Nobby Clark’s second code of conduct breach ‘reckless, insulting’

Wednesday, 24 July 2024

Embattled Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark has for a second time been found to have breached his council’s code of conduct.

He now faces his second extraordinary council meeting in just over a month, on July 26, to determine potential penalties.

These could include the council asking him to resign, passing a vote of no confidence, or again seeking him to step back from public speaking duties.

The council commissioned law firm Wynn Williams to investigate a complaint from councillors Ria Bond and Ian Pottinger that Clark breached the code during an interview with TV comedian Guy Williams, which screened in March.

It centred around his earlier, explicit use of the n-word, as an example of language he said should not be considered defensible when used by artists, and during subsequent defence of his actions.

The ruling, just released, follows a separate investigation by lawyer Linda Clark, which found he breached the conduct code during a badly received speech in March to a United Fire Brigades Association gathering, which included personal remarks about the female MC.

The council met on June 21 and resolved to not ask him to resign, but censured him, sought a public apology, and asked him to step back from external public speaking engagements.

Clark agreed to the apology, but rebuffed restrictions on his public speaking duties.

He has repeatedly made clear he has no intention of resigning.

Wynn Williams partner Joshua Shaw found that whatever Clark’s subjective intention or purpose was for the Guy Williams interview, “his language and other conduct was objectively offensive, demeaning and discriminatory”.

“Mayor Clark was, at the very least, reckless as to the effect of his conduct.

“[He] must have been, and was, in fact, aware that his language and other conduct would be regarded as disrespectful, discourteous, insulting, degrading, offensive and/or discriminatory by members of the public, but he chose to conduct himself in this manner regardless.”

He had repeatedly used the n-word, and had gratuitously insisted Williams do so.

“The overall impression given was of a mayor who is deliberately and gratuitously provocative, who is willing to use racial and homophobic slurs and implications recklessly, and who does so with little or no regard regard for how offensive such language and behaviour is likely to be to members of the public at large and minority communities in particular.”

As a minimum, the report recommended a letter of censure and request that he publicly apologise. An apology he had earlier made through The Southland Times to anyone who had been offended was not considered adequate given the seriousness of the incident.

The council should seriously consider takings steps to restrict his duties, particularly the public-facing aspects of his role or those involving media comment.

“Such a restriction could be for a specified period or until such time as mayor Clark undertakes targeted education or training.”

The council could also consider a vote of no confidence, and invite him to consider resigning as mayor.

“These options are particularly relevant if [the] council is satisfied that mayor Clark is at risk of repeating similar behaviour in future.”

His pattern of conduct combined with the failure to acknowledge wrongdoing “may well lead to such a conclusion”, the report said.

Clark has declined to comment until the council meeting.