Long-Serving Gore District Councillor Resigns

Long-serving Gore District Councillor Bret Highsted today tendered his resignation, effective immediately.

In a letter to Deputy Mayor Keith Hovell, Mr Highsted apologised for commenting to an individual outside of the Council before the Council’s extraordinary meeting last week, which was held in-committee.

Mr Highsted stressed he had not disclosed any information following the meeting.

In the letter, Mr Highsted said that since last year’s election, he had found the Council environment “highly stressful and the levels of anxiety unsustainable”.

In the last election, Mr Highsted was the highest polling candidate for the Gore Ward. He was in his sixth term on the Council and has held numerous senior roles, including Audit and Risk Committee chairman.’

Chief executive Stephen Parry said Mr Highsted’s contribution around the Council table would be missed.

“His peers and staff respected him for his agile mind and dedication to his role.”

Mr Highsted’s resignation would trigger a by-election, Mr Parry said.

The extraordinary meeting on Tuesday 28 March was to provide councillors with an update from the Chief Executive’s Appraisal Committee.

All councillors were present at the meeting, which Cr Hovell chaired. Both Gore District Mayor Ben Bell and Chief Executive Stephen Parry were given the opportunity to address the meeting and answer questions from councillors separately.

As a result of the meeting, the Council unanimously agreed to appoint a councillor to act as an intermediary between the Mayor and Chief Executive for governance and relevant operational matters.

The Council also resolved to remove the Mayor from the Chief Executive Appraisal Committee and appoint Crs Keith Hovell, Richard McPhail, John Gardyne and Bronwyn Reid.