Inside the Andrew Little-Ray Chung feud: Police complaint, legal letters, texts revealed

An under-fire Wellington city councillor who was demoted after police raised concerns over his behaviour during a state of emergency says his opinion of Mayor Andrew Little has dropped.

A response to an official information request has revealed Little planned to sack Ray Chung from a subcommittee chair role, mentioning his “previous lapses of judgement this triennium“.

It is despite it initially being announced Chung had stepped down from the council leadership role in May, saying he wanted to focus on constituents in his ward.

The Herald earlier reported Chung’s demotion was a result of a disciplinary process triggered after police raised concerns about his conduct during a recent state of emergency.

On April 21, Chung became involved in an unauthorised search and rescue mission for missing man Philip Sutton, who was later found dead - although he said he did not engage in search efforts, but instead had gone to the area to tell the volunteers to go home, as per police advice.

He emailed council officers and the mayor during the state of emergency to say he was going to the search area to stop people from going into the rushing water.

“I wouldn’t recommend that. Best to stay inside. The police are in contact with the EOC [emergency operations centre] and leading this operation,” Little responded in an email.

Later that day, the mayor received a text message from Police Inspector Dean Silvester, saying he wanted to speak with Little regarding Chung’s behaviour.

“I’ve been advised that councillor Chung had made a nuisance of himself in relation to the search and rescue efforts in Karori. This has included the spreading of misinformation and inappropriate contact with emergency services and the missing person[s] family,” Silvester’s message said.

It later became clear Chung had not been in contact with the family, but was communicating with a third party who claimed to know the family.

It is unclear what misinformation Chung was accused of spreading.

The following day, April 22, the mayor met with Chung and later informed him he was concerned Chung had breached the council’s code of conduct, and would be referring the matter to the council’s chief executive.

Under-fire Wellington City councillor Ray Chung said his “estimation of Andrew has dropped” amid the fallout. Photo / Mark Mitchell

In a draft letter to the chief executive, Little described Chung’s account of the events as “shifting, evasive, and fundamentally contradictory”, and said his actions had “fallen seriously short of the expectations the public should have of elected members in an emergency”.

Chung responded to Little’s draft code of conduct referral, highlighting what he considered “serious inaccuracies”, saying no evidence of “misinformation” or “inappropriate contact” with the officer had been provided.

“It is disappointing that you have decided not to believe me and to take action against me based on unsubstantiated claims,” Chung later wrote to Little.

In a decision letter, Little said he had lost confidence in Chung and he intended to remove him from his subcommittee chair role, but first gave him the opportunity to respond.

In response, a partner for law firm McBride Davenport James emailed the mayor a seven-page letter on behalf of Chung which said the councillor was being honest and disputed the claims made against him.

“[Chung] is concerned that your advancing incorrect claims will unnecessarily drag the family back into the media spotlight, for what might appear to be political reasons,” the lawyer wrote.

‘My estimation of Andrew has dropped’, Chung tells contact

Messages between Chung and a contact whose details have been withheld show Chung complained “Andrew is still determined to proceed” with the disciplinary process.

“He really is that guy isn’t he. Causing stress after a grief,” they wrote back to Chung.

Chung later said his “estimation of Andrew has dropped”.

The contact, who appeared to be assisting Chung with the ordeal, later suggested he take a defamation case against media for suggesting he resigned.

“I really loathe politics!” Chung later said, “Why can’t we all just care for people and try to help all Wellingtonians.”

The Herald has sought comment from Chung and Little.

Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.