A Hamilton City Councillor's social media posts have sparked concern over their potential impact on the city's reputation.
Councillor James Casson is under fire after comments made in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attack, criticising the country’s reaction.
He wrote that for each bunch of flowers laid, each memorial held and each tear shed, the gunman wins.
In another post in 2016, he described the flood of refugees into Europe as an invasion and called for "retribution and extreme violence to rid Europe of these scum".
In light of the comments, Hamilton Mayor Andrew King says, "I am concerned about the reputation of Hamilton… people in leadership need to consider what they're saying and the effect that that has."
Hamilton Council officials found Mr Casson’s most recent post did not breach their code of conduct.
A Local Government New Zealand spokesperson said, "Councils have individual codes of conduct for elected members that typically set out expectations around behaviour that is disrespectful, or abusive, or brings a council into disrepute. Elected members are expected to maintain high standards of behaviour, as civic leaders in our communities. It is up to individual councils as to how specific or broad their code of conduct is, and how it is enforced."
In regards to the 2016 post, Mayor King said, "it was not acceptable in any shape or form and it was far more than opinion but he wasn't working for the council at the time so the code of conduct doesn't cover those comments."
"We do have different councillors who are at the extreme edges of political opinion and the political spectrum and we need diverse views in democracy… Councillor Casson’s opinions were out on those extreme edges."
The councillor also works for Immigration New Zealand who told 1 NEWS that this is an employment matter and they are reviewing the circumstances.
Mr Casson refused an interview at the city’s council meeting today, saying, "I’m not allowed to talk."
Councillor Dave Macpherson says the comments, "were clearly wrong, they were damaging to council, they were damaging to New Zealand."
Councillor Geoff Taylor added, "to call migrants scum is completely unacceptable".
Mr King says James Casson has apologised "unreservedly."
He's planning to visit Hamilton’s Muslim Community tomorrow.
The Prime Minister met with the Mayor today, she strongly disagrees with the online comments made.
"It's ultimately up to the people to determine what his future will be and they'll have that opportunity soon.
"He's now asking the country for forgiveness so the ball is now clearly with the public as to how they take that, Councillor James is a different man than he was a week ago," said Mr King.
The Local Body Elections are in October.
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