Far North District councillors have turned down a request by Mayor Wayne Brown for $3000 to travel to Canada to promote the district at the world's biggest mining conference.
Mr Brown put the cost of attending next month's conference as the Northland Mining Group's representative at $9000, which he had proposed splitting three ways between himself, the council and business development group Northland Inc.
The request was debated at yesterday's meeting in Kaikohe, with councillors torn between wanting to send the best-qualified person to the conference, promoting investment in the North and avoiding a conflict of interest - especially as Mr Brown has recently set up a prospecting company, Tai Tokerau Minerals, in which he has a 5 per cent stake.
However, revelations of a business card Mr Brown had had printed for the conference swung the debate against him. The card, printed via the council, named him as mayor but gave his private contact details instead of the council's. The vote was locked four-all when Deputy Mayor Ann Court used her casting vote to knock back the proposal.
Before he had to leave the chamber, Mr Brown told councillors an interest in mining did not amount to a conflict of interest. The government, not councils, issued prospecting licences and any mining was at least five years away, so he could not profit personally from the conference.