Taupō councillor John Boddy to be censured for racist slur

Cr John Boddy at a public meeting last year. Photo / File

Taupō District Councillor John Boddy is to be officially censured over his use of a racist expression during a council meeting in June.

It was one of two decisions made by a Code of Conduct committee who met today to consider the complaints received in response to the comment being made.

The committee, made up of deputy mayor Christine Rankin, and independent Audit and Risk Committee members Anthony Byett and Danny Loughlin, have also agreed to accept his offer to make a formal apology.

Cr Boddy also said he accepts the independent investigator's finding that he breached the Taupō District Council's Code of Conduct by uttering the word at the meeting on June 30.

Chair Anthony Byett said both parties had accepted there had been a breach of the council's Code of Conduct and that it was not a premeditated comment.

However, the Code of Conduct was a mechanism for setting the standard of behaviour for council members and any breach was required to be taken seriously, he said.

The committee considered the report from independent investigator Lachlan Muldowney and hear submissions from Cr Boddy's lawyer Steven Price. Cr Boddy was also given the opportunity to speak, and apologised again for "a racist expression from another era".

Cr Boddy used the phrase "n***** in the woodpile" during a Taupō District Council meeting on June 30 as he prepared to address concerns with the council's annual plan. He apologised immediately, corrected it to "elephant in the room" and then apologised again a few minutes afterwards when asked to by Taupō mayor David Trewavas.

Following the meeting, several councillors and staff, including chief executive Gareth Green made Code of Conduct complaints.

Taupō District Council in session. Photo / TDC

At the hearing today, Mr Price said Cr Boddy accepted Mr Muldowney's finding. He also accepted that the use of the phrase was deeply offensive and had no place in society. He welcomed Mr Muldowney's findings that the comment was not premeditated, that it may have been a slip of the tongue, that Cr Boddy immediately realised the error and tried to correct it, that he repeatedly and genuinely apologised for it and had never tried to justify it.

Mr Muldowney's report found that Cr Boddy's actions brought the Taupō District Council into disrepute but Mr Price's submission was that that was somewhat offset by the fact that it was a slip of the tongue and immediately corrected and apologised for.

The submission went on to say that although the remark was originally said to a very limited number of people present and watching the council livestream, it was the mayor who issued a press release and gave "inflammatory and exaggerated interviews about it, giving it much wider currency and a significantly worse spin".

With the finding accepted, it remained for the ad hoc committee, which comprised chairman Anthony Byett, deputy mayor Christine Rankin (who had been absent from the June 30 council meeting) and member Danny Loughlin to decide what penalty should be imposed.

Mr Price submitted that Cr Boddy and his family had suffered public humiliation and negative effects and that further negative publicity would follow. He had already been censured by the mayor and in the media.

He suggested the committee could decide that no further penalty was required, or that if it wanted to impose a further penalty, it could ask Cr Boddy to write a formal letter of apology in terms acceptable to the committee and also issue it as a public statement.

When committee chairman Anthony Byett asked Mr Muldowney what he thought an appropriate penalty should be, Mr Muldowney said Cr Boddy had already experienced some very serious consequences. However some of the most relevant options to consider were a formal letter of censure and a private or public apology. Beyond that, Mr Muldowney said, there were other options such as Cr Boddy attending a relevant training course, or working with a mentor for a period of time.

Taupō district councillor John Boddy. Photo / TDC

These last two suggestions brought laughter and some comment from the public gallery of around 35 people, which brought a reprimand from the committee chairman and a plea from Cr Boddy for people to remain courteous.

Cr Boddy apologised again for using the phrase and said it had had significant negative effects on him. The wait of just under 60 days for the hearing had also been "unbelievable".

Outside the meeting, Cr Boddy's supporters defended him as a hard worker who was not afraid to ask questions. When asked why they had laughed at the idea of Cr Boddy attending training or having a mentor, one said the idea was "ridiculous".