Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark has been requested to make a “sincere” apology to the public after dodging an opportunity to present at a council meeting.
The embattled mayor was a no-show at a Friday meeting held specifically to discuss an investigation into his behaviour on a television show.
During his March appearance on New Zealand Today, Clark repeated the ‘n-word’, insisted host Guy Williams say it, used a homophobic slur, and featured a book titled Twisting the Treaty — A Tribal Grab for Wealth and Power.
His behaviour was described by an independent investigator as “disrespectful, discourteous, insulting, degrading, offensive, and/or discriminatory”.
No explanation was given for Clark’s absence on Friday, but deputy mayor Tom Campbell read out a written apology from the mayor.
In it, Clark acknowledged he had discredited the city in an interview that was “not good”.
“I fully accept that my behaviour in this TV interview brings both the mayoral role and council into disrepute,” Clark wrote.
The apology — made up of four bullet points — was deemed by the council to satisfy the investigator’s recommendation for one.
But Clark has also been instructed to give a “sincere apology” in public at an upcoming council meeting, and will be censured by letter for his actions.
Elected members and mana whenua representatives did not hold back in their assessment of the mayor’s behaviour on Friday.
Councillor Darren Ludlow said Clark’s letter “barely” met the requirement for what was suggested by the investigator.
“I don’t get a sense of the level of remorse I would have appreciated reading from a community leader,” he said.
This was followed by an impassioned speech from mana whenua representative Evelyn Cook, who said Clark’s apology did little to address the specific harm he had caused.
“If you are a young person of colour who lives in this city, who is not sure of their gender identity, or is very sure of their gender identity, you’ve got two strikes against you in the eyes of the mayor, given the words that were said, or the inferences that were made in that interview," she said.
“This is not an adequate apology . . . most specifically to people who are brown and queer.”
Councillor Steve Broad called on Clark to resign, pointing out he had been given multiple opportunities to apologise for using the 'n-word' after being criticised for it as far back as March 2023.
Instead, Clark had gone on to repeat the word in multiple media appearances.
“I may be a minority voice around this table today but following this report and its findings I believe that any decision that is less than requesting our mayor to resign falls short of our duty as city councillors,” Broad said.
Mana whenua representative Panie Coote said there was a “disturbing pattern of conduct” from the mayor, while councillor Alex Crackett also requested his resignation alongside a sincere apology.
Friday’s meeting began with councillor Ian Pottinger — who lodged the code of conduct complaint alongside councillor Ria Bond — explaining the pair felt villainised for wasting council’s time and money in doing so.
"It has been a lonely place for us, but we are both proud to have fulfilled our roles as responsible councillors to the public."
The code of conduct breach is Clark’s second in as many months.
In June, he was censured for his March behaviour at a United Fire Brigades Association event.
It was alleged Clark made derogatory comments to the female MC and called volunteer firefighters second class citizens.
A formal motion calling for Clark's resignation was never made at Friday's meeting, but last month the council narrowly missed a majority vote on the matter — six votes to five.
Of those who voted against, five entered the council chambers under Clark’s ‘Let’s Go Invercargill’ ticket — Tom Campbell, Allan Arnold, Grant Dermody, Peter Kett and Barry Stewart.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
