A serious Code of Conduct complaint by six South Wairarapa District Council (SWDC) members against Mayor Martin Connelly was found to be baseless and “frivolous” – and having the complaint independently assessed cost ratepayers $5,203.
Martinborough ward councillors Kaye McAulay and Aidan Ellims were two of the six complainants. Since the “frivolous” finding was delivered to SWDC in April, both have declined to answer any questions from the Star about the complaint and about whether they might now apologise.
The six alleged misconduct by Mr Connelly when he voted in September 2023 in support of granting $25,544 for last year’s Featherston Booktown festival without first declaring a conflict of interest.
The complaint also accused Mr Connelly of failing to disclose an association with the chair of Booktown when he advocated for that person to be SWDC’s appointment on Destination Wairarapa.
The complaint went to Chief Executive Janice Smith only in February of this year. Under the SWDC Code of Conduct, she commissioned a professional investigator – Scott Doolan of Business Central in Palmerston North – to “determine the relative merit and seriousness of the complaint, and the nature of the subsequent process that will be followed.”
Prior to this, Mr Connelly paid Wellington lawyer Andrew Little – former Parliamentary Opposition Leader and one-time Minister of Justice – to provide a legal opinion. Mr Little’s view, delivered to Mrs Smith on 14 March, concluded:
“The complaint … fails to meet any factual or legal threshold for investigation by a wide margin. It would be a considerable waste of council resources to embark on an investigation into a complaint that is so lacking.”
In the assessment report subsequently undertaken for ratepayers, Mr Doolan questioned why the six councillors had taken 18 months to make their complaint “if Mr Connelly’s conduct was so egregious”.
He reviewed relevant documents, listened to SWDC meeting recordings, and questioned Ms McAulay and Greytown councillor Martin Bosley. Mr Doolan said neither the complainants nor any other source provided evidence that the mayor should have disclosed a conflict or that he had any personal benefit from SWDC supporting Booktown.
Mr Doolan established that Mr Connelly made no donation to Booktown in 2023-24 (although he did donate $100 alongside other people for the 2025 festival). With any such donation, “there would be no financial conflict as he (Mr Connelly) does not stand to financially gain or lose anything”.
Furthermore, the investigator said there was nothing untoward in the Mayor lobbying councillors to support his personal nomination of the Chair of Featherston Booktown as council appointee to Destination Wairarapa.
He concluded: “My assessment on the merit of the complaint is that it is without any foundation. I consider the complaint to be frivolous.”
In reply to questions from the Star, Mrs Smith disclosed the cost of Mr Doolan’s services ($5,203.72 excl GST) and she said the matter was now closed.
Mr Connelly, having rebutted the allegations throughout, said the complaint was more “vexatious” than frivolous – both are explicitly stated to be grounds for dismissing a complaint under the Code of Conduct. “Frivolous has pleasant overtones of meaning light-hearted and playful … this was far
from playful”.
