Controversial councillor's fate to be decided on Monday

The fate of a New Plymouth District councillor who tried to organise a boycott of a Cambodian-owned food outlet in the Taranaki town of Waitara will be decided at a public council meeting on Monday.

Sherril George handed out brochures outside Waitara's Town and Country Food in early February, urging people to boycott the store, a protest Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said was "deplorable".

Ms George, who owns a pizzeria in Waitara, and is landlord to a curry house, said she wanted people to support their "local community" and argued Town and Country Food was a franchise driving other businesses out.

A council report into her actions suggested Ms George could have breached the council's code of conduct up to five times.

The Taranaki Daily News reported that as well as including eyewitness accounts of her behaviour, it showed Ms George continued to deny she had done anything wrong.

She claimed the allegations against her were based on "hearsay, perception, interpretation ... and lies" and the "majority are not true".

Last week the council's monitoring committee used the report to recommend Ms George be censured and stripped of all council committee responsibilities.

On Monday the council will decide whether to endorse that recommendation at an extraordinary council meeting at the civic centre in New Plymouth.

- NZPA