A fiery message for the Christchurch City Council during Wednesday's public forum prompted a walkout by five city councillors.
Prominent Christchurch lawyer Storm McVay was making a submission on the contentious issue of the Park Terrace cycleway near North Hagley Park.
The unsanctioned installation of a 350-metre-long cycleway along the busy central city thoroughfare caused an uproar when it was installed in May.
McVay is a well-known anti-Park Terrace cycleway campaigner, and slammed Christchurch council staff, who she claims have disregarded the views of the majority.
"It is bad enough that Christchurch City Council staff think they can plough ahead and squander hard earned rates on unnecessary and pointless traffic changes without any consultation whatsoever."
A point of order was raised over insulting council staff. Mayor Phil Mauger asked McVay not to criticise employees in her public forum address.
McVay also took a personal swipe at one city councillor, who was elected with a slim majority, which raised another point of order.
McVay continued to criticise those around the council table for lacking integrity, prompting five councillors to walk out of the meeting and for the mayor to call for calm.
"We must please show respect to our staff and not undermine the council process."
The five councillors returned to the meeting after about 20 minutes.
Mayor Phil Mauger said he would like to see future debates focussed on the topic at hand.
- Geoff Sloan, Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
