Code of Conduct complaint against councillor being fully investigated

A Code of Conduct complaint against Whangārei District Councillor Jayne Golightly for allegedly breaching council confidentiality is now being fully investigated by an independent consultant

A Code of Conduct complaint against a Whangārei District Councillor is now being fully investigated by an independent consultant.

A formal Code of Conduct complaint was laid by a member of the public alleging councillor Jayne Golightly breached council confidentiality when she made a comment on a radio show in November.

Golightly was interviewed by host Sean Plunket when she allegedly made comments relating to a matter that had been discussed in the council’s confidentiality section. It related to contractor Jimmy Daisley, who won a High Court judgment for $6.1 million from the council.

Daisley won judgments against the council over a wrongly filed resource consent the council used to pursue him over his quarry and led to his 17-year battle for justice. Golightly has apologised to her colleagues for revealing information from the meeting.

The complaint to the council said: “Firstly, it seems councillor Jayne Golightly appears to have broken confidence in the Jim Daisley matter to Sean Plunket of the Platform, and highly likely to other members of the public.

“Secondly, was councillor Jayne Golightly authorised to make comments on behalf of the Whangārei District Council, or were these comments of a personal nature, and did she make it clear to Sean Plunket from the Platform?”

Council CEO Simon Weston initially accepted the complaint and appointed an independent investigator - James Crichton from Three60 Consulting - to undertake the investigation.

As it falls within the 2019 Elected Members Code of Conduct, the complaint was forwarded to an independent investigator, who will make a preliminary assessment to determine whether the issue is sufficiently serious to warrant a full investigation. A full investigation would determine if the breach, if proven, brings a member or the council into disrepute or, if not addressed; reflects adversely on another member of council.

After the preliminary assessment, Crichton has concluded that the complaint is material and a full investigation is required. The council is waiting to receive Crichton’s final report before determining what, if anything, happens next.

Golightly said she did not want to comment on the latest development.

However, in an earlier statement she said: “As a WDC councillor, there are many decisions made during confidential meetings of which we are unable to speak of, and some of those decisions have been distressing. The treatment of Mr Daisley over the past 17 years by a WDC error has been one of these.

“I spoke to Sean Plunket during his interview with Mr Daisley on the Platform and I made a statement to him that I should not have as we were under the boundaries of a confidential item.

“I apologised immediately to my fellow councillors for this and there is now an investigative process under way.

“I respect that process and will be more than happy to elaborate my statement once the outcome is complete.”