Earlier last year Mr and Mrs Radich had both opposed a different application which led to the NRC granting Landcorp Farming and Te Runanga o Te Rarawa resource consents to take up to 15.5 million litres of water daily from the aquifer to irrigate part of the 2200ha Sweetwater Station.
Mr Mahoney claims in a letter sent to FNDC councillors and staff last week that conflict of interest arises through Mr Radich participating in meetings held at Paparore school - where Mrs Radich is a teacher - when opposition to the council taking more water from the aquifer was discussed.
"Kaitaia residents need the water. We do not need Mate Radich and his personal agendas," said Mr Mahoney, who had checked with the Auditor General and found Mr Radich had not been granted a dispensation allowing him to oppose the council's aquifer application.
Mr Radich yesterday said he had not voted on the SweetH2O resolution in July, but had not had his abstention recorded.
"It was a no-win situation for me and I could see no point in voting," the councillor said.
He had been disappointed to learn from council staff last week that he could have sought dispensation from the Auditor General's office to oppose the application.
"I'm a new councillor. I should have been told that earlier," he said.
"I am one of the 105 owners of shallow bores at Sweetwater. With Landcorp now taking up to 15.5 million litres of water daily and the council wanting another 5 million litres daily, our shallow bores will soon dry up," Mr Radich said.
It could cost him and others about $11,000 each to have their shallow bores drilled deeper and some could not afford this expense, he said.
The submission form he signed says the signature should be by "the person making the submission, or person authorised to sign on behalf of the person making the submission."
Mayor Brown said that with the NRC rather than the FNDC hearing the submissions, he considered Mr Radich was entitled to hold a different view to the district council. But FNDC chief executive David Edmunds and head of governance Richard Palmer said even if councillors opposed a council ruling they had to support the majority decision.
The conflict of interest issue had been informally discussed after the council meeting last week and councillors had asked for a report to clarify the situation. Asked if councillors were obliged to support council resolutions even if they had voted against them, Auditor General's Office media advisor Tamar McKewen said this convention, known as collective responsibility, applied to Cabinet ministers, but senior AGO officials were unaware it applied in local government.
