Bydder defiant after councillors accept code of conduct breach

Tuesday, 17 September 2024

Hamilton city councillors have accepted the findings of a report which determined that fellow councillor Andrew Bydder breached his council’s code of conduct with an expletive-laden submission to Waipā District Council.

Bydder said afterwards he will keep doing what he wants, saying “I’m going rogue”, and that he wouldn’t comply with penalties handed down.

However, during the meeting he did say: “For the record I am genuinely sorry for any hurt caused to the public.”

Along with F and C words, his submission to Waipā - which came to light in June - contained slurs referring to people with intellectual and physical impairments and comment on Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan’s appearance.

The council has since received invoiced costs of more than $21,500 so far related to the case.

At a meeting on Tuesday, councillors voted 8-3 to to issue a formal letter of censure to Bydder warning that further conduct of this nature is likely to result in more serious penalties.

Bydder will also be requested to attend training which “may cover” dealing with members of the public and media, and code requirements.

A written apology to O’Regan, and a public apology to IHC and Cerebral Palsy New Zealand, would be requested from Bydder.

The council also plans to review the code to provide clarity for when a connection exists between a councillor’s actions in a private and official capacity.

An amendment which would have had the council only note the report and do a review of the code of conduct was defeated 7-4.

Asked for his reaction afterwards to the council’s decision, Bydder said: “I’m going rogue… I will say what I want and I don’t give a shit what they do.”

He wouldn’t co-operate with what he would be asked to do claiming the code of conduct process was “corrupt”.

The decision on the highly complicated case followed hours of discussion.

A key bone of contention was whether Bydder was acting only in a private capacity when he made his submission rather than doing something that could be connected to his Hamilton role.

But, in her report on the issues, investigator Mary Hill said the code required councillors to ensure their behaviour didn’t undermine the council’s reputation.

This applied when the councillor was interacting with the public in an official or personal capacity “where a connection of any kind can be made to the behaviour of an elected member in their official capacity”, her report said.

Hill told the meeting: “I have found in my report that although councillor Bydder was acting in a personal capacity when making the submission to Waipā it was very clear who he was.”

Complaints to the city council made it clear members of the public felt his conduct brought “the office of an elected member and the reputation of Hamilton City Council into disrepute”, Hill said

But Bydder argued he was making a private submission as a Waipā resident to his local council and argued the code should only apply to actions undertaken in an official councillor capacity.

One of the complainants in Bydder’s case, Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate, didn’t participate in the hearing while councillor Maxine van Oosten also excused herself to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest as she had previously withdrawn a complaint.

Southgate said afterwards it was a “good” outcome that the majority had voted for the main motion and that there was recognition that “as public members we are obliged to maintain high standards of behaviour and respect”.

Meanwhile, councillor Louise Hutt alerted Waikato Times to having heard Bydder say to the chairperson Angela O’Leary before the meeting that “I have the right to f….king arrest you”.

Bydder confirmed afterwards he’d said words to that effect, saying he meant only he had the right to make a citizen’s arrest if someone broke the law.

O’Leary also confirmed the interaction saying “the tone and the manner and the language was very confronting and threatening”.

“I am considering my options.”