‘Shadbolt was offered weekly IT training’

An Invercargill City Council staffer says Sir Tim Shadbolt has been offered weekly IT training sessions, but the long-serving mayor did not take them up.

Councillors have expressed their disappointment in comments made by Shadbolt in an April 9 ODT article where he claimed requests for IT training had been declined by his own council.

A motion was passed at a meeting on Tuesday which recorded the councillors’ frustration that the Mayor ‘‘caused harm’’ to the council through his ‘‘factually incorrect’’ statements, and also that he has declined to apologise.

Following the meeting, Stuff put questions to the council asking for a list of what IT training that Shadbolt had been provided this term.

Council executive manager Pete Thompson said Shadbolt was offered one-on-one weekly IT training sessions, but the Mayor had not taken them up.

Thompson said Shadbolt has also received informal one-on-one IT training from administrative staff and IT staff as requested. ‘‘These requests have usually been impromptu in relation to a specific issue/device,’’ Thompson said.

Deputy mayor Nobby Clark also provided one-on-one training for Shadbolt on November 26, 2020, he said.

On top of that Thompson said Local Government Training New Zealand digital training was offered to all elected members but Shadbolt declined to attend.

A Specialised Diligent Boardbooks training (the software used for council agendas – accessible via council-provided IPads) was offered to all elected members in October 2019, Thompson said. ‘‘This was a group session, delivered by Diligent Boardbooks staff. His Worship [Shadbolt] did attend, unfortunately without his device.’’

In response to Thompson’s background on Shadbolt’s IT training, Shadbolt himself checked his own records.

He said on January 30, 2017, he participated in a group Boardbooks training session but was overwhelmed by the complexities of the system having had no previous computer training. He left the session ‘‘because I was embarrassed by monopolising staff time at a group event’’.

Shadbolt acknowledged he received an email from a LGNZ representative in July last year inviting elected members to free digital training.

The language used in the email lead him to predict that the course was for an ability beyond his, Shadbolt said.

‘‘It was also in complete contrast to the one-on-one attention which I felt my situation required.’’

Shadbolt said deputy mayor Nobby Clark conducted an 80 minute tutorial discussing how to use Diligent Boardbooks in November but added the technical aspects were beyond his abilities.

‘‘The expectation was that Nobby would explain how the system worked to [partner

Asha Dutt], who was then expected to invest her time to train me,’’ he said.

Shadbolt stands by his belief that ‘‘despite repeated verbal requests’’ he has not been offered the formal one on one training he considered necessary.

He apologised to the public that the council had chosen to air its battles in public and took aim at his fellow councillors for what he described as an orchestrated attack.

‘‘I was astounded that without considering any evidence 11 Councillors chose to formally sanction me at Tuesday’s meeting.

‘‘They appeared to rely on the unsubstantiated statements of anonymous Council staff.’’

Shadbolt felt he had been discredited by this council for comments he believed were true. ‘‘I merely stated that I have not received the one-on-one regular training I require. The damage to my standing has been considerable . . . I am not someone to buckle under pressure, and it takes a leader of fortitude to push back at an orchestrated attack.’’