City Councillor Stands By Decision To Not Sign Agreement

Invercargill City councillor Nobby Clark won’t be moved and he won’t be bullied into signing any non-disclosure agreement either.

“There is a much wider need for the community to be informed… when you are talking about major projects over the next five years, there needs to be a debate about that,” he said, when contacted on Thursday.

An extraordinary meeting of the Performance, Policy, and Partnerships committee meeting will be held next Tuesday to decide whether they can stop him being part of the Sport and Recreation Oversight Group.

The group has been set up to oversee future options for both Rugby Park and Surrey Park, and there have been concerns that the ‘vocal’ Clark will talk too much before decisions are made.

Clark said he didn’t have an opinion on either yet, but if Rugby Park was heading towards a multi-purpose facility, then obviously they would need to be talking with more than just rugby stakeholders.

Clark was asked by the council to sign the non-disclosure agreement to be part of the group on Monday, and he was standing firm on the matter.

He believed, after talking to the Mayor, no other non-disclosure agreement had been presented to a councillor in the past 26 years.

“So it’s a little bit personal to me.  They don’t like me talking to the media.   They see me as a bit of a nuisance.” he said.

Clark believed it was in poor taste because the agreement not only stopped him talking for the three months he was on the group, but for a further three years after.

“It’s basically until the next election.”

He found the agreement very threatening and said it mentioned penalties, although not specifically.

“I have refused to sign it and I have refused to be replaced.”