A Code of Conduct investigation into Wellington City councillor Tamatha Paul has been requested by one of her colleagues. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A Code of Conduct investigation into Wellington City councillor Tamatha Paul has been requested by one of her colleagues. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington City councillor Diane Calvert has laid a formal complaint against one of her fellow councillors for "publicly attacking" her on Facebook and subsequently in the media.
It's understood accusations have been levelled against first-term councillor Tamatha Paul after a Facebook post she penned last weekend in response to concerns the council was divided.
In the post, Paul said some councillors had publicly exhibited bullying and lying.
"For example Cr Diane Calvert stating I shouldn't move a business-related amendment because I have never "worked with" businesses before, and then smirking and snickering when I interject because this is simply not true…
"It's this kind of behaviour that undermines the public's belief in the Council, and makes us all look like idiots meanwhile the City is in lockdown, being battered by five-metre high waves, families are losing their income, and businesses are folding", she wrote.
It's understood Calvert has accused Paul of not raising her concerns openly with her colleagues, instead choosing to wage arguments on public platforms.
She has written directly to mayor Andy Foster asking for an investigation into whether Paul has breached the council's Code of Conduct.
Paul posted on Twitter she would be issuing a statement in response, but in the meantime had a busy day full of meetings she would attend to first.
Councillors Fleur Fitzsimons, Rebecca Matthews, Jenny Condie, Laurie Foon, Teri O'Neill and Jill Day have issued a statement in support of Paul.
They said they supported Paul's public comments about Calvert's behaviour.
"Councillor Paul has been nothing but principled and positive around the table, Wellington is lucky to have such a great young person representing them on the council.
"The clear purpose of Councillor Paul's factual comments was to ensure that we all focus on the best interests of Wellington and we are focused on doing this."
Wellington City councillor Diane Calvert has laid a formal complaint against one of her fellow councillors. Photo / Mark Mitchell.
Calvert told the Herald it was an internal matter that was not appropriate to be "carried out" in the media.
"I want to see a properly managed process that is carried out with respect", she said.
It's not the first time Calvert has found herself in a war of words over bullying allegations, having gone head to head with former mayor Justin Lester less than six months ago.
Each one labelled the other a bully in the wake of Calvert laying a complaint with Wellington City Council's top brass accusing Lester of leaking information after he lost to Foster.
One altercation between the two ended with Lester showing up on Calvert's doorstep with a bottle of wine, which she said was to apologise but he said was because her dog had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
Former mayor Justin Lester got into a war of words over bullying allegations with councillor Diane Calvert last year. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It's also not the first time a city councillor has faced a Code of Conduct investigation in recent times.
It's understood the complaint centred around Woolf wading into staffing employment matters, in particular comments he made in the media about an Employment Relations Authority decision, which looked into alleged bullying of a former council staff member.
In the news article, Woolf described the ERA fight as a "David and Goliath" battle and said the council took a "win-at-all-costs" approach.
A Code of Conduct investigation into councillor Simon Woolf was canned after mayor Andy Foster took the city's top job. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Former council chief executive Kevin Lavery told Woolf in an email those comments allowed readers to infer the council unreasonably pursued the matter, which "couldn't be further from the truth", and could be read as criticisms of officers involved.
"The staff involved have been distressed by those comments and your involvement in the matter. I feel that I have no option but to raise this directly with the mayor."
Foster would not be pressed on whether he thought the investigation amounted to a witch hunt, but said there could have been politicking involved due to its timing and the way "documents have been moved around".
