The former chairperson of Waikato Regional Council, who was ousted after being accused of making racist comments, has withdrawn legal action.
Waikato Regional Council's Hamilton office. Photo: Google maps
Councillor Russ Rimmington was voted out of his chairperson position in May, after saying Three Waters reforms would cause farmers to be at the "beck and call" of Māori.
He earlier maintained he was not racist and filed for a judicial review against the council and councillor Fred Lichtwark.
But Waikato Regional Council today said a notice of discontinuation had been lodged with the High Court.
Time, cost and the upcoming local body elections all factored into his decision to withdraw the proceedings, Rimmington said.
He also said his comments were poorly made, and he regretted the way he worded things at the time.
The council said it would save significant costs and other resources by not going to trial.
However, a spokesperson said the council was still expected to pay about $100,000 in costs to date, as it awaited final invoices.
Lichtwark was pleased further legal costs could be avoided but said the costs incurred so far were unfair for ratepayers.
"Post-Covid, there's a lot of people struggling to pay their rates, and for this money to be used in this way, I haven't really got words for it, it's ridiculous"
The matter should never have got to the point of a judicial review and should have been dealt with inhouse, through an independent review, Lichtwark said.
The judicial review could have cost him thousands of dollars in legal costs had the matter gone to trial, he said.
The regional council worked constructively with treaty partners and that there was no tolerance for racism, he said.
A council spokesperson confirmed no settlement or any payment had been made towards Rimmington.