An Auckland councillor has fired back at Mayor Wayne Brown after a leaked email revealed he wanted colleagues to stay quiet around the region's flooding.
The emails, obtained by Stuff and the NZ Herald, come after Brown faced criticism for his supposed poor communication during the flooding on Friday.
In the email sent to councillors, Brown asked his colleagues to step back from talking about the weather so he and his deputy Desley Simpson could do the talking.
"My team and I have been working hard to strengthen communications and get clear, timely messages out to Aucklanders.
"To ensure that all communications remain clear and consistent, we need to speak with one voice.
"For that reason, I ask that it be left to myself and the Deputy Mayor to lead public communications on regional matters."
While Brown wanted to take charge of the wider city, he encouraged his councillors to engage with their local communities.
"That said, I strongly encourage you all to continue talking publicly about what's happening in your local communities — indeed, it's essential that you continue to do this."
This request from the mayor did not go down well with some of the councillors in the email chain.
Councillor Chris Darby replied to the email calling Brown's ask "ludicrous".
He found it hypocritical that the mayor wanted to take the lead when other councillors had already been doing that.
He said a number of them "stepped up" when they saw "an information void and lack of political lead".
"From my observation, they responded to media approaches and acquitted themselves well, and without the benefit of comms expertise," Darby wrote.
"That should continue with councillors with regional responsibilities and local board members with local responsibilities conveying messages and telling regional and local stories."
Brown has also come under fire for his attitude during the flooding. Yesterday, messages from a WhatsApp group Brown joined for organising tennis games were obtained by the Herald and show Brown telling fellow group members he had to cancel a game on Sunday as he had to "deal with media drongos".
"Anyhow, I've got to deal with media drongos over the flooding tomorrow, so sadly, no tennis for me tomorrow." He also signed off his message as "Browny".
He also had a testy interview with the Herald, saying, "don't f*** me over" when asked for comment on the leaked messages.
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