Sacked Northland honorary fishery officer demands inquiry

MPI sacked Chris for not immediately backing out of an inspection at Taiharuru but he disputes the claim. Photo/Michael Cunningham

A Government ministry is refusing to explain why it sacked a volunteer fishery officer in Northland, days after standing him down before firing him for good.

Chris, who asked his surname not be used, was initially stood down, then stripped of his warrant for not immediately backing out of an inspection after he was threatened with a knife near Whangarei Heads on December 6, last year.

He and a trainee fisheries officer were asked to inspect a group of eight to 10 people who had allegedly been gathering sacks of crayfish and kina from the area for at least the previous three days.

A man from the group threatened to murder Chris, aged 75, after he told them some of the catch may be illegal.

MPI said he should have withdrawn immediately, but Chris argued that, given the situation, he could not as it would have meant turning his back on a man with a knife.

Without warning, Chris received a phone call from MPI's Whangarei office on December 8 saying, without explanation, that he was stood down with immediate effect and was then sacked a week later.

Chris said MPI district compliance manager for Northland, Stephen Rudsdale's action was wrong as he did not have the power to sack him under the Fisheries Act 1996.

Six days later, he received a call at home from a senior MPI official in Auckland to say his sacking had been substituted to a "stand down" pending a full inquiry – which still has not happened.

In a meeting between Chris, his advocate and two MPI officials in Whangarei in February it was agreed that he be allowed to return to work immediately and that the MPI apologise to him in writing.

There were other conditions, none of which, Chris and his advocate say, were honoured by MPI.

Instead, he says, the local office reneged on an agreement to allow him back at work. MPI instead required him to undertake extra training and mentoring – actions he says were vindictive and designed to humiliate him and to force him to leave.

In a letter to Chris shortly after the meeting, MPI manager fisheries compliance in Auckland Greg Keys apologised for the termination of his honorary fisheries status.

However Chris received a letter from Gary Orr, manager compliance investigations at MPI, on April 18 advising him of his removal from office and revocation of his warrant.

Orr said despite MPI's best efforts it was apparent the ministry's ability to have a constructive and ongoing relationship with Chris was no longer possible.

Chris disputes this, saying he had been working over 100 hours, unpaid every month, he had done thousands of inspections, and had correctly dealt with the incident near
Whangarei Heads.

He called for an independent inquiry into the incident and the way MPI had treated him.
MPI has refused to comment other than saying it was a private matter between Chris and the ministry.

Both Chris' advocate, Neil Dobbs, and his lawyer say he has been treated appallingly but, because he is a volunteer, he has no redress under employment legislation.

* A 46-year-old Dargaville man, Parakoti Engu, was charged in relation to threatening the volunteer fishery officer with a knife and plead guilty to a charge of threatening behaviour and possession of a knife and was sentenced to 40 hours' community work.