South Waikato Mayor Gary Petley apologises for F-bomb during council meeting

By Libby Kirkby-McLeod of RNZ

The mayor of South Waikato District Council says he offered a heartfelt apology for letting frustrations get the better of him and using language unbecoming of his role.

At the end of a tense debate about his mayoral report in the council meeting on Wednesday, Gary Petley was heard speaking to councillor Kerry Purdy and then saying “f***s sake”.

In a video released by the council on Thursday, Petley said the remark was not directed at anyone in particular – but he realised it could have been seen that way.

“In the context of that, I have phoned the councillor involved when I made that comment and apologised to her.”

During the debate, councillors Sandra Wallace, Kerry Purdy and Marie Farrell had questioned Petley on the fairness of his reshuffle of council committees.

Farrell said the majority of female councillors have been demoted in the reshuffle, which left the council with no female committee chairs.

South Waikato Mayor Gary Petley has apologised for his language.

In the video, Petley said he wanted to make it clear that the reshuffle of the committees was done to support the recently adopted long-term plan (LTP).

“Gender wasn’t in the mix, it didn’t matter if it was male, female, or whatever. I made those decisions based on the people I thought I could have the trust and confidence that [they] would support the next 10 years of the LTP.”

Petley said he dropped the ball with his language and he freely admits it.

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