Ross Townshend has been stood down from the board of Tatua over comments he made on social media about Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta.
Ross Townshend's "personal views and the way he chose to express them are incompatible with Tatua's culture and values," the company's chairman said. Photo: Supplied
He has been an independent board member at the Waikato dairy co-op since 2009.
Company chairman Stephen Allen today confirmed Townshend has stood down from the Tatua board of directors, with immediate effect.
"On Monday evening, it was brought to my attention that Mr Townshend had posted highly-inappropriate messaging on social media in relation to a Minister of Parliament.
"Mr Townshend's personal views and the way he chose to express them are incompatible with Tatua's culture and values. Therefore, his actions left me with no other course of action than to accept his resignation on behalf of the Tatua Board of Directors."
Allen also confirmed that he will be contacting the minister's office to provide an explanation and personal apology.
"Over the 25 years that I have been involved as a Director of Tatua including 18 years as chairman, the company has had mutually respectful and warm relationships with Ministers and government officials of all parties," Allen said.
"We also have incredibly good and long-standing relationships with our community, including local Iwi. An incident of such offensive disrespect is simply not who we are."
The company's website says Townshend has a strong dairy operational background with New Zealand Dairy Group, New Zealand Dairy Foods and the wider Australasian dairy industry.