Whangārei District Councillor Jayne Golightly has publicly apologised for breaching council confidentiality.

Golightly sad sorry to her 13 fellow councillors, and the wider public, after being found in breach of WDC’s elected members’ code of conduct at a confidential March 30 council hearing, which also decided on the public apology as a suitable consequence for the breach.

Golightly, in her third council term, admitted revealing information from an earlier confidential council meeting to radio host Sean Plunket on his internet radio show The Platform. This regarded litigation between the council and Whangārei contractor Jimmy Daisley.

“As councillors we are required to uphold the highest levels of confidentiality and ethical standards and I take full responsibility for not meeting those standards,” Golightly told Thursday’s WDC council meeting.

“My lapse in judgement was completely unintentional and I assure you that such a mistake will not happen again,” she said in her mea culpa, at times fighting back tears.

The March council hearing considered a report from independent investigator and Auckland barrister James Chrichton following a complaint to the council from a member of the public, Terry Burkhardt, over the radio interview in November last year.

Chrichton found the central allegation made against Golightly was substantiated, on the balance of probabilities. He said her code breach was at the lower end of the scale of severity.

Chrichton said Golightly had breached the code by disclosing which way she voted on the council appeal against the High Court ruling WDC had to pay Daisley more than $6m. That was because information about the way councillors voted on the appeal should have remained confidential, as council discussions on this topic were held during a public-excluded meeting.

“I would like to express my deepest apologies for breaching confidentiality on a recent matter where I had spoken to Sean Plunket regarding information of which I had voted in the Daisley versus WDC legal appeal,” she said.

“I understand the gravity of this situation and the negative impact it has had on fellow councillors and the impact it has had on the trust and relationship we have built as a team. Please know that I value the trust and respect that I have earned from each of you and I am committed to restoring it by demonstrating a consistent adherence to our policies and procedures.

“Once again, I apologise for my actions and any harm that they have caused.”

Daisley asked the High Court at Whangārei to sell the council’s Forum North head offices after the council missed a critical deadline for paying some of the court-ordered $6 million-plus he was owed. The 2.4-hectare site in question includes the Forum North council offices, theatre and the city library. Council records show these buildings and land have a $20m value.

■ Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.