Council boss Pat Dougherty has been accused of lying about accidentally releasing a draft document of his performance agreement.
The “accidentally released” draft instructing Nelson City Council’s CEO to “drive” controversial projects in 2017 was the only version of the document that existed until last week, it has been revealed.
On Friday CEO Pat Dougherty said the draft document was released because the council had less time than expected to release the information requested.
However, Nelson Residents Association member Steve Cross, who said he fought for a year to have the information released, said he noticed that the “draft” document was a PDF file, but the “final” document was a word file which was last edited on Thursday of last week.
Cross said he asked Dougherty about the edit, and Dougherty “admitted that [council group manager of strategy and communications] Nicky McDonald did edit the document”.
Dougherty a LIAR?! Newsflash! No kidding!
Anecdotally, when I asked Dougherty what he saw in regard to witnessing my supposedly trying to assault Janet Holborow with my walking-stick in council chambers – a.k.a. a collective hallucination – Dougherty’s version was as fanciful as that of Penny Gaylor.
Dougherty wrote to me his account: I chased Holborow, stopped, held my stick aloft and shouted ‘at the top of [my] voice for 5 to 10 seconds’. Those were elements that no other ‘witness’ – not even Gaylor – claimed to have seen. This drama would have placed me at about the front of the journalists’ desks where Joel Maxwell was sitting,yet he somehow managed not to see or hear anything, according to what he told me.
When I asked Dougherty for a copy of the Affidavit that then Cllr. Amundsen was rumoured to have sworn as another ‘witness’ to my alleged Holborow onslaught, what Dougherty sent – described as an ‘affidavit’ by him on council letterhead – was a typed note by Amundsen, which she had entitled ‘affidavit’ (sic); not signed, sworn, stamped, and with her witness being her husband. Trying to point out at Council that this was a meaningless scrap of paper was what ultimately got me trespassed for two years.
While some of those involved in this nutcase jack-up have well gone – Amundsen, Bell, Welsh – others are seeking re-election: Holborow, Micheal Scott, Gaylor. As the old legal dictum goes ; lie in one thing, lie in everything.
It is an interesting aside that at the time when the allegations against David Scott were leaked to the scabrous Fairfax media, those few in the know about this supposedly ‘sensitive ‘ and ‘confidential’ matter were Ms Addled and her husband, Mr Addled, Guru and Dougherty. Who leaked this at a time when David Scott had not even been charged, and what was the motive? Dougherty left soon afterwards. (At least one good thing came of it).
Another good thing may be Guru’s departure on 12 October — he’ll then have time to master his cello in retirement. Fingers crossed.