Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark has previously been under fire for repeatedly breaching the council's code of conduct. Photo: RNZ/ Tess Brunton
Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark says he "admires" his partner's views in supporting a Dunedin city councillor who is facing a censure for supposed anti-Māori remarks.
The city council is hearing a code of conduct complaint made last November over Lee Vandervis' use of inflammatory language to diminish the standing of mana whenua.
An independent investigation found Vandervis did breach the code of conduct, with a decision to be made at Wednesday's meeting on his censure.
The complaint, laid by councillor Marie Laufiso, alleged Vandervis conducted himself in a way which demonstrated contempt for Te Pae Māori specifically and both mana whenua and Matāwaka generally.
The Otago Daily Times reported it received correspondence from an email account shared by Clark and his partner.
Dunedin city councillor Lee Vandervis. Photo: Dunedin City Council
In the email backing Vandervis, it said Māori were free to embrace their culture, but this did not mean everyone needed to.
"Most people are sick to death of this misconception that we all have to become white Maori [sic].
"Maori [sic] are free to embrace their culture, they can speak Te Reo wherever they like and practice their protocols whenever they want, but this doesn't mean we all have to.
"Leave the man alone and stop wasting time and money trying to force people to do something they are not comfortable with, move on and concentrate on doing your job you were elected to do, or were you elected?"
The correspondence also said that they were speaking as "an individual and as a New Zealander", independent of the Invercargill City Council and the mayor.
Clark told RNZ that his partner, Karen, wrote the email and "in our democracy, everyone had a voice".
"I admire that my partner Karen is prepared to support councillor Vandervis through the code of conduct he is facing."
It comes only a day after Clark himself publicly apologised for repeatedly breaching the council's code of conduct.
Clark had been censured twice for using racial and homophobic slurs, along with insulting and degrading behaviour during a TV interview.
He first used the n-word at an Art Foundation event in March 2023, then repeated it in an episode of satirical news show New Zealand Today.
Two other councillors laid a complaint about it.
Vandervis did not attend Wednesday's meeting as he is overseas.
However, in a statement read to councillors, he "rejected all accusations of racism".
"I can not represent Dunedin citizens by singing, pretending to speak a Māori language, or by voting for more race-based funding of Māori elites and jobs," Vandervis said in the statement.
"I reject all accusations of racism, especially coming from those who repeatedly label me 'pale, stale, and male' across the council table as this personal abuse really is racist, ageist and sexist.
"I vow to continue to exercise my right to free speech in the public interest and to be part of the diversity necessary for democratic representation on the Dunedin City Council."
