Police release further details on Tim Shadbolt’s driver licence suspension

Former Invercargill mayor Tim Shadbolt. Photo / Gregor Richardson

Police have released additional information about former-Invercargill Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt’s driver licence suspension following a lengthy Ombudsman review.

In April 2021, the nine-time Invercargill mayor lost his licence, but both Shadbolt and police refused to provide information on what transpired.

An Official Information Act request lodged with police not long after the incident was declined on the basis of privacy.

But this month, the Ombudsman ruled that police should have released “some minor details and contextual information in the public interest”.

As a result, police have revealed they issued Shadbolt with a road safety directive after observing his driving behaviour and noting his responses to questions after pulling him over.

The directive also notified Shadbolt that the circumstances would be referred to NZTA for a review under the Land Transport Act 1998.

The following month, Stuff reported Waka Kotahi had informed them Shadbolt’s licence was suspended.

“Police initiated a medical assessment referral to Waka Kotahi. This medical assessment referral process is undertaken when police are concerned that the driver is not medically fit to drive,” a police spokesperson said.

A medical assessment can be made for a number of reasons, including temporary or permanent conditions such as injury, medication or permanent impairment or illness.

Shadbolt was not driving a publicly funded vehicle when stopped by police, nor was he undertaking mayoral duties at the time, police said.

In an August 2021 TVNZ feature on Shadbolt, his partner Asha Dutt said the suspension occurred because the mayor swerved through a roundabout and failed to stop on yellow lines when asked by police.

Shadbolt was contacted for comment on the recent information released by police but did not wish to respond.

In October, the 75-year-old sought a tenth term as mayor of Invercargill, but ended up finishing fifth, losing out to deputy Nobby Clark.

Shadbolt’s final term was marred by a highly-publicised falling out with his own council.

In November 2020, a damning independent review of the council prompted by the Department of Internal Affairs found Shadbolt was struggling to fulfil major aspects of his job.

After losing his licence in April 2021, he revealed he was struggling with muscle tension dysphonia — a common voice disorder that prevents the voice box from working efficiently.

In August 2021, he was criticised for storing a number of personal items in council-owned buildings around the city.

That same month, he claimed he had been left “traumatised” by bullying behind closed doors, and sought legal advice after an email was intercepted and used against him in a public-excluded meeting.

A $10,000 independent review into the council’s electronic policies resulted in an apology from council chief executive Clare Hadley.

Shadbolt’s year ended with a disagreement with council staff over his annual Christmas card mailout, and confusion over why a replacement phone had never made it to him as he “soldiered on” with one that was “barely functional”.