Kaipara District councillor sent to naughty chair at online meeting for alleged contempt of council

Kaipara District councillor Victoria del la Varis-Woodcock was ejected from the council's virtual meeting on Wednesday accused of contempt of the council. Photo / Susan Botting

A Kaipara District councillor was temporarily ejected from the council's first 2022 meeting for contempt of council.

Kaipara Mayor Dr Jason Smith dismissed Cr Victoria del la Varis-Woodcock from KDC's first 2022 meeting.

"This is an unprecedented moment for our council," Smith said.

The temporary dismissal came after she refused to withdraw comments made to the mayor at the online meeting, during formal discussion on KDC's submission to Auckland Council, opposing Pakiri sand mining resource consents.

Smith ruled del la Varis-Woodcock was in contempt of council and would have to leave the online meeting for half an hour.

He asked governance support staff at the meeting to put her into the online meeting's electronic waiting room for 30 minutes.

Councillors were at the point of making statements about their responses to the submission. This point in KDC's democratic process required comment directed to the Mayor, who was also chairing the meeting.

Cllr Mark Vincent's statement immediately preceding del la Varis-Woodcock's had began in this way. Del la Varis-Woodcock's statement did not, with the Mayor reminding her of this requirement when she had just begun to speak.

"Apologies, Mr Mayor. Thank you, Mr Mayor, for allowing me to address the Mayor and the other councillors, " she then said.

Smith halted del la Varis-Woodcock and asked her to withdraw her comments. He then gave his first of three warnings that she risked being in contempt of council.

"You're very close to being in contempt of council with those comments. Please withdraw those facetious comments and just get on with the job. Thank you," Smith said.

But del la Varis-Woodcock challenged Smith's request.

He told del la Varis-Woodcock that her comments had been 'completely disrespectful of the office of Mayor' and again that she risked being in contempt of council and asking her to withdraw this.

She challenged him again.

"You asked me to address you as the Mayor so I said 'Mr Mayor, thank you for allowing me to speak'," she said.

"That's not what you said, you said more than that," Smith said,

Kaipara mayor Jason Smith said upholding standing orders these was each council member's responsibility.

He again warned that she risked being in contempt of council.

"This is a very confusing request to (sic) being asked to apologise for addressing you as Mr Mayor when you have reminded councillors to continue to address and to make sure they address you as Mr Mayor," del la Varis-Woodcock said.

Smith said the way she had spoken was clearly inappropriate behaviour for the council's decision-making processes.

"So I am asking you again, would you please withdraw your statements you just made and start again afresh here," he said for a final time.

del la Varis-Woodcock declined to withdraw the statements.

Smith then ruled that she was in contempt of council and asked that she was removed from the council meeting.

He told the meeting the action was being taken under council standing orders around addressing the chair and the style, degree and extent of interaction between elected members in the council meeting.

Del la Varis-Woodcock was allowed back into the council meeting after her 30-minute dismissal.

KDC governance support staff said technical difficulties meant she had been unable to reconnect audio-visually. Del la Varis-Woodcock participated in the remaining roughly three of the six hour-plus meeting via phone, rather than audio-visual link.

Del la Varis-Woodcock said after the meeting she had been unable to fulfil her democratic duties as a result of being temporarily dismissed. She had not been able to contribute to the Pakiri sandmining submission discussion.

Smith, meanwhile, in response, said KDC had its standing orders. Upholding these was each council member's responsibility.

"Keeping standards so that there's fairness, equity and good governance around the council table is a very serious business. We make serious decisions affecting thousands of people and being trustworthy and trusted with those decisions is important," Smith said.