Friday Apr 1, 2011
NZHerald.co.nz
The fate of a New Plymouth District councillor who tried to organise a boycott of a Cambodian-owned food outlet in the Taranaki town of Waitara will be decided at a public council meeting on Monday.
Sherril George handed out brochures outside Waitara's Town and Country Food in early February, urging people to boycott the store, a protest Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said was "deplorable".
Ms George, who owns a pizzeria in Waitara, and is landlord to a curry house, said she wanted people to support their "local community" and argued Town and Country Food was a franchise driving other businesses out.
A council report into her actions suggested Ms George could have breached the council's code of conduct up to five times.
The Taranaki Daily News reported that as well as including eyewitness accounts of her behaviour, it showed Ms George continued to deny she had done anything wrong.
She claimed the allegations against her were based on "hearsay, perception, interpretation ... and lies" and the "majority are not true".
Last week the council's monitoring committee used the report to recommend Ms George be censured and stripped of all council committee responsibilities.
On Monday the council will decide whether to endorse that recommendation at an extraordinary council meeting at the civic centre in New Plymouth.
- NZPA
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Report damns George
MATT RILKOFF
Last updated 01/04/2011
A damning report into councillor Sherril George's role in Waitara's "Town and Country affair" has been made public.
As well as including eyewitness accounts of her behaviour it includes her possible code of conduct breaches and shows Ms George continues to deny she has done anything wrong.
The report stemmed from Ms George's actions in February when she took to the streets of Waitara and encouraged people to boycott the newly-opened Cambodian-owned food outlet Town and Country Foods.
She claimed it did not contribute to the local economy, provided low-quality products and was bleeding the town dry.
This quickly led to accusations of racism and self-interest.
As well as being a New Plymouth District councillor Ms George owns Waitara shop Pizza Bella and is landlord to the business next door, the Masala Express curry house.
The report said the councillor claimed the allegations against her were based on "hearsay, perception, interpretation ... and lies" and the "majority are not true".
The backlash to her actions was swift and severe and the council quickly launched an investigation.
Last Friday the council's monitoring committee used the report from that investigation to recommend their colleague be censured and stripped of all council committee responsibilities.
On Monday the council will decide whether to endorse that recommendation.
The report said that several witnesses claimed Ms George introduced herself as a New Plymouth district councillor and/or representative of the Waitara business community when pushing for the boycott.
The witnesses also claimed she said Town and Country Foods was employing illegal immigrants and did not have the proper consents to operate as a food business.
She was said to have told the owner of the shop that it was killing local businesses and she would "take it to the papers and TV ... I will stop you".
Witnesses claimed she swore and used a threatening tone.
From these witnesses' reports the investigation found Ms George could have breached the council's code of conduct up to five times.
The possible breaches included her responsibility as a councillor to enhance the credibility and accountability of the council within its community, to avoid publicly criticising staff and to maintain a clear separation of their personal interests and their duties as an elected member.
Ms George's fate will be decided at an extraordinary council meeting at the civic centre in New Plymouth on Monday. Starting at 3pm, the meeting is open to the public or can be watched online at newplymouth.co.nz
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- Taranaki Daily News
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