Resignation at Cera 'insensitive'

Roger Sutton

Shock that Sutton had platform at place misconduct happened and that complainant appeared forgotten.

Adecision to allow shamed Canterbury earthquake recovery boss Roger Sutton to quit at a tearful press conference in the same building he sexually harassed a female worker has been criticised for its "shocking insensitivity".

The senior Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) staff member, whose claims of sexual harassment were upheld by the State Services Commission (SSC), was working inside the Christchurch headquarters on Monday when Mr Sutton's now infamous resignation speech was held.

State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie said although Mr Sutton's actions amounted to serious misconduct he found that the charges did not warrant a sacking.

He met the complainant shortly before Mr Sutton revealed he was resigning.

Mr Rennie apologised to the complainant - who has refused to comment all week, honouring an SSC-imposed confidentiality agreement - for the "hurt and distress" she experienced. As planned, the worker then left the Cera office, which is inside the 12-storey HSBC Tower building, before Mr Sutton arrived.

Monday's 1.30pm press conference was organised and run by SSC. A team from Wellington, including Mr Rennie and advisers, flew to Christchurch on Monday morning.

Originally, it was understood that any press conference involving Mr Sutton that day would be held away from Cera's offices, given the sensitive nature of the allegations. However, SSC staff chose to hire a room from one of the other businesses, albeit on another floor.

"It was all kept pretty quiet, with only those who had to be in the know up to speed with what was going on," an insider said.

However, sources have told of their shock that the SSC allowed Mr Sutton a platform to give his side of the story in the same place where he conducted his serious misconduct.

Another source said the handling of the resignation showed "no consideration for the feelings of [the complainant] at all".

"We're just shocked at the insensitivity of it all."

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said there was "no rational or sane explanation" why the SSC held a press conference for Mr Sutton to defend himself.

"When did you ever see the accused appearing on a bench with the judge?"

He said Mr Rennie had questions to answer over why he held the press conference and then consequently accused Mr Sutton of breaching his confidentiality agreement.

Mr Rennie yesterday refused to answer when asked whether he should resign over his handling of the affair.

State Services Minister Paula Bennett said she had asked for and received an assurance from the commissioner that his investigation had been thorough.

Meanwhile, the actress sister-in-law of Mr Sutton has defended him against allegations of sexual harassment on social media. Robyn Malcolm, the sister of Mr Sutton's wife, Jo Malcolm, became embroiled in a social media debate about his actions after posting her support for him on Twitter.