Formal police warning issued to Nelson city councillor

Thursday, 1 April 2021

Police have given a formal written warning to a city councillor following an incident involving an elderly protester.

Nelson City Councillor Tim Skinner was accused of assaulting a protester in March, during an Extinction Rebellion protest outside Civic House.

Mayor Rachel Reese has advised that a code of conduct investigation is now under way.

The protester laid a complaint with police. In a written statement, police said that complaint had been investigated and resolved.

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Councillor Tim Skinner (right) has received a formal police written warning.

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“Following a thorough investigation, one person has today been issued a written formal warning in respect of an alleged assault,” police said.

Councillor Tim Skinner said he was “glad common sense has prevailed”.

Nelson Bays Area Commander Inspector Paul Borrell said “a number of factors are taken into consideration when determining such outcomes, including general circumstances and seriousness.

“I am satisfied that this complaint has been resolved in an appropriate manner, in accordance with police guidelines as they relate to formal warnings and resolutions alternate to court prosecutions.”

Reese has made a public apology to the woman.

“Now that the police investigation has concluded, I intend to extend an invitation to meet with the woman who made this complaint … I publicly apologise to her that she has been involved in a distressing interaction with an elected member of Nelson City Council.”

Mayor Rachel Reese (right) has laid a formal Code of Conduct complaint against councillor Tim Skinner. It will be investigated by Deputy Mayor Judene Edgar.

The woman, in her early 70s, was chained to a door at Civic House as part of an Extinction Rebellion protest against the council’s use of glyphosate, a controversial weed-killer.

Skinner said at the time he was simply trying to access Civic House and did not realise the protester was chained to the door, despite an email an hour earlier from Reese warning councillors not to approach Civic House or interact with the protesters.

On Thursday, Skinner said he was “glad common sense has prevailed” and no charges were laid against him.

“There was no ‘shoulder charge’ as originally alleged … I was not aware that the protestor was chained to the same door that I was attempting to open, so as to attend an important council meeting.”

Skinner said he was “always open to discussing matters affecting our community, such as the use of glyphosate.

“I have protested against the use of poisons in public reserves myself. I hope that the protester and I get to meet and discuss matters soon.”

Reese said in a statement she was greatly concerned by the incident.

“I feel very strongly that all members of the public should be able to rely on a high standard of behaviour from elected members.”

Reese said under the Nelson City Council Code of Conduct, which all councillors are bound by, elected members had a responsibility to “ensure their interactions with citizens and communities both uphold the local authority's reputation and are fair, honest and respectful”.

“Having received a police warning, I believe that Councillor Tim Skinner's behaviour falls short of this standard, and I will be initiating a Code of Conduct complaint.”

She said due to the “guiding principle” of privacy during the code of conduct process, she would be making no other comment on the investigation, but that the result of the process would be made public unless there were grounds under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act for it to be kept secret.

Deputy Mayor Judene Edgar will investigate the complaint, as specified in the council's Code of Conduct process.