Nobby Clark makes public in-person council apology

Wednesday, 31 July 2024

Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark has made the first of two in-person public apologies his councillors have sought.

Delivered at a full council meeting on July 30, it related to his conduct at a firefighters’ prize-giving dinner in March, which was found to be in breach of the council’s code of conduct.

His behaviour included personal comments about a woman present, identified publicly as Miss X.

At the outset of his remarks, Clark said he had already apologised to the United Fire Brigades’ Association and to Miss X, whom news reports had identified as the event’s MC.

“Given that she wasn’t actually the MC of the event, she had nothing to do with the running of it,’’ Clark said. ”But I’m not prepared to make an issue of that.“

“And certainly in relation to you as my colleagues I openly apologise for breaching the code of conduct and the expectations that you would have of my role, and apologise for the negative impact it’s had on my colleagues, on the council’s standing within our community, and the wider community.’’

Clark rendered his apology in the midst of a crowded council agenda. It drew no comment from his councillors.

This still leaves one apology to go - for a separate code of conduct breach, involving Clark’s citation of the N-word before and during a wild interview with comedian Guy Williams which screened in March.

Clark has already apologised for his conduct in that interview, first to Stuff and then in a written statement which was read in his absence by deputy mayor Tom Campbell.

Dissatisfied with that, the council has requested that he issue “a sincere apology … in person and in public, at a full council meeting’’.

He still has time to satisfy that. The council will “review the outcomes’’ at its October meeting.