An extraordinary council meeting will be held on Tuesday (April 1) to address councillor Niki Gladding’s “deliberate disclosure of confidential information” a little over a week ago.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) proposes to discharge Niki from her roles on the infrastructure committee and audit, finance and risk committee.

The meeting is an “express response to a request from the majority of council” following Niki’s actions, QLDC stakeholder and democracy services manager Naell Crosby-Roe said.

Niki shared information with media and an Otago Regional Council elected representative after a briefing where it was made clear the information was confidential, Naell said.

The briefing provided an update on an enforcement order and subsequent mediation process, part of an ongoing legal process still before the courts, he said.

It is understood the topic was QLDC’s plan to directly discharge treated wastewater into the Shotover River.

Niki’s actions amount to a “serious breach of the elected member’s responsibilities”, Naell said.

This is not the first time Niki has been in hot water for sharing confidential information.

The Queenstown-Whakatipu ward councillor was investigated by the code of conduct committee for what was found to be a “material breach” of the QLDC code of conduct in 2020 after she released confidential, draft material about Wānaka Airport to a media outlet.

Niki was also sent a letter of sanction in July 2024 after “clear breaches” to the code of conduct during a podcast interview, Naell said.

Councillors can be discharged from committees or subcommittees as the result of a breach in code of conduct.

A council resolution by councillors at a formal meeting is required for the removal of a member from a committee.

Councillors will vote on Niki’s removal from the two committees at Tuesday’s meeting.

PHOTO: QLDC