Councillor to keep filming
A Horowhenua councillor has vowed to continue recording with a pen camera to protect his own safety, despite a council ruling to stop it.
Horowhenua District Council’s Ross Campbell has been wearing the recording device because he claims he was threatened by fellow councillor Ross Brannigan after a council committee meeting in August.
The council voted on Wednesday night to restrict the recording of council meetings, committee meetings and council briefings. Filming would not be permitted by elected members or the public unless allowed by the council or committee on a caseby-case basis.
It’s unclear if the council’s move is legal.
The council decided elected members would not be permitted to film or record other elected members without consent.
The council’s live streaming of meetings isn’t affected.
It is generally lawful for people to film or photograph people in public places without their consent. There may be a breach of privacy if someone is filmed in a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a bathroom.
In Britain, the public has the right to film all council meetings.
Campbell will continue to wear the small camera if he feels he needs to. ‘‘Any meeting where there’s no recording going on, whether that’s recording or audio recording, I will wear it until the chief executive can make sure I have a safe working environment,’’ Campbell said.
He said if his health and safety was compromised, he would take steps to rectify this.
Campbell, the owner of native bird and wildlife park Owlcatraz in Shannon, has had the camera for about two years. He originally bought it for filming birds when he was working in the owl house.
Campbell alleged Brannigan had words with him in the meal room after the August meeting.
‘‘He wanted me to go outside so he could sort me out. [Brannigan said]: ‘This is not over, I’m going to deal to you at some time. This is not over and I’m going to get you one way or another’.
‘‘That’s threats. That’s really upset me you know.’’
Campbell said police told him it was fine to use the camera if he told others he was filming.
‘‘If I’m going to be abused at council by councillors and the other councillors aren’t going to stand up and be witnesses to it, I have to have my own system.’’
Cr Brannigan said it had been blown out of proportion.
‘‘It was simply a heated discussion between the two of us in front of of lots of other councillors and lots of other council staff,’’ he said.
‘‘I was no more aggressive than what he was.’’
Brannigan said it lasted two or three minutes, then they had dinner.
He denied saying anything like taking Campbell outside to sort him out.
‘‘There was absolutely nothing like that. The things I said to him, he said pretty much the same back to me.
‘‘There’s no love lost.’’ Brannigan said during Wednesday night’s council meeting that councillors should have
broad shoulders if they run for public office.
Brannigan said mayor Michael Feyen had been advised by chief executive David Clapperton to launch a code of conduct investigation against both Brannigan and Campbell.
‘‘What I won’t tolerate, though, is the one-sided rhetoric from across the table in terms of this
incident,’’ Brannigan said in the meeting. ‘‘We were both guilty of what occurred.’’
He said he received threatening emails from a friend of Campbell’s following the incident.
‘‘Have I run off to the police about that? No. I replied and put it to bed and moved on.
‘‘I suggest Cr Campbell should not run off to the media and drag
this council once again into disrepute over a grown-ups’ disagreement. That’s what it was. Nothing more, nothing less. We’re all big people, move on.’’
Cr Bernie Wanden, who put forward a notice of motion suggesting filming restrictions, said it was not to subvert any element of democracy but to protect the privacy of staff.