Wellington City Council CEO won’t investigate Ray Chung over lewd Tory Whanau email

Wellington City Council’s chief executive says he does not condone Ray Chung’s offensive sex and drugs gossip email about Mayor Tory Whanau, but won’t take the matter further.

Council CEO Matt Prosser said last week he was looking into a possible code of conduct breach after it was revealed Chung had sent an email to fellow councillors in 2023 sharing a rumour of Tory Whanau having drug-fuelled “tempestuous sex” and making reference to her having “pendulous, soft breasts”.

Prosser has received 10 complaints about Chung, who is running for the Wellington mayoralty, regarding the email.

A number of those complaints relate to the council’s code of conduct, Prosser earlier said.

Now, Prosser said he has “decided to draw the matter to a close” after speaking to the mayor and Chung about the email scandal.

“I have spoken to councillor Chung, who has told me that he understands that the email constituted a lapse of personal judgement and failed to show respect for others in his role as councillor,” Prosser said in a statement today.

Whanau said last week that Chung had apologised to her over the unsavoury message.

Coucillor Ray Chung during a rally against Wellington City Council’s Golden Mile project. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“The mayor advised me that she has accepted the apology from Cr Chung, and that she does not wish for a Code of Conduct investigation to be undertaken and to instead focus on working as a cohesive council to deliver for the city for the remainder of the triennium,” Prosser said.

“On that basis, I have decided to draw this matter to a close.”

Prosser said, however, he does not condone the behaviour.

He said following the upcoming local elections in October, councillors will receive an induction “highlighting the importance of good conduct in their role”.

“I am working with senior members of my team to ensure that this onboarding is as thorough as possible.”

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau in her council office. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Whanau earlier said the email is an example of the “dehumanising” personal attacks she has experienced during her term as Wellington’s mayor and part of the reason she is not running for the mayoralty again.

Upon the email being revealed, Whanau said she did not think Chung was fit for the mayoralty based on this email and other public comments he has made over the past few months.

She said those comments included Chung saying she was “full of s***” in a Newstalk ZB interview.

Chung’s mayoral campaign has taken a hit following the release of the email, with the loss of a key rich-list backer and three candidates running on his ticket ending their association with Chung’s campaign group afterwards.

Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. Ethan can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.