PRESS RELEASE

SLUDGEGATE UPDATE
Sludgegate: Day 5, a.m.:
Some Truth Begins to Out

Day Five of the Sludgegate trial continued as it did last week with constant objections from Council's legal team to matters raised in evidence. In order to advance the trial, Justice Chambers suggested that Adrian Chisholm's barrister Chris La Hatte enumerate some of the allegations on which he was attempting to call evidence. These were:

1.. Leaving a council meeting which went against her Waiheke Island Community Board colleagues, Judith Voullaire abused Chisholm, saying: "We will get you!"

2.. It appears they tried to. Four Waiheke Island Community Board members (Gordon Hodson, Judy Voullaire, Faye Storrer, Bruce Bissett) boycotted Chisholm's first public meeting which he held to present his resort application. At a later meeting he was told he himself should stay away because they intended to throw rotten fruit at him. These Community Board members then went on to reject Oneroa's northern service lane proposal because it might "help" ADC; they were asked to consider Chisholm's roading application for the resort, and rejected it; and they were asked to advise and approve of the proposal to dump sludge on the golf course on ADC's boundary - they did.

3.. Mike McQuillan and Greg Paterson, who drove the sludge decision, persuaded ADC to write to the Minister of Health in order to incriminate himself in their plan to invoke "emergency powers."

4.. At a meeting on 7 January - the first time Chisholm had been made aware of Council's plans, and the day before they began earthworks on his boundary - Council Officers told Chisholm that the sludge dump was only a small emergency field several hundred metres from the resort's boundary, when in fact they also planned a sludge dump two football fields in size of quite some permanence right along his boundary.

5.. ADC was prevented by Mike McQuillan and Greg Paterson from representing his plight at a public meeting to discuss the sludge dump.

6.. Some months later, Mike McQuillan responded to a ratepayer who had complained about Waiheke's sewage situation that they should complain to ADC, and he provided that ratepayer with ADC's contact details to do so.

7.. ADC had to resort to the use of Court Bailiffs in order to recover costs from the Council that they had been instructed by the court to provide.

8.. Earlier this year, and consequent to all the above and other matters alleged, Council undertook a private investigation into ADC. It was in trying to recover this document that ADC ended up sleeping on Christine Fletchers' couch to persuade her to honour her promise to return the document.

One wonders why Councils legal team wished this evidence ruled ou? David Walker and Charlie Crook from the council were asked to comment on the enumerated allegations, and had no response.

There will be more to come from the trial - and this reporter - this afternoon.

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Peter Cresswell
Sludgegate Media Coordinator
(025) 861 927
organon@ihug.co.nz

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