Council Chair Calls For Apology Over Mayor's Conflict Of Interest Remarks

Sunday, 16 February 2025, 9:43 pm
Article: Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter

West Coast Regional Council chair Peter Haddock is calling for a public apology from Westland mayor Helen Lash, after she raised questions about his family connection with one of the council's main contractors.

Haddock's son is a director of MBD, the lead contractor for the first stage of the Franz Josef stopbank upgrade.

Lash said given the chair's conflict of interest, and with tenders about to be let for stage two, there should be more transparency about the price the council paid for rock supply.

She had been quoted a lower price from another supplier than what the council had been paying, she said.

Haddock says the Westland mayor's comments implied he had influence in the contract process and that was unfair and untrue.

"She should apologise. The contract for Stage One was let by the previous council a good six months before I joined it, and as soon as I was elected I registered my conflict of interest," he told LDR.

The tenders for the government-funded Franz Josef contract had been scrutinised by independent evaluators in the North Island, with no connection to the council, Haddock said.

"That was a very robust process. And whenever it has come up for discussion at council I have declared my conflict and left the meeting."

MBD was one of the largest contractors on the coast, with a sound reputation, and while his family connection was common knowledge, he had no financial interest in the company, Haddock said.

Lash also said the chairman had supplied machinery to his son's company. But the regional council chairman said that was a one-off event several years ago.

"The last time I invoiced MBD was in 2020 - and that was for a machine I lent them when they were working for NZTA at Franz after the bridge was washed out in the 2019 flood.

"I supplied a machine and an operator to help out. And that's it."

Given the small West Coast population and the number of contractors involved in businesses such as earth moving, gold mining and farming, associations with elected council members were inevitable, Haddock said.

"There's quite a few people at the council table that could have a potential interest or conflict in the Stage Two tenders through sons or daughters - it's all about how we recognise that and manage it. "

Catchment manager Tom Hopkins had mentioned at this week's meeting that staff would be breaking down the tenders for the Stage 2 stopbank work into smaller sections, to give small local contractors an opportunity, Haddock said.

"Because of a potential conflict with MBD, who are likely to tender, I am having nothing to do with that process. And if there are good competitive tenders for rock supply, as Lash says, that's what it's all about."

When tenders were let recently for the management of the council's Okuru quarry near Haast, Haddock said he took no part in the process.

"I did not see the papers, I left the room and to their credit not a single councillor told me anything about prices or figures."

The contract was awarded to MBD.

In response to Haddock's call for Lash to apologise, the Westland mayor says she can see no reason to do so.

As a public figure he could expect scrutiny, Lash said.

"I think Peter is being over-sensitive. He is right about conflicts of interest arising all over the West Coast - we're a small region - there's about two degrees of separation between everyone.

"But perceptions are important. The regional council's systems are pretty opaque and with the amount of money being spent at Franz Josef by the government and ratepayers, we need more transparency."

Franz Josef's flood defences

Tenders will be let soon for the long-awaited work on stopbanks to protect farms, homes and businesses on the south bank of the Waiho/Waiau River at Franz Josef.

Councillors and ratepayers met in the town this week and approved a priority list set by the West Coast Regional Council for the phase two projects, worth up to $10 million.

The work will be bankrolled 60 percent by government grant, and 40 percent by government loan to be repaid by property owners in the council's Franz Josef special rating district.

The council's joint committee has agreed to draw down a maximum of $7.9 million for the work to extend and strengthen existing flood defences.

The first and second jobs on the priority list are the upgrade of the two southside stopbanks protecting Franz Josef's old rubbish dump from the wild river, at a cost of $2.5 million.

Next on the list is the extension of the Milton and Others stop bank, bringing some peace of mind to anxious farmers on the low-lying Waiho Flats, at a cost of $2.6 million.

And the fourth priority is the $2.8 million extension of the Havill Wall on the north bank, which barricades the town's sewerage ponds.

Westland's mayor Helen Lash wants that one taken off the list - saying her council is going to have to move the ponds sooner rather than later and it would make more sense to fund that.

One committee member has commented that the ponds are not in immediate danger.

But the Regional Council's expert advisors say the Waiho is cutting back towards the town more quickly than predicted as it avulses into the neighbouring Tatare River.

The Havill extension would protect not just the ponds but other assets like motels and buy more time to move the sewerage plant, the engineers have advised.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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