Wairoa mayor was prepared to defend alleged sexual harassment before the complaint was withdrawn

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little steadfastly denied 2017 sexual harassment allegations made against him and was prepared to defend them but they were withdrawn. Photo / Warren Buckland

Wairoa's mayor steadfastly denied 2017 sexual harassment allegations made against him and was prepared to defend them, but they were withdrawn.

A statement issued on behalf of Wairoa Mayor Craig Little on Wednesday said he had: "vehemently denied any breach of the code of conduct and was prepared to defend himself in the course of the independent investigation but was denied that opportunity because the complaint was withdrawn.

"We will leave it to you to draw your own conclusions as to the veracity of the complaint in those circumstances."

Details of a Code of Conduct allegation against Little were released publicly this week.

Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier had earlier ruled it was in the public interest for a summary of the council's investigative actions taken around the 2017 allegation, which was withdrawn, to be made public in the interests of transparency.

A female employee had complained to Wairoa District Council's chief executive officer in 2017 that Little had behaved in a manner which breached the council's code of conduct's standards of ethical behaviour.

The investigation and associated legal costs and payment to the employee, who left under mutual agreement, totalled $55,000.

Stuff reported the investigation was sparked by a female employee after she complained to Wairoa District Council's chief executive officer about Little's alleged behaviour towards her in mid-2017.

The complainant claimed the Mayor's behaviour breached the standards of ethical behaviour and the respect for others outlined in the council's code of conduct.

A preliminary assessment of the complaint by council concluded a full investigation was warranted and an independent investigator was instructed to carry this out.

But before that went ahead the employee, who no longer works at the council, withdrew the complaint and said they had no objection to the council ceasing the investigation and taking no further action.

The council spent $55,652 which also included an undisclosed sum paid in compensation to the complainant as well as legal fees incurred by the council and the complainant.

Little's statement on Wednesday also said: "The reality is that any allegation of a breach of a Council's Code of Conduct triggers a requirement to undertake an appropriate and independent process to investigate that complaint.

"That involves the appointment of an independent investigator and inevitably involves both Council and the complainant seeking legal advice," the statement read.

"All of that comes at a cost to Council. That is a cost of the democratic systems that we have in place.

"Further, in this case the complainant was an employee.

"Having made a complaint against the mayor and then subsequently withdrawing that complaint after the independent investigation had begun and after legal advice had been received, the continued employment relationship was untenable.

"The employee's resignation was negotiated by mutual agreement. Mayor Little was not involved in those negotiations.

"Throughout the Code of Conduct complaint and the employment negotiations, Mayor Little has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and the withdrawal of the complaint during the independent investigation process would support that position.''