Dalziel endorses council leaks: “unfit to govern”

Media Release: Rik Tindall, Christchurch mayoral candidate, New Zealand

7 October, 2013

The acting Christchurch City Council chief executive Jane Parfitt has had the privacy of her employment and remuneraton negotiations breached. Parfitt's predecessor Tony Marryatt suffered the same exposure in 2011. This put Marryatt in the position of having to withhold sensitive information from councillors he could not trust, which eventually forced him out.

Yet a confidential report to council on Parfitt's employment package last week became news, so relations between Council and their staff are not improving. One mayoral candidate, however, is committed to resolving the matter, to rebuild the essential trust and forestall government intervention due to loss of faith in the Council's competency.

Rik Tindall is campaigning to unite Christchurch around a higher standard of integrity from Council leadership. “A code of conduct exists to guide councillor actions, that all have signed up to, but this is clearly being breached in an unproductive way,” Tindall says.

Outgoing councillor Peter Beck warned against misbehaviour by elected representatives in his opinion piece for The Press last week: “banish hidden agendas, to forge a robust and collaborative relationship with council staff... [that] agreed confidentiality is abided by is an absolute bottom line."

“It is urgent that Christchurch votes support behind Councillor Beck's call now, to bring ethics back to the decision-making table,” Tindall says. “To move Christchurch forward, we cannot elect a mayor who shows contempt for ethical standards.”

Last Monday, at the Englefield Residents' Association election forum, Tindall quizzed mayoral front-runner Lianne Dalziel over the source of the Christchurch City document leaks. Her loud reply was "Who cares?" Tindall has no confidence in Dalziel's ability to unify and lead the city, consequently.

“Lianne has learned nothing from her disgrace and resignation from Cabinet in 2004, when she was forced to take responsibility for leaking an asylum seeker's confidential information,” Tindall points out. “Dalziel's main campaign support, MP Ruth Dyson, makes plain their joint approval of the city council confidentiality breaches. This plays into the public's fair demand for better information from council, but in a most destructive way,” Tindall explains.

“The Council is obliged to always be a good employer and to protect the natural person and the privacy of its employees,” Tindall says. “Dalziel's determination to ignore this important rule makes her simply unfit to govern,” he concludes. “Christchurch voters expect high integrity from the city Mayor.”

Voting in the local body elections closes this Saturday, 12 October, at 12pm.

ENDS

References: http://issuu.com/the.star/docs/113277cs The Star Weekend 04-10-13, p.1

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/9244543/Council-boss-may-get-pay-rise

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/regch/2006661115-christchurch-city-council-votes-on-acting-ceo-s-allowance

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/perspective/9237638/Beck-reflects-on-council-experience The Press 3/10/2013

“Helen Clark Announces Dalziel Resignation” http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0402/S00352.htm

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