Close watch
REGION: The Horowhenua District Council has dodged a total investigation of its email systems after adopting a new policy about when messages can be blocked.
The Horowhenua District Council has dodged a total investigation of its email systems after adopting a new policy about when messages can be blocked.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said the new policy addressed his most pressing concerns, and after considering conducting a systemic investigation, had decided not to.
But he said that was not the end of the matter, with close monitoring planned, and his staff investigating four complaints from those affected, three further complaints, and considering two more.
The email scandal erupted in July when it became public that council chief executive David Clapperton was allowed to snoop on emails and block some of them in the interests of protecting staff.
Mayor Michael Feyen, who was subjected to a vote of noconfidence from councillors in November, was on the list of people who had emails intercepted while he was still a councillor.
He said he was disappointed the ombudsman had not gone further in his review of council practices.
Boshier said he was alarmed about the extremely risky practice of email blocking and considered carrying out a ‘‘systemic intervention’’.
‘‘There was no formal written record of the policy’s existence. Some individuals, including elected representatives, may have had their emails diverted without their knowledge.’’
Boshier said the new policy adopted in October was acceptable, but could be improved with some amendments he would be suggesting.
‘‘In view of what I have seen, I have asked my staff to monitor local government issues closely and strengthen lines of communication with other agencies with oversight of the sector.’’
Clapperton said Boshier had given ‘‘praise and criticism where they are due’’.
The Offices of the Auditorgeneral, the Privacy Commissioner, the Department of Internal Affairs, Local Government New Zealand and the Society of Local Government Managers were all involved in looking into the council’s problems.
Deputy mayor Wayne Bishop said the ombudsman’s decision not to delve deeper should give residents and ratepayers a sense of comfort.
He said the decision was welcome, understandable and not the least bit surprising.
Boshier listed the complaints still being actively investigated in a letter to the council in which individual names were blocked out.
There were four from people whose emails had been blocked before the policy review.
Another was about the council’s refusal to release a copy of its sensitive expenditure review, one was against the council for shutting off water to a building at Lake Horowhenua, and a third was about the council’s responses to 30 questions asked about Feyen.
Another two complaints about the council’s refusal to provide information were being assessed.
Feyen said the ombudsman should have taken a systematic look through the council’s email system, which he believed was still not secure.
He said that after several years as a councillor having his emails ‘‘played around with’’ he was not happy the ombudsman had not gone further.
He said he would have had more confidence in the outcome if the investigation had been handled by people appointed by the new Labour-led Government.