Concert promoter and council candidate Phil Sprey. Photo / Sotheany Ream
Concert promoter and council candidate Phil Sprey. Photo / Sotheany Ream
The knives are out in the Lower Hutt local body elections with a council candidate blaming opponents for alleging an assault charge against him at a mayoral candidates meeting.
Concert promoter Phil Sprey has rubbished claims he shoulder-charged former councillor Max Shierlaw, saying he only brushed up against him ashe tried to squeeze sideways past him and two other men blocking an aisle.
"There was no pushing or shoving or shoulder charge," Sprey said.
The incident has widened into claims Shierlaw posted an image on social media showing a knife hanging over Mayor Ray Wallace and councillor Glenda Barratt, and Wallace weighing in by accusing Shierlaw of spreading vitriol on social media.
The police have been called in twice, for the social media posting and the alleged assault.
The alleged assault by Sprey on Shierlaw saw the police speak to both parties and resolve the matter without any action. Police have spoken with Shierlaw over the posting, but it is unclear if the matter has been resolved. Police declined to comment.
The last election was ho-hum, said Wallace, but he claims this election has been particularly nasty and included threats against some women candidates.
The alleged assault appears to involve warring factions on council, with Shierlaw, councillor Josh Briggs and council candidate Chris Parkin insisting Sprey gave the former councillor a good barge at the end of the mayoral meeting. Shierlaw and Briggs also alleged Sprey said to them "the knives are out".
"It was clear deliberate barge in the back," claimed Shierlaw, who said Sprey is on the mayor's team of preferred candidates and "I don't support Ray Wallace".
Sprey said he was immediately confronted by Briggs for pushing Shierlaw, but said "I'm sorry I wasn't aware of that. If I did I apologise."
He said any reference he made to a knife related to the social media posting showing a knife over the heads of Wallace and Barratt.
Shierlaw, who lost his seat on council in 2016, strongly denied putting up the post, saying anything to that affect has been forged.
Wallace said he did not see the alleged assault, but Shierlaw and two associates were blocking the aisle when he squeezed past. Sprey, "who is a big boy, might have struggled to get past", he said.
"I don't believe for a moment he has assaulted Shierlaw," Wallace said.
The mayor claimed Shierlaw had a reputation for vile postings on Facebook and referred to an incident in 2014 where the councillor at the time posted an image on Facebook of two Muslim women, dressed in burqa, alongside two black plastic bin-liners.
Shierlaw said he posted it because he thought it was funny, but it drew criticism from the Islamic Women's Council of New Zealand and others and was deleted.
