Mayor’s use of poo emoji costs ratepayers over $4k

Thursday, 26 February 2026

South Waikato mayor Gary Petley will make a public apology, and has sworn off social media after admitting he got it wrong when an online dispute turned sour.

A code of conduct complaint was made by Putāruru ward councillor Zed Latinovic in January after Petley reacted to comments made about council expenditure on Facebook by using the ‘poo emoji’.

Details of Petley’s online argument were not made available to the Waikato Times but in his report, independent investigator Mark Abbot said Petley’s comments were “considered to be unprofessional and include name calling and the use of inappropriate emojis”.

Petley told the Waikato Times the online argument was between himself and a former district councillor, and occurred over the Christmas break.

“It was a weak moment for me over the break … but I felt I had to push back.

“What was said online about myself and the council was not at all true.”

Petley said it was regarding costs related to the redevelopment of Tokoroa’s indoor swimming pools, and allegations it would go over budget.

Petley said he told the person involved “they were full of (insert poo emoji here)”.

He agreed that his comments were unprofessional, and had removed himself from Facebook immediately after the complaint was made.

“I'm already off it, it’s actually been a breath of fresh air,” he said.

“I’m over all this rhetoric and vitriol on Facebook saying we've got something to hide.”

Abbot’s recommendations to council were for the mayor to “cease engaging in the use of social media (any platform) with regards to council business” and that “all responses or communications required [are] being directed to council officers who are engaged for the purposes of providing information and clarification to the general public”.

“The mayor is to issue a public apology, drafted by council’s communication manager, noting the inappropriateness of his communication and correspondence.”

The final recommendation was to make sure the report was available to the public with it being delivered at an open council meeting.

However, a second code of conduct complaint made by Latinovic against Petley, and council chief executive Susan Law, was not upheld.

The investigations cost council a total of $4312, and could be viewed as somewhat ironic given the ongoing issues with the council’s Leith Place toilets.

The second complaint alleged the mayor and chief executive had failed in their roles to implement “with immediate effect” a motion tabled by Latinovic, and previously agreed to by councillors, to open up council workshops to the public and have them live-streamed.

Latinovic’s complaint stemmed from the fact that council had not immediately put the motion into practice.

Abbot said as the council was in the process of setting up the relevant technology to allow this to happen, the words “with immediate effect” should have been altered to reflect the time and cost involved in setting it up.

“This motion would or should likely have been moderated to state ‘as soon as practicably possible, with updates requested of the chief executive’.”

“It is suggested that council amend its motion to that effect,” Abbot said.

Abbot went on to say that using “time-bound imperatives” in motions could be “used as leverage”, and needed to be “tempered into a manageable deliverable against which the council (officers) could adhere to”.

“I am satisfied that the executive have committed to the implementation of a process to ensure that council workshops are accessible to the public and live-streamed.”

Abbot went beyond the scope of his investigations to make some general comments about the use of code of conduct complaints saying recommendations “carry little weight in terms of sanctions or repercussions”.

“However, it should be accepted that … there are seldom any winners.

“The process has a financial cost impact on council; an impact on staff time and work delivery through distraction and preparation; a positioning of councillor against councillor in the public domain which often signals politicking rather than representation; often the weaponising of the code of conduct process, again for political or person gain or point-scoring.”

He said both Petley and Latinovic “have positively and actively engaged in this process” which signalled “a willingness and positivity to reach some resolution for the betterment of the organisation”.

“During the interview process it was heartening to have the mayor acknowledge that his use of emojis and descriptors … was inappropriate.”

Abbot said that if elected members felt they needed to respond to “potentially inflammatory commentary” it should be done “with the dignity that is expected of the office, and remain cordial and courteous”.

“Certainly, express views as councillors, noting a personal stance, but leave the dissemination of council messaging and decision-making to the professionals employed for that purpose.”