Roger Sutton - should he have resigned?

[Stylo]

The worlds gone mad unless, there's more to the story than calling someone 'Sweety' and giving them a hug ...

Give me a break ...


He had been under investigation for the last seven weeks after a complaint of sexual harassment from a senior staff member.

The allegation accused him of making inappropriate jokes and comments, and giving the staffer an unwelcome hug.

A report provided to the State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie did not establish conduct which would have led to Sutton being dismissed and Rennie said he would not have asked him to stand down.

"However, Mr Sutton offered his resignation and this was accepted," Rennie said in a statement today.

It is understood the parties thrashed out an agreement over the weekend. The commission confirmed today that Sutton will receive a settlement as part of the deal.

Asked about whether Sutton would receive any payment other than his salary up until January 31, Rennie indicated an additional payment.

"We've reached an acceptable outcome that acknowledges Roger's early resignation. It is consistent with his entitlements under his contract."

He refused to provide details.

"I'm not going to comment any more on Roger's personal matters."

* Sutton case a salutary lesson

Sutton, who was accompanied by his wife, said he had missed school camps and sports days since he started at Cera.

He revealed that he was considering leaving next year anyway, citing stress and exhaustion. Earlier this year he said he was unlikely not stay on after Cera's powers expired in April 2016.

Many colleagues had been supportive, but "now is the time for new leadership", he said.

"I want to have a proper holiday. I want to be a better father, a better husband."

He said he was "very upset" to have offended anybody.

"I'm tired," he said. "I've called women 'honey' or 'sweetie' ... and that's wrong, it's a sexist thing to do."

He said staying or going was a choice between work or family.

"My wife in many ways is bringing up our children alone at the moment."

Sutton's wife Jo Malcolm began to cry when he said that.

Sutton spoke from the heart and said he missed spending time with his family and felt it was time for a change.

"I'm determined that out of this, I will become a better person. I'm going to tell fewer jokes and no inappropriate jokes."

Malcolm said she felt shocked and sad about the way her husband's time with Cera had ended.

"I just wish this could have happened in a less public, less hideous way."

She said the support received by family, friends and colleagues had been overwhelming but she was glad she would be getting her husband back.

"I want him to get out. I want him to be with us ... I've been raising our boys by myself really," she said.

Malcolm said her husband was "too relaxed, too informal".


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"I think he'd forgotten that he's the chief executive of a public service."

Sutton will be allowed to stay in the job until the end of January, when CERA will then fall under the control of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

"I expect high standards of Public Service chief executives and I take any complaints of inappropriate conduct very seriously. Every State servant must be able to work in a safe environment where they are treated with professionalism and respect," Rennie said.

"I respect Mr Sutton's decision and acknowledge that this was a very difficult call to make for someone who is so committed to the Canterbury community," he added.

Sutton would leave a "strong legacy" in Canterbury, Rennie said.

The Public Service Association (PSA), which represents thousands of public sector workers on employment issues, said the delay in Sutton's departure raised questions.

"Mr Sutton choosing to remain in his job until January 31 raises questions about how the rights of his employees will be safeguarded from any future repetition of his actions," PSA national secretary Erin Polaczuk said.

"This investigation is a timely reminder of how much work is still to be done to ensure public service workplaces enable all public servants to thrive. Positive workplace behaviours are in everyone's interest, and it appears that Mr Sutton's actions fell short of this."

'STAND-OUT LEADER'

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel and Christchurch City Council chief executive Karleen Edwards said they were sad to learn of Sutton's resignation.

In a joint media statement, they said Sutton had been a "stand-out leader for our city and region".

"As CEO of Orion at this time, Roger took community engagement to a new level and never shied away from fronting the community whose interests he always had totally at heart.

"Residents will remember him turning up on his bike with maps in hand to community meetings held in local parks."

They said he was the "logical choice" for Cera's chief executive.

"He gave up so much to take this role, including a large drop in salary and he worked incredibly hard and long hours on behalf of Christchurch residents."

