Wellington mayor Tory Whanau declined to comment about council's plans regarding the future of the Reading Cinema. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has sent official warnings to five councillors for breaching confidentiality over their public comments on the city's financial woes.
The group - including Diane Calvert, Ray Chung, Tony Randle and Nicola Young - declined to release a copy of the complaint to the media stating they did not have access to legal resources and needed to protect themselves from unsubstantiated attacks.
An email sent to RNZ from the group stated it was being gagged from speaking out about its thoughts.
"At ratepayers expense, the mayor and CEO have brought in a senior partner and her team from an external legal firm in an attempt to silence us and stop us speaking up for residents."
The notice comes after a meeting behind closed doors last week on the future of the Reading Cinema building which RNZ understands discussed a multimillion-dollar deal where the council is considering buying land under the theatre.
Whanau declined an interview with RNZ's Midday Report on 5 October about its plans but in a statement said the sharing of details was unacceptable.
The complaint from the mayor also references media reports from the group talking about its concerns around the Town Hall's cost blow-out and financial challenges the city is facing.
"The mayor and chief executive are trying to silence and discredit the independent councillors, the ones who are most concerned about the city's finances. It is an orchestrated attack on democracy," Calvert said.
"Council should be spending every dollar on fixing our water infrastructure, instead of hiring an expensive lawyer," Young said.
"The mayor hasn't even talked with us about this. It's also inconsistent. After the recent confidential discussion on the Town Hall's cost blow-out, the mayor and CEO immediately held a press conference."
In a statement, Whanau said she had received a complaint alleging breaches of the Code of Conduct by a number of councillors.
She said she received the code of complaint from deputy mayor Laurie Foon.
"To assist me in my consideration of these allegations I have initiated an independent review to establish if any breach has occurred.
"That review will be undertaken by Linda Clark, partner at law firm Dentons Kensington Swan."