Brown inquiry gets under way

An inquiry into whether Auckland Mayor Len Brown spent council money on his mistress is ‘‘progressing with urgency’’, with all parties using its official umbrella to refuse to speak further about the affair.

Auckland Council chief executive Doug McKay enlisted auditors Ernst and Young to conduct the review, beginning yesterday, into whether Brown behaved properly during his two-year extra-marital relationship.

EY Managing partner Simon O’Connor said they were hoping to get the review completed within four weeks. Outside the terms of reference already released, no further comment would be made, O’Connor said.

Brown’s office took the same stance, meaning all of the key players involved in the saga – Brown, his mistress Bevan Chuang, mayoral rival John Palino and his offsider Luigi Wewege (Chuang’s sometime boyfriend who allegedly pressured her into going public) are now refusing to talk about the affair.

Chuang, a 32-year-old junior council adviser, went public with the affair in graphic detail last week. The revelations effectively forced Brown, 57, who is married with three daughters, into hiding until yesterday when he resumed his public duties.

Brown has assured the council and its constituents there was no abuse of power in giving Chuang a letter of recommendation and he did not use council resources to pay for hotels during the affair.

‘‘I did not abuse my position of power, there will be many, many people around Auckland who have received similar letters of recommendation,’’ he said.

However he refused to comment on whether having sex on council premises – which he and Chuang allegedly did on several occasions – would normally result in dismissal of a council employee.