Mayoral hope has colourful back-story

BY JOSEPH ALDRIDGE AND JARED MORGAN

Southland District Council mayoral contender Roderick Young is an enigma with a controversial back-story.

It appears he may not live in the district, was sacked from two jobs and has interests in mining.

Mr Young, 41, last week put his name forward to stand against long-serving Southland District Council Mayor Frana Cardno, but is remaining tight-lipped about his election platform.

Mr Young steadfastly refuses to give interviews, instead demanding reporters' credentials, including CV, hobbies and parents' professions.

Yesterday, he refused to answer questions about his background and work history by phone and asked that he be texted to get a cellphone number from the reporter.

Replying by text he said he worked for the South Waikato District Council from 2005-07 and for the Bay of Plenty District Health Board in 2007 and 2008.

That work history is chequered.

Mr Young worked as a public health promoter with the Bay of Plenty District Health Board, but was sacked for serious misconduct in 2008.

A board spokeswoman confirmed he had worked for the board but would not comment further.

The Southland Times has details of his dismissal because he took the health board to the Employment Relations Authority claiming it was unjustified. The authority determined in favour of the health board in March, finding Mr Young was not unjustifiably dismissed, was not unfavourably disadvantaged in his employment and did not have a personal grievance.

The decision lists a raft of issues during his 12-month employment including his communication and behaviour, his work not being up to standard, lack of focus on work, bullying, intimidation and harassment, including sexual harassment.

Mr Young challenged the authority, but was outside the 28 days allowed and is seeking the leave of the Employment Court to proceed.

He also appealed to the authority against costs awarded to the health board in a separate hearing in June, at that time he was directed to pay $7500.

Last month he was directed to pay that amount but that it would be held in trust pending the Employment Court action.

The Southland Times understands that he also had difficulties at an earlier job.

South Waikato District Council chief executive David Hall said Mr Young had worked at the council for a short period as a strategic planner, but had left about three years ago.

However, The Times understands he was sacked from the job, but the grounds of that sacking are bound in confidentially agreements.

Another former employer Raukawa FM managing director Wendy Biddle said Mr Young worked at the radio station in television production.

Funding and red-tape led to her closing the television side of the business last September.

While a good employee, Mr Young was "hard to fathom".

"He was very excited and enthusiastic, but some of his ideas he had for TV and radio, I couldn't fathom," she said. "I had to squash a lot of his ideas because they were way beyond my budget."

South Waikato News editor Mathew Grocott said Mr Young was a well-known personality around Tokoroa.

"He's an enigma. He was always at council meetings. He had a lot of ideas that weren't taken up."

Mr Young's candidate profile says Southland needs to pay its share of rising Government debt by extracting State-owned minerals such as "gold, iron sands, coal, oil, silver and precious metals".

His company, Waiau Gold Ltd, has applications lodged with Crown Minerals to prospect and mine the Waiau River, near Monowai.

One of the men who nominated Mr Young for the SDC mayoralty is Paul Kelly of Otautau, a shareholder of Waiau Gold Ltd.

He said Mr Young was a "business acquaintance" and his nomination was a "vote for change".

The New Zealand Companies Office and internet list Mr Young as being linked to three other firms.

- © Fairfax NZ News