Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark with comedian Guy Williams. Photo / Three
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark with comedian Guy Williams. Photo / Three
An independent review slates mayor for “reckless” behaviour in using the n-word several times - and a homophobic slur - during a television interview with comedian Guy Williams.
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark has been found guilty of breaching his council’s code of conduct for a second time, following a trainwreckinterview with TV personality Guy Williams, in which he cited the n-word several times and used a homophobic slur.
His future as mayor is in the spotlight again although he seems determined to hang on to the mayoral chains - even if he’s asked to resign.
An independent investigation released late on Tuesday says the mayor “failed to meet an appropriate standard of leadership for other members of council and for the people of Invercargill”.
It found he had breached the council’s code of conduct on four counts.
It follows the interview with Williams on the satirical news show New Zealand Today in March. During the interview, aired on Three, Clark explicitly cites the n-word several times, in the context of why it was okay to be used by artists and performers. The interview followed similar comments Clark had made at a public event a year earlier.
Williams tried to explain to Clark why the word was inappropriate - and why it was all right to use the word queer.
Clark repeatedly asked Williams if he was homosexual, as he “tended towards minority groups ... well, bent over towards them”.
Nobby Clark's future as mayor is in the spotlight again. Photo / ODT/Supplied.
The independent report, by law firm Wynn Williams, says: “Whatever Mayor Clark’s subjective intention or purpose may have been, we find that his language and other conduct in the interview was objectively offensive, demeaning and discriminatory.
“Further, we find that Mayor Clark was, at the very least, reckless as to the effect of his conduct.
“In other words, Mayor Clark must have been and was in fact aware that his language and other conduct would be regarded as offensive, demeaning and discriminatory by members of the public, but he chose to conduct himself in this manner regardless.”
The report, written by Wynn Williams partner Joshua Shaw, said it was important to step back and consider the featured portions of the interview as a whole.
“The overall impression given was of a Mayor who is deliberately and gratuitously provocative, who is willing to use racial and homophobic slurs and implications recklessly, and who does so with little to no regard for how offensive such language and behaviour is likely to be to members of the public at large and minority communities in particular.”
Ahead of the release of the independent report, Clark told journalist Logan Savory - who runs the Southland Tribune - that he regretted the interview with Williams.
Nobby Clark says he now regrets saying yes to an interview with Guy Williams. Photo / Three
“They interviewed me for more than an hour and a half, probably closer to two hours, and what you saw was five and half minutes,” he told Savory.
“It was cut and pasted horribly, and it portrayed some horrible things, so I acknowledge that … In hindsight I wish I’d never done the interview; it has detracted horribly from what we are trying to do.
“But it is water under the bridge, I can’t reverse it now. My colleagues will make decisions when they do make decisions.”
When approached today via a phone call message and then a text, Clark responded via text: “I’ve got no comments.”
Next steps
The independent report raises several options for the council.
It will hold an extraordinary meeting on Friday to discuss the matter.
The report recommends, as a minimum, that councillors send a letter of censure to Clark “to denounce the relevant conduct”; and that council requests Clark to publicly apologise.
“We do not consider that the public apology already made by Mayor Clark adequately acknowledges the seriousness of the breaches or the harm caused,” says the report.
It also recommends the council seriously consider further penalties and actions including:
“Taking steps to restrict Mayor Clark’s duties, particularly the public-facing aspects of his role or those involving media comment. Such a restriction could be for a specified period or until such time as Mayor Clark undertakes targeted education or training”;
A vote of no confidence in Clark;
An invitation to Clark to consider resigning as mayor.
“These options are particularly relevant if council is satisfied that Mayor Clark is at risk of repeating similar behaviour in the future,” says the report.
“The pattern of conduct described combined with the failure to acknowledge wrongdoing may well lead to such a conclusion.”
The independent inquiry followed formal complaints from councillors Ian Pottinger and Ria Bond after the Williams TV interview.
Clark declined to be interviewed for the inquiry.
Guy Williams. Photo / Supplied
Second breach
Clark was earlier found guilty of breaching the council’s code of conduct following comments he made at another event, last July, at a dinner for the United Fire Brigades Association.
An independent report by lawyer and former journalist Linda Clark found he had breached the code by denigrating a female MC and mocking guests.
Nobby Clark told councillors at an earlier meeting that he would not resign.
At the time, he said: “Over four years as deputy mayor and now as mayor I’ve spoken at over 300 meetings and a third of those are public meetings. I accept that on two occasions - one being the subject of this complaint - I did not perform well.”
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
