Embattled Nelson councillor accuses colleague of trying to 'oust' her

Friday, 29 May 2026

A Nelson city councillor who was threatened with prosecution by the Auditor General has accused colleagues of trying to “oust” her.

First-term councillor Lisa Austin came under fire this month, when the Audit Office said it was considering prosecuting the elected member.

It later decided against it, but now Austin has accused councillor Aaron Stallard of trying to force her to resign.

But mayor Nick Smith has defended Stallard, and said “council is working hard on getting a resolution to this difficult issue”.

The issue arose over concerns about Austin and her husband’s business, Austin Transport Tippers Ltd, which supplied trucks for two council contractors on set rates. Their business did not contract directly with the Nelson City Council.

The Local Authorities (Member’s Interests) Act 1968 set rules for the financial interests of elected members with contracts with a local authority amounting to more than $25,000 in a financial year.

The act said elected members could seek approval for their non-disqualification from the auditor-general. The council had applied for an approval for Austin, but the office declined the application and said it was making a decision on whether to prosecute, and that she could be dismissed from the council.

The Office then wrote to the council saying they had decided not to prosecute Austin, as it would not be in the public interest.

In a statement to the Nelson Mail at the time, the Audit Office said the Act provided that contracts with the council can make candidates ineligible for election, or, if they are elected, disqualify them from office.

“This is the effect of the Act, not a decision of the Auditor-General.

“Any further steps in relation to Ms Austin are for the council. The council is responsible for complying with the Act and responsibility for its own decision-making processes remains with the council.”

On Friday Austin released a statement saying there were “some members seeking to have me ousted”.

“I thought this matter was over when the Auditor General decided not to prosecute but councillor Stallard has chosen to relitigate it and is challenging my right to serve on council,“ she said.

“This matter is now to be further debated when we should be getting on with working for our city.”

She had no intention of resigning.

“I have done nothing wrong and I will not let down the Nelsonians who voted for me at the last October elections.

“I have written to all my council colleagues seeking their support … I see nothing being gained for Nelson by a $200,000 by-election.”

In the letter she wrote that she had been advised the council might declare her seat vacant and call a by-election.

“I feel misled as such a decision amounts to a dismissal. I am also told I would be prohibited from re-standing.

“This is worse than being prosecuted by the [Auditor General] as at least through that process I would have had an opportunity to defend myself in court.”

In a statement, Smith said the matter was legally privileged and would be discussed in a confidential session of an audit risk and finance committee extraordinary meeting on Thursday.

“We are all working together – staff and councillors – to get a solution that, if possible, avoids a by-election.

“Cr Stallard has assured me that he is not seeking to oust Cr Austin, and I believe him. Cr Stallard is responsibly performing his role as a councillor in seeking to understand and mitigate the risk that this issue brings to the council organisation, as we all are.”

He asked the confidentiality of the matter be respected until it was resolved.

“We recognise it is a matter of significant public interest and will make a public statement as soon as possible.”

Stallard said he would not be commenting on the matter.