Establishing and leading a new government department was a "huge challenge".

"Despite the challenges of this unprecedented recovery structure, he maintained his commitment to his community and never shirked from speaking out on behalf of his city.

"In these difficult times, he was the voice of Christchurch," the statement said. When Edwards took up her position this year as the new council chief executive, Sutton was "enormously supportive".

"Roger Sutton has been a real asset to the city and our only hope is that his experience, passion, knowledge and desire to get his city back on its feet will not be lost to the Christchurch community."

The Green Party's Christchurch spokeswoman, Eugenie Sage, described Sutton as a "bouncy, tigger-ish character".

She said his resignation, and the events surrounding it, were "really unfortunate".

"His style was always very informal whether it was in select committees or meetings," Sage said.

"I think that was one of the reasons his appointment was so popular."

However, Cera as an organisation lacked transparency and public accountability through consultation, she said.

"And Roger Sutton was unable to change that ... it goes back to [Brownlee's] refusal to engage with Christchurch citizens."

Sage said sexual harassment in the workplace was "very serious" and all complaints should be taken seriously.

"It's made me think ... that you have to be very very careful."

She said Sutton would be an example to many bosses around the country who might think twice about making jokey or inappropriate comments to colleagues.

"It might result [in a] buttoned-up workplace ... and a more conservative approach."

Ruth Dyson, Labour's earthquake recovery spokeswoman, said being the centre of a seven-week-long investigation would have been "very stressful regardless of the outcome".

Dyson said she was "always a very strong supporter" of Sutton but believed he had been unable to effectively do his job and use his expertise.

"I don't think he was able to deliver what he would have wanted...because of the role [Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee] has taken.

"It's a bit of a wasted opportunity."

She said Sutton was a "family man" at heart so having such a stressful job and working such long hours would have undoubtedly taken a toll.

[unstuck]

Should he have resigned?


Nah, he is a politician, he should have been executed.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Should he have resigned?


Nah, he is a politician, he should have been executed.

Uh, he is the antithesis of a politician. I suspect that might have been the problem. I want to read an affidavit from the complainant.

[Grumph]

Uh, he is the antithesis of a politician. I suspect that might have been the problem. I want to read an affidavit from the complainant.

So do I...having been in the public service I know how easy it is to bring a complaint against a dept head - and how hard it is to disprove it..

Edit...Hmm, and how long it takes to action a complaint too....remarkably quick action here.....Why ?

[awa355]

This day and age, you cannot even compliment a woman on her appearance. That can be taken as sexual harrasment under my works' interpretation.

[PrincessBandit]

A lot of it comes down to two factors - one, the perception of public behaviour and expectations and two, the motive behind the complaint.
Unfortunately being touchy-feely (his wife's phrase, which she was happy about) is not a highly desirable trait in leaders, especially when combined with a kickback attitude. Complaints can also be made from a variety of motives and it only takes one person to take offense and decide to "do something about it". When you think about 'how many complaints does it take before something becomes serious' I guess there are a number of issues where the answer is 'only one'. Whether this is one of them, I don't know. Lots of women take stuff in good humour, others are easily offended (and if you combine that with the prospect of financial gain or public embarrassment for the alleged perpetrator) then ..............it's a damned difficult road for a bloke to tread.
Having said that, the higher up the totem pole you are the more scrupulous your behaviour probably needs to be.

[haydes55]

Fuck, calling girls sweety and hugging them.... Worse goes on at my work place every day!

Must be a fucking boring stuck up bitch who would complain? Or desperate for settlement cash.

Was the complaint worth paying for several high paid suits to investigate for 7 weeks? Bet that cost tens of thousands of dollars.... Money better spent reimbursing home owners? Man hours better spent processing cases?

I say charge the bitch complaining

[Hitcher]

1. We don't know all of the facts involved in this incident
2. We don't know if it was an isolated incident
3. Roger Sutton's "resignation" takes effect one day before CERA is absorbed into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

[buggerit]

What a miserable grey old sterile world the public service must be:crazy:

[Stylo]

Looking outside the square ...

