Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry and eight colleagues call for resignation of fellow councillor, having 'completely lost confidence'

Tuesday, 2 March 2021

Hutt City Councillor Chris Milne in 2019 complained police should be spending their time on more important things than ticketing people not wearing seatbelts in carparks after his wife was tickteted. He has again found himself in hot water.

A Hutt City councillor found in 'material and serious' breach of standards has been sent a letter signed by nine others around the council table calling for his resignation.

'We have completely lost confidence in you as a Hutt City councillor, and ask that you resign from your role as a Hutt City councillor immediately,” the letter, obtained by Stuff, sent to councillor Chris Milne said on February 24.

Responding on Tuesday, Milne said he would not resign.

Mayor Campbell Barry, as well as Deputy Mayor Tui Lewis and seven councillors – Simon Edwards, Josh Briggs, Andy Mitchell, Naomi Shaw, Deborah Hislop, Brady Dyer, and Keri Brown – all signed the letter calling for Milne’s resignation.

Milne on Tuesday sent Stuff the response – signed by him as well as councillors Leigh Sutton and David Bassett – denying the claims against him and calling for Barry to stand down, so an investigation could be made into allegations about him.

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Nine members of Hutt City Council have called for the resignation of councillor Chris Milne, pictured here in 2020.

Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry says Milne’s counter allegations against him are a baseless deflection.

For legal reasons, Stuff has chosen not to outline the allegations, which Barry described on Tuesday as “baseless and a deflection”.

The council has confirmed there was no active code of conduct complaints against Barry.

Hutt City Councillors met in October to decide Chris Milne’s fate.

Milne’s breaches relate to two separate complaints made against him to the council's chief executive by Deputy Mayor Lewis in May 2020.

The first accused Milne of interfering with the council's waste and recycling tender process, while the second alleged an ongoing conflict of interest while the council considered selling land for the benefit of Hutt Valley Tennis. Milne's wife is president of Hutt Valley Tennis Association.

Independent investigator Leo Donnelly, a former Ombudsman, found Milne had breached rules in a way that were “material and serious and should be drawn to the attention of, and considered by [Hutt City] Council”.

Milne was ordered to make an unreserved apology, undergo training, and pay $16,500 towards the cost of the $27,500-plus-GST investigation.

Milne refused to apologise and said his own legal advice was that the penalties were invalid. He claimed the council’s actions were “payback” for grievances against him. He also refused to pay towards the cost of the investigation.

The nine-signatory letter said that, while councillors would not always agree, they all wanted to make the Hutt Valley a better place.

“To that end, we expect to listen to one another, respect differences of opinion, and work professionally and collaboratively to get things done for Lower Hutt,” it said.

“Your conduct over the past year has been at direct odds with these expectations, and has made the work of council challenging and unpleasant.”

It alleged Milne’s treatment of council chief executive Jo Miller was “completely unacceptable” and reached the level of bullying and harassment.

Milne had been given the opportunity to atone but had refused. His conduct had worsened during the past six months, the letter claimed.

He had effectively “checked out” of council duties, including missing all nine council briefings since October 7. He had also missed all virtual meetings and training sessions in that time, the letter said.

Council records show Milne attended two council meetings in December but had not been to any committee meetings. Online records don’t cover 2021 meetings but councillor Brady Dyer told Stuff Milne had missed all but one meeting this year.

Milne said the allegations of bullying were “deeply upsetting and completely wrong”, and he could not think of an incident that would be classed as harassment.

Councillors Sutton and Bassett both confirmed their support for Milne and stood by their statements that Barry should step down while he was investigated. They said Milne was not a bully.