Law firm run by Christchurch mayor's husband scraps offer to lobby politicians for water bottler Cloud Ocean Water

Monday, 11 March 2019

Rob Davidson, pictured here with his wife Mayor Lianne Dalziel in 2016, said he was unaware his firm offered to lobby politicians on behalf of client Cloud Ocean Water.

A law firm representing Cloud Ocean Water and run by the husband of Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel has scrapped an offer to lobby politicians on the bottling company's behalf, after being contacted by Stuff.

Documents acquired by Stuff show Davidson Legal initially offered to help broker relationships between the China-owned water bottler and politicians in both local and central government.

It said it could do so because of the long-standing political connections of staff members.

Rob Davidson, who runs Davidson Legal and has been married to Dalziel since 2000, initially denied that either he or his firm had ever offered to undertake political lobbying for Cloud Ocean or any other client, when contacted by Stuff. 'That is a line we do not cross.'

Rob Davidson has been married to Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel since 2000.

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Cloud Ocean Water is embroiled in a legal dispute over whether it can rely on the transfer of old water consents for its water bottling factory in Belfast.

But he later acknowledged it had happened after discovering an email containing exactly such a proposal from his firm – which specialises in property, immigration and employment law – to Cloud Ocean.

He said he had not been aware of the lobbying offer.

Lobbying neither took place nor was requested by Cloud Ocean, he added, and promised that new documents would be issued to the company with the offer removed.

Lianne Dalziel said she has never been approached by her husband for lobbying purposes.

Davidson, who is the father of city councillor Mike Davidson, said the offer was in a document written by a colleague and 'not something that I approved', adding: 'I consider the comment to be totally inappropriate'.

Dalziel said she had 'never' been approached by her husband lobbying for his clients, saying: 'We have always been ethical in terms of potential conflicts of interest.'

Mike Davidson also said his father had never approached him about Cloud Ocean.

There is no suggestion either were aware of the law firm's offer to its client.

Cloud Ocean, which intends to export millions of litres of Canterbury's water from its bottling factory in Belfast, currently has a resource consent application being considered by the city council for a second plant on Belfast Rd.

The contentious offer was part of a written document from Davidson Legal to Cloud Ocean within the last year. Stuff/The Press is not publishing details of the document to protect the identity of sources.

Cloud Ocean Water said it never asked for Davidson Legal to make political approaches on its behalf.

The information did not come from anyone who has ever worked for either company.

Davidson said the document was written by a colleague in relation to a proposal from his law firm to develop a 'productive industrial relations strategy' for Cloud Ocean and its employees.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, pictured with her husband Rob Davidson, confirmed she would run for a third term.

He said he 'did not peruse the proposal in detail' at the time.

'In carefully reviewing the document today I have noticed that it does contain a reference to our firm being available to undertake political lobbying of local and central government politicians and to utilise our political connections.

'This is not something that I approved and I consider the comment to be totally inappropriate.

Rob Davidson's son, Christchurch city councillor Mike Davidson, said they did not cross 'certain boundaries' in their relationship.

'In addition, political lobbying is not something our firm engages in and I am very clear that we would never utilise our political connections in this manner.'

Dalziel became Christchurch's mayor in 2013 after spending 23 years as a Labour MP in the city, during which time she was both commerce and immigration minister under prime minister Helen Clark.

She said she has always managed conflicts of interest ethically, saying that when she became immigration minister in 1999 she informed the Cabinet Secretary, and Davidson did not carry out any immigration work while she was in the role.

'Nothing has changed in terms of our approach since I became mayor. We have clear boundaries and we have always maintained them.'

Dalziel, who announced in December she would run for a third term as mayor at this year's local elections following her husband's positive response to cancer treatment, has previously spoken of her dismay at Cloud Ocean's plans to take Christchurch's water.

She told Stuff in an interview last month that while she does not have a position on the individual company, she has concerns over the transfer of historic water consents, which the bottling firm is relying on and is currently being challenged in court.

Cloud Ocean's New Zealand-based director Feng Liang declined to comment, but a spokesman said the company had 'never asked' for the lobbying offer and 'never took it up'.

Mike Davidson told Stuff: 'I have a very good relationship with my father but certain boundaries are not crossed.

'My record whenever votes come up is very clear that I'm a strong supporter of our water rights as a city.

'Some of the impacts that these water bottling companies and other users of water are having on us are detrimental to our city supply.

'I have a feeling if my father asked me he'd know exactly what answer he'd get.'