Weeks after the West Coast Regional Council chair is turfed out, a council committee meeting degenerates into a tussle between the ex-chair and another elected member
Buller Mayor Jamie Cleine is urging the West Coast Regional Council to get its act together after a clash between two councillors made national headlines.
Deposed former regional chair Allan Birchfield has asked for a code of conduct investigation after a confrontation on Friday with council Buller representative Frank Dooley who was chairing a meeting to select a new chief executive.
Birchfield says he also intends to lay a complaint of assault with the police against Dooley and has asked for security video footage of the incident.
He says he wasn’t notified of the meeting but was alerted to it by deputy chair Brett Cummings and turned up to find his name plate in place and his papers waiting.
“All the other councillors were there and I was reading through my papers when Frank came in and tried to rip them out of my hands.
“I hung on and he jostled me. He eventually calmed down and apologised - but this sort of thing is just not on.”
Dooley has not responded to Newsroom’s request for comment.
The long-serving Birchfield was deposed as council chair last month after a history of tension with chief executive Heather Mabin and former chief Vin Smith who left after seven months in the job.
Dooley is serving his first term as a regional councillor but has form when it comes to council clashes: he was trespassed from Buller council chambers last year after an altercation with deputy mayor Sharon Roche.
An exasperated Buller mayor says Friday’s incident is the last thing the West Coast needs.
“We’re on the cusp of a multimillion-dollar funding announcement from the government for flood protection work and I’ve had to be on the phone to the various ministers reassuring them that the West Coast is not falling apart.
“It’s embarrassing.”
Has to stop
Bad behaviour around the council table must be called out and formally investigated, Cleine says.
“It’s simply unacceptable. We’ve worked really hard to build a good relationship with the regional council and to convince the government we can be trusted partners in these projects.
“Then you get headlines like this - it threatens to undermine all we’ve worked for.”
In a letter demanding an independent inquiry, Birchfield has reproached new council chair Peter Haddock for endorsing moves to sideline him from the meeting and failing to uphold order.
“Your failure to intervene [on Friday] shows a lack of fortitude on your part and I question your suitability to chair the council.
“I also question the suitability of Frank Dooley to chair any council committees … or represent the people of Buller.”
Haddock was admitted to hospital on Friday evening with an ailment unrelated to the afternoon’s debacle and was unable to respond at length.
But he says he and Dooley were the two councillors chosen by their colleagues to work with recruiters to find a CEO and get the candidates down to a short-list.
“Frank is the chair of the recruitment and remuneration committee. Allan was on leave of absence over that time until the end of March.
“He attended the March meeting and the mood was tense.”
Birchfield was unseated as council chair in April.
He says he agrees with Cleine that Friday’s episode is not a good look for the council.
“But I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve been at every CEO selection meeting we’ve had over the years and I had a right to be at this one.”
Mabin has confirmed she’ll trigger a code of conduct investigation but will delegate the job because she’s due to leave the council next month.
Under the code, councillors agree to treat all other members with respect, politeness and courtesy.
Made with the support of the Public Interest Journalism Fund
