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The police were called

It will likely surprise nobody that myself and the local district council have once again been in conflict.

On Wednesday of last week, I turned up to video a council meeting.

I took great pains to make sure that I was tucked well out of the way, impeding nobody and simply using my camera to record some important presentations by willing members of the public and preparing to create a public record of the meeting-proper.

When his magnificence "The Mayor" saw me and my camera he demanded I stop -- since I hadn't sought his permission to exercise the rights granted me by an Act of Parliament.

Apparently, South Waikato District Council Mayor Gary Petley believes that he has the right to usurp the protections provided by the Bill of Rights Act 1990.

The mayor claimed that I must not be allowed to record the meeting because it could violate the privacy of those in the chamber.

Oddly enough, the council themselves have five cameras in that chamber that livestream events to anyone who wants to watch, anywhere in the world and recordings (when not deleted or lost) are made available in an incomplete archive.

What's more, there's a sign on the door that effectively advises all those entering the chambers that they will be filmed and that content will be livestreamed.

With this in mind, nobody in that chamber will clearly have any expectation of privacy -- yet somehow *my* camera poses a threat?

As I have explained to the SWDC in the past, the council chambers are legally considered to be "a public place" by way of the definition contained in the Summary Offences Act 1981. Furthermore, the Privacy Commissioner has decreed that there is "no expecation of privacy in a public place and the police even acknowledge on their own website that it is legal to make recordings in a public place without the consent of those being filmed.

So, with all this in mind, anyone public present at a public meeting of council must have no expectation of privacy and any member of the public may freely record proceedings as a right.

Unfortunately, the Mayor and his CE simply don't understand this.

Faced with my "contempt" for his baseless demands that I stop filming and remove my equipment, the mayor was clearly not happy.

Mayor Petley, who incidentally is officially ranked as the worst mayor in the country, then threw his toys out of the pram and adjourned the meeting.

Yes, it seems that when this mayor can't get his way, he simply responds by wasting more ratepayers' money by cancelling a scheduled meeting, forcing it to be reconvened at a later date. That later date was yesterday, Monday March 3rd.

I returned to the council chambers yesterday to simply watch the meeting, not to record it. I was carrying a small DJI Osmo Pocket 3 camera (safely tucked away in its vinyl bag) because previously I'd snapped a picture of the sign at the door.

As I attempted to enter the chambers I was stopped by a member of staff who refused me entry.

I asked if they were physically going to stop me entering and they said that if I did enter, they would call the police.

After some discussion I told them to call the police and I entered the chamber.

The meeting commenced and I sat watching, not filming.

About 20 minutes into the meeting the member of staff told me that police were outside the chamber and wished to speak with me.

I said that if they wished to speak with me then they should come and ask me themselves.

The CE was seen to leave the chamber and engage in a discussion with the police, likely telling them that I should be removed at the Mayor's request.

A few minutes later the police left, I remained.

I was told by someone who overheard the conversation that basically the police said "no crime is being committed" and therefore they would not be doing anything.

I have video (of course) showing much of the interactions involved and I have published some of it on community Facebook pages for ratepayers to see just how out of control their mayor and CEO are. I'll also be publishing a video to YouTube for the rest of the world to see.

Having seen just how outrageous and petty the behaviour of this council has become, the local community are not in the least bit happy right now. On my regular walks I spend a great deal of my time stopping to shake the hands of people who now cheer me on and thank me for holding this council accountable in a way that has never been done before.

In an attempt to justify his position, the Mayor posted this video to Facebook. Read the comments for an indication of how badly he has misjudged this situation.

I expect that the SWDC's next move will be to have me trespassed from their building, including the chambers. Fortunately for me, the law requires "reasonable grounds" for trespass when such an order is being made by a public body and, given that it is not me but the Mayor who has disrupted proceedings at every turn, simply because I sit there with a camera, such a notice will likely be ruled invalid by the courts.

It is truly amazing how quickly elected officials can lose touch with the community they promised to serve and how much they hate it when their actions are exposed by a member of that community.

I shall continue to serve my community by keeping the bastards honest (or at least trying).

Carpe Diem folks!

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