Cambridge-based Hamilton city councillor Andrew Bydder has been penalised for a “material breach” of the council’s Code of Conduct.
Investigator Mary Hill said the first-term councillor had breached two section – treating others with respect and productive relationships with the public.
The investigation was prompted by Bydder’s unredacted submission on the Cambridge Connections project in which he used a derogatory term commonly used decades ago to describe cerebral palsy people and told Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan to “get off your fat arse” and council staff to “get on your knees and beg forgiveness.”
The council voted 8-3 (councillors against were Tim Macindoe, Geoff Taylor and Ewan Wilson) to impose the following penalties:
- a formal letter of censure to Bydder that includes advice that any further conduct of this nature is likely to result in more serious penalties
- notes that a letter of censure shall include the decision of council on the outcome of the Code of Conduct complaints, and any penalties imposed; and that the letter be signed by the deputy mayor on behalf of council
- requests Bydder attend relevant training which may cover matters such as conduct expected of elected members including dealing with members of the public and the media, and the requirements of the code to be completed by 1 December 2024
- requests Bydder tender a written apology to Waipā District Council mayor Susan O’Regan by 17 October 2024
- requests Bydder make a public apology to Cerebral Palsy New Zealand and IHC by 17 October 2024
- notes that the censure and penalties are proportional to the behaviour that is found to be in breach of the Code.
The process has cost the council $21,566.
4 July 2024 7am
Former registered architect Andrew Bydder claims Waipā District Council released his unredacted submission on the Cambridge Connections project to deflect attention from its rates’ rise and increased funding for Karāpiro Domain.
Andrew Bydder
Hamilton City Council confirmed this week Bydder – a first-term city councillor living in Cambridge – will face the second stage of a Code of Conduct complaint about the submission.
In it he used a derogatory term commonly used decades ago to describe cerebral palsy people, told the Waipā mayor to “get off your fat arse” and council staff to “get on your knees and beg forgiveness.”
Hamilton council received 24 Code of Conduct complaints including one from its mayor Paula Southgate, other city councillors, and some Waipā councillors as well as members of the public.
Paula Southgate
The News has seen a summary of the complaints. Most refer to “offensive, ableist, disrespectful and derogatory” language used.
But Bydder was unapologetic. He suggested to The News Waipā District Council was using diversionary tactics.
He said he sent the submission in three months ago.
“Clearly Susan O’Regan did not find it offensive enough to act at the time,” he said. “The reason it was done now and not in March, is purely a distraction.”
O’Regan told The News last week she did not see the unredacted comments until June 27 as staff had censored them under the council’s policy.
Liz Stolwyk, left, and husband Andrew Reymer, at Lake Karāpiro where they hold the management contract.
Waipā rates are going up nearly 15 per cent while the management contract for Karāpiro Domain was awarded to deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk’s company for $4.248 million over five years – with two five-year extensions – an increase of more than $300,000 a year.
“It has everything to do with creating a distraction,” said Bydder.
But council staff maintain they discovered the increase was overdue when they reviewed the domain contract.
Stolwyk’s company has had the contract for 20 years – before she was elected to Waipā council – with very few increases. The process used was approved by the Office of the Auditor General pursuant to the Local Authorities (Members’ Interest) Act because she is an elected member of the council.
Lance Vervoort
Of the Bydder issue, Hamilton chief executive Lance Vervoort said an initial assessment of the Code of Conduct complaints by Tompkins Wake determined the matter should be referred to an independent investigator.
“For clarity, the initial assessment is intended as a guide to inform decision-making. An independent investigator may come to a different conclusion to that indicated in the initial assessment on the conclusion of their investigation,” he said.
Bydder, who lives next door to an area now known as the blue blob – where a third Cambridge river bridge was to have been built – says he made the submission as a resident, and not a city councillor.
“The (Hamilton) council has chosen to blur the lines between public and private.
“So, I’ve said if that’s the case, I’m doing everything from my council stuff because apparently all my private stuff is now council stuff.”
He also criticised the Waipā elected representatives who had made complaints about him.
Susan O’Regan
“Any public submissions from a councillor about a councillor, they have to show me. The process they (city council) are going through is actually breaking the law. They are required to follow the Bill of Rights (section 17) – the rights to natural justice,” said Bydder.
“The process has been completed without any involvement from me.”
The News asked O’Regan for comment. She said she had made her position and opinion clear “a point of view shared by many people up and down the country if the positive support I have received via emails, messages and in person is anything to go by.”
