffers Pete Thomson and Jane Parfitt.