ECan chair gives up council car, apologises

Saturday, 21 September 2024

Peter Scott has apologised to the public and given up his council car after it was recorded speeding 678 times since January.

The beleaguered chairperson of the Canterbury regional council has apologised to the public and given up his council car after it was clocked speeding 678 times since January, reaching speeds of 157kph.

Two days after The Press first asked chairperson Peter Scott, chief executive Dr Stefanie Rixecker and the council about allegations of excessive speed, a statement was issued on Friday afternoon by Environment Canterbury (ECan). It said that “a recent review of data” had turned up “information to that effect” alongside hundreds of other recorded incidents of the car exceeding the speed limit.

A council spokesperson said the chief executive had brought the breaches to Scott’s attention, but did not yet know if Scott was driving the car on each of those occasions, as others were able to drive it.

The Press had approached Scott about the speeding allegations in person on Thursday, but he declined to discuss them.

Environment Canterbury regional council chairperson Peter Scott says he was “surprised” by the 678 incidents of speeding in his ECan-issued car since January, and apologised to his colleagues and the public. (File photo)

However, in a statement released the following day through Christchurch PR agency Great Scott, he appeared to accept the blame. In the emailed statement he said he was “surprised” at the level of breaches the car’s GPS tracking system had recorded.

Regular commuting between his home near Timaru and Christchurch meant Scott had “done a lot of driving”.

Scott said he had apologised to the chief executive and his council colleagues, and had surrendered the vehicle.

He also apologised to the public, saying “people, rightly, should expect more from their elected representatives. I have let them down and will do better.”

The incident had made him “reflect” on his driving habits, and he had committed to doing a defensive driving course.

Environment Canterbury chief executive Dr Stefanie Rixecker has had a conversation with Scott about the incidents.

ECan’s spokesperson said the council has a policy that covers the use of ECan vehicles and outlined “expected behaviours”.

“For staff, any mis-use of vehicles would be escalated to line managers and our People and Capability team to take appropriate action. This approach obviously can’t work in the same way for elected members, hence the direct conversation with the CE [chief executive].”

The Press asked ECan several further questions including:

– how much above the speed limit the car was travelling on the 678 recorded occasions

– when it became aware of the repetitive speeding

– when it anticipated knowing who was driving the car when it was speeding

ECan could not answer questions about the 678 speeding incidents until next week, but says the chief executive has spoken to Scott. (File photo)

– whether there was any disciplinary or code of conduct process underway - or any action beyond the conversation with the chief executive

– whether Scott would stay on as chairperson.

A spokesperson said the council could not respond until Monday “at the earliest”.

According to the NZ Transport Agency, if a driver is caught more than 50kph over the speed limit, police can immediately suspend their licence for 28 days, impose a maximum fine of $630 and maximum demerit points of 35, and potentially lay charges of careless, dangerous or reckless driving.

WorkSafe had not received any notifications about the matter, and suggested it may be a matter for police.

Scott only returned to the chairmanship last month following a 10-week, $66,000 investigation into his admission during a radio interview that he was farming “illegally” on his South Canterbury property.

Scott and two others - South Canterbury businessman Gary Rooney, who purchased the farm from Scott in 2023, and John Chapman, who leased the farm between 2019 and 2023 - were given formal warnings by the council.