Dunedin councillor does not retract claims about secret forest sale

Dunedin city councillor Benedict Ong has not retracted his claims that the city's forests were being secretly put up for sale, and he did not do so before a 5pm deadline on Wednesday.

Ong had been given until that time to withdraw the claims. Otherwise, he faced a fourth complaint under the Dunedin City Council's code of conduct, the rules that set out how councillors must behave.

In a letter sent the day before the deadline, chief executive Richard Briggs said the claims that the forests were being sold were false. He told Ong to take down several social media posts and publish a correction. The letter also said Ong had publicly alleged, without evidence, that the mayor and other councillors had colluded against the interests of the city.

Briggs said Ong had been given correct information during a public meeting but had continued to make untrue claims. He also said Ong had been found in breach of the code three times in the past year, most recently on 29 October. Briggs warned that some of Ong's comments could lead to legal action.

Ong is already serving a nine-month suspension from all council committees and subcommittees, the groups of councillors that work through specific areas of council business. The suspension runs until July 2027, after a third breach was upheld.

A few hours before the deadline, Ong posted on social media alleging the possible sale of City Forests, an asset the council controls. That post used audio from the song Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. In a Facebook post made minutes before the deadline, which used Tragical Irony by Audio Attack, Ong said code of conduct complaints were being used against him.

Ong did not retract the claims and instead doubled down before the deadline, according to RNZ.