Mayor laughs off reports he insists on being called 'Your Worship'

Westland Mayor Bruce Smith has laughed off media reports claiming he's a bully. Photo/File

Westland District Council mayor Bruce Smith has made light of allegations of bullying and claims staff have been ordered to call him "Your Worship".

The South Island politician has been accused of using abusive language and acting aggressively toward council staff since he was elected last year.

In the latest twist, emails leaked to Fairfax paint Smith as a bully who humiliates staff and insists they call him "Your Worship".

Speaking to ZM radio hosts Jase and PJ today, a jocular Smith downplayed the story, claiming it was "a beat up" but one he wasn't taking too seriously.

The emails were sent in late 2016 between Smith, his councillors, and then-council chief executive Tanya Winter as well as others outside of the organisation. In one email Winter said Smith had threatened to leak information to the media if staff did not respond promptly to his demands. "If we are tardy in responding we can expect something in the media we maybe didn't want, because the mayor will go ahead and get info there whether we are ready or not," Winter wrote in the email,

Fairfax

reported.

In December deputy mayor Helen Lash complained about Smith's treatment of council staff, according to Fairfax.

"I'm not comfortable with staff (eg. Museum) being referred to and commented on to the level seen at the last meeting," she wrote.

"This was embarrassing and humiliating to them. They have been loyal and dedicated employees that have done nothing to deserve the kind of condemnation they received at the meeting."

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Smith told ZM he thought the article was "a real hoot".

"In fact when I first saw the article on Fairfax I've been grinning ever since, I think it's great," he said.

A "nice reporter" had contacted him by email but Smith said he had declined to comment.

Then, Smith said, "I open the paper on Sunday and there's this beat-up - it's awesome."

Smith told the radio hosts when he arrived at work on Monday morning some staff greeted him by his first name.

"I said to them 'You have got to be joking, I am Your Worship'."

In April this year West Coast MP Damien O'Connor said he was seeking an urgent investigation into allegations that Smith had been aggressive and abusive toward council staff.

Last year Smith was also caught out when he gave a speech to children from Kumara School plagiarising a speech by Barack Obama.