Hamilton council lets potty-mouth councillor have last word

Tuesday, 5 November 2024

A ‘lack of options’ means there’ll be no more city council action over councillor Andrew Bydder relating to his code of conduct case.

Hamilton City Council has backed off pursuing potty-mouth councillor Andrew Bydder after he thumbed his nose at their requests he say sorry and attend training after a code of conduct case.

The case came after an expletive-laden submission he made to Waipā District Council containing physical slurs against both the mayor and people with disabilities.

In September, councillors found complaints against Bydder over the submission represented a material breach of the council’s code of conduct, and imposed a number of penalties for the breach.

An investigator, Mary Hill, had concluded that the complaints identified material breaches of two sections of the code of conduct (treating others with respect, productive relationships with the public).

The council agreed with her findings and decided to issue Bydder with a formal letter of censure.

Chief executive Lance Vervoort says ‘given the lack of available options to have the initial penalties complied with, Hamilton City Council is not pursuing this matter further’.

It also asked for him to attend training, apologise to the Waipā mayor and make a public apology to Cerebral Palsy New Zealand and IHC. In September council said the process had cost in excess of $21,000.

In a statement on Tuesday, council chief executive Lance Vervoort said he shared the disappointment expressed by Bydder's council colleagues that the apologies requested of him have not been made by the deadline set.

“This is a lost opportunity for Cr Bydder to engage with the people and communities he has caused offence to.”

Bydder had also indicated he doesn't intend to carry out the final action, to undergo training, Vervoort said.

But he also said the code process available to councils is limited in what it can do to manage poor behaviour or performance by councillors.

After making a sweary submission to a neighbouring council, Hamilton councillor Andrew Bydder will be formally censured.

“Given the lack of available options to have the initial penalties complied with, Hamilton City Council is not pursuing this matter further.

“This does not change the outcome of the code of conduct process, which found that the complaints identified material breaches of the code.”

It was hoped Bydder revisited his refusal to comply with the decisions of council “so this code of conduct process can reach a full resolution”.

At the meeting to address the complaints, the council passed a resolution to review the code and this was being progressed by staff, Vervoort added.

Deputy mayor Angela O’Leary, who presided over the code hearing in September because mayor Paula Southgate was a complainant, said that she, Vervoort and the council’s legal team had made a decision not to pursue things.

Other councillors, apart from those who didn’t vote at the code meeting for various reasons, had agreed informally.

O’Leary said she would have liked to have seen Bydder do as requested but “the reality is there are no enforceable penalties beyond what the council has done”.

That was the “unfortunate reality” under current legislation.

On whether the situation might be seen as Bydder being given a slap over the wrist with a wet bus ticket, O’Leary said: “Even if council decided to take further action…we’re likely to end up in the same place.”

Bydder had indicated he wouldn’t comply with any request to resign over the matter.

Vervoort said the council supported Local Government NZ in its efforts to seek reforms on what councils can do to manage poor behaviour or performance by councillors.

Southgate - one of more than 20 complainants - said she would naturally have preferred Bydder to carry out the requested tasks but accepted the decision on no further council action.

“I’m pragmatic about what we have available to us.”

On whether the costs of handling the Bydder case had been worth it, Southgate said it wasn’t a relevant factor in her making the complaint which had shone a light on standards.

She wasn’t justifying the expense but felt she’d done the right thing.

Southgate said codes of conduct and how they can be used should be reviewed by Local Government NZ.

Bydder said on Tuesday he had no regrets over the case but he was disappointed the council wouldn’t take things further.

He said he’d ran for council to expose corruption and incompetence. “I’ve done that.”

The end to action in his case would mean less opportunity for him to demonstrate to the public the way the council operated, Bydder said.