Councillor faces “serious breach of code conduct” for criticising council

Councillor Aaron Keown faces a code of conduct complaint made by Councillor Sara Templeton

A Christchurch City Councillor has committed a “serious breach of the code” of conduct after comments made on his public Facebook page.

In March, Aaron Keown criticised the hearing panel process for the side streets proposal around the Christchurch stadium.

He stated, "I deliberately did not go on this hearings panel because when I saw who was on it, I knew what the recommendation would be at the end. This is exactly what happened on Harewood Road, the panel is stacked to get the outcome."

Keown further added, "Why waste everybody's time and council money 'consulting' when you are going to chase your ideology anyway? I'm more than happy to tell anyone the real reason why this is being pushed through now if they ask. I will get in trouble for this post, but I cannot stand by watching another charade."

These comments outraged Councillor Sara Templeton, a staunch cycling advocate, who lodged a complaint in writing to Mayor Phil Mauger on April 4th.

In her letter, Templeton wrote, "for several years, Cr Keown has not adhered to a key part of the Code of Conduct, namely, 'media [including social media] comments must observe the other requirements of the Code; for example, comments should not criticize or compromise the impartiality or integrity of staff; or be derogatory in respect of another elected member, and media comments must not be misleading and should be accurate within the bounds of reasonableness.'"

Templeton highlighted that elected officials are required to "act in a way that upholds the reputation of the Council," which she believed Keown's Facebook page did not reflect. She emphasised that this issue is not about a difference of opinion but rather concerns targeting colleagues and council with derogatory, inaccurate, or deliberately misleading statements.

Cr Keown has made similar comments about the Wheels to Wings hearings panel in the past, putting both staff, organisation and elected members reputations at risk.”

Sara said “this follows a long list of inaccurate or misleading comments around council's work on climate change and carbon emissions in the previous term of council.”

As the matter couldn't be resolved informally, Council Chief Executive Dawn Baxendale appointed Andrew Green of Brookfields Lawyers to investigate the complaint.

Green's findings indicated that Keown's post was critical of a staff member, questioned her integrity and impartiality, and contained discourteous language focused on personalities rather than issues.

Green concluded that the post could negatively impact the Council and Councillors' reputation with the public due to connotations of bias and predetermination. Such posts also risk undermining the public's confidence in the robustness and impartiality of Council processes, leading to a "serious breach of the Code."

Now, the Mayor and councillors must consider Green's report in an open meeting to determine the appropriate action to be taken against Keown.