A certain female missed a promotion ...or didn't get what she wanted hence the accusations ... ?

I'm on Rogers side, apolitical who knows who he voted for, being an intelligent man I'm sure he wasn't voting Labour

That's tomorrows thread, sorry

[FJRider]

The worlds gone mad ...

You got THAT bit right ....

Reminder ... this is a MOTORCYCLE web site ...

[Mike.Gayner]

We don;t know ANY of the facts here. About the only thing we do know is that someone considered his conduct bad enough that she made a complaint and saw it right through to his resignation, and that someone saw fit to have him resign.

If his conduct really was as innocent as he claims, why hasn't he released the details of the complaint? He's entirely within his right to do so, but refuses to.

[caspernz]

Looking outside the square ...

A certain female missed a promotion ...or didn't get what she wanted hence the accusations ... ?

I'm on Rogers side, apolitical who knows who he voted for, being an intelligent man I'm sure he wasn't voting Labour

That's tomorrows thread, sorry

Mmmm, might be jumping to conclusions...but my thinking is similar. Doubt we know the whole story though.

[oldrider]

Her complaint might be legitimate if it is she should name and be named state her complaint publicly and let him be judged publicly!

The problem is when one party gets to denigrate the other publicly while hiding behind anonymity and closed doors, it's all one way here! :shifty:

As it is now he might be getting off lightly by resigning to keep it quiet and if this is correct the problem never gets resolved just moved on to surface again elsewhere!

This is what has been the problem with the Catholic church etc shuffling the perpetrators between incidences without ever confronting the problem!

Why should it be deemed to be so wrong in the church case but OK in this case? ... Lets have some consistency!

[unstuck]

Lets have some consistency!

In politics.:killingme:killingme:killingme

Society as a whole seems willing to accept this type of behavior from persons in positions of supposed power. We have no one to blame but our selves for being led down the garden path.:headbang::headbang:


RIOT.

[BMWST?]

What a miserable grey old sterile world the public service must be:crazy:

and it just got a little greyer and a little more sterile

[mossy1200]

This day and age, you cannot even compliment a woman on her appearance. That can be taken as sexual harrasment under my works' interpretation.

This day and age, you cannot even compliment a guy on his nc30. That can be taken as sexual harrasment under Honda interpretation.

Eg " I like you, single side swinger."

[FJRider]

1. We don't know all of the facts involved in this incident
2. We don't know if it was an isolated incident
3. Roger Sutton's "resignation" takes effect one day before CERA is absorbed into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet

So ...


WHO really won ... and WHO really lost ... :scratch:

Mud does stick ... but it's easily washed off. :doh:

Shit sticks too ... it's just the smell that lingers ... :shifty:

[Voltaire]

In politics.:killingme:killingme:killingme

Society as a whole seems willing to accept this type of behavior from persons in positions of supposed power. We have no one to blame but our selves for being led down the garden path.:headbang::headbang:


RIOT.

Leaves a lot of unanswered questions:

Where is this path?
Where does it end up?

Where there is smoke there's Lucas.

[Akzle]

oh yeah, like women being allowed to vote (or leave the kitchen at all)is a good thing. Yay society!

[unstuck]

Where is this path?
Where does it end up?

Where there is smoke there's ME:doobey:.

Wherever our esteemed leaders say it is.
Nowhere that benefits society as a whole.:niceone:

[ellipsis]

...one way to get yourself out of a prick of a job...I'm sure he ain't goin' on holiday broke...

[R650R]

"more to the story here..."

are people alledging a conspiracy??? ;p

[meteor]

My female boss calls me darling, my wifes male boss calls her wench. All in good humor. Laugh it off. Yes to OP. The world is nuts.

[AllanB]

Guess those dogey e-mails that get sent around need to stop too.......

[Grumph]

...one way to get yourself out of a prick of a job...I'm sure he ain't goin' on holiday broke...

He's earned it. Hitcher's point on the ending of a "independent" CERA is noted. Sutton could on past form have been expected to disagree with this government's approach so there goes one voice from opposition.

The speed still astonishes me - normal harassment complaints in my experience take months to work through.

I'd doubt conspiracy, but could believe an opportunity seized by the govt....

[Berries]

The speed still astonishes me - normal harassment complaints in my experience take months to work through.
Tut tut. Had a few have we Roger?

[HenryDorsetCase]

The speed still astonishes me - normal harassment complaints in my experience take months to work through.

..

I've been wondering about that myself. Imagine a scenario where some fatty landwhale minority wimminz who has never ever worked anywhere except the public service butts heads with someone who (in my experience) never talks shit, is impatient with bureaucracy, and is very very able. Imagine they do not get on from minute one. Imagine said FLWM seizing an opportunity on the flimisiest of pretexts. Imagine RS going "You know what? Fuck this, I'm done: I dont need this, I don't need you, Fuck alla y'all - I'm out of here"

We of course have no way of knowing. We may never know. I may be "victim" blaming. I am very sympathetic to Roger at this point.

Note to self. Stop calling my young female legal exec "Sweetcheeks"

[oldrider]

I've been wondering about that myself. Imagine a scenario where some fatty landwhale minority wimminz who has never ever worked anywhere except the public service butts heads with someone who (in my experience) never talks shit, is impatient with bureaucracy, and is very very able. Imagine they do not get on from minute one. Imagine said FLWM seizing an opportunity on the flimisiest of pretexts. Imagine RS going "You know what? Fuck this, I'm done: I dont need this, I don't need you, Fuck alla y'all - I'm out of here"

We of course have no way of knowing. We may never know. I may be "victim" blaming. I am very sympathetic to Roger at this point.

Note to self. Stop calling my young female legal exec "Sweetcheeks"

Meanwhile anonimity of the "victim" obviously does her no favours iether! ... These cases should be out in the public for the benefit of both parties! :brick: (And the public)

[Grubber]

I had a guy working for me a couple of years ago who was one of those "touchy feely" types.
He would always extend his hand to you nearly every time or give fist pump to the girls etc.
One of our clients rang me to say there had been a sexual harassment issue with him.
Now lets get this right from the the start, he was definitely not one of those types at all.
Not one single other person, be it customer, workmate or anything else had ever had an issue with him.
We addressed the situation with said customer and made a commitment to not have him deliver there again.
We spoke to the driver and worked out a compromise. He was astonished at the allegations but would rather keep it quiet and carry on working. Problem solved. We couldn't sack him cause we had no real evidence, we were't going to drag the worker through the mill so we just compromised to fix the problem.
About 3 months later the said complainant was sacked for making false complaint against one of the management. Cameras in the right areas solved the problem. Apparently if she simply didn't like someone she just filed a sexual harassment against them.
So easy to do cause the said victim gets priority.

[Grumph]

Tut tut. Had a few have we Roger?

Sadly, no....But having worked in a branch of the public service where men were outnumbered, I'm well aware of what happens, the process and the consequences. I can guarantee you that pretty well everyone at CERA will know everything about this case - but I can also guarantee that everyone will have been reminded they signed the standard confidentiality/official secrets type document.
However, by what i hear on the radio, leaks are happening already.

Roger will have been obliged to go public on the resignation - and the reasons. He's being very careful what he says hence the wife chipping in.

[Banditbandit]

A lot of it comes down to two factors - one, the perception of public behaviour and expectations and two, the motive behind the complaint.
Unfortunately being touchy-feely (his wife's phrase, which she was happy about) is not a highly desirable trait in leaders, especially when combined with a kickback attitude. Complaints can also be made from a variety of motives and it only takes one person to take offense and decide to "do something about it". When you think about 'how many complaints does it take before something becomes serious' I guess there are a number of issues where the answer is 'only one'. Whether this is one of them, I don't know. Lots of women take stuff in good humour, others are easily offