Retraction and apology to Campbell Barry and Jo Miller

On September 5, 2020, The Dominion Post and Stuff published stories headlined Controversy over Barry’s land purchase and The battle over a Hutt paradise. The stories were subsequently the subject of a correction and clarification.

The stories suggested Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry’s purchase of a residence in the Upper Fitzherbert area in North Wainuiomata was improper. In particular, the stories suggested Mayor Barry used information not publicly available to inform his decision to purchase the residence and that he may have misled the public in relation to the level of his knowledge of the proposed future development of that area. The stories also suggested that Mayor Barry had substantial involvement in council decisions about the proposed development. We accept those allegations were unfounded.

The stories also stated Hutt City Council chief executive Jo Miller shelved a development proposal in North Wainuiomata. We also acknowledge that Ms Miller was not responsible for shelving the North Wainuiomata development proposal.

We retract these allegations and apologise for any distress or embarrassment our publication of them may have caused to Mayor Barry and Ms Miller. The stories have been removed from our online platforms.