South Waikato mayor Gary Petley apologises his language after a tense debate was not directed at anyone, but realises it may have appeared to be directed at a fellow councillor.
Tense exchanges were had at a South Waikato District Council meeting after South Waikato Mayor Gary Petley tabled a reshuffle of the council’s committees.
During Wednesday’s meeting, councillors Sandra Wallace, Kerry Purdy and Marie Farrell questioned Petley on the fairness of the reshuffle to female councillors.
Farrell asked the mayor what he would say to young women in the community watching council.
“How would you encourage them when during this term, despite our membership being 50% female, there’s not one female committee chair?” she asked.
“If you believe that’s a negative reflection on the way I’m doing my job then I’m prepared to live with that,” Petley said.
He said when Farrell was chairwoman of the Growth and Infrastructure committee, she “voted pretty much against everything”.
South Waikato Mayor Gary Petley.
Petley said he could not have someone chairing such a committee always voting against growth.
Farrell said she accepted she often disagreed with the mayor, but she did not think it was true that she voted against everything.
Purdy also asked the mayor why women had not been included in many committees.
The new structure has the full council meeting and eight other committees. Councillor Hamish Daine (who is also the deputy mayor) sits on all but one of these. Purdy sits on the council and two committees. Farrell sits on only council and one other committee.
“My choice, and I’ll cop that, okay?” replied the mayor.
Purdy said she has been removed from two other committees and she would have appreciated being told in advance about the decision.
“It just would have been really respectful and kind to hear that from you in person as our mayor. I know I’m not in the call-tree - I haven’t been in your call-tree for 18 months, others are - but it would have just been nice, Gary, to have a heads-up,” Purdy said.
Daine said that he did not receive the committee information in advance either.
“There’s this big conspiracy that some councillors know more then others, but hand on heart I can tell you I didn’t know anything... about the committee structure until I received the agenda,” he said.
In a split vote, the council received the mayor’s report and then headed into a public excluded session. As the public left, the mayor told Purdy, who had left her seat, that the meeting had not closed yet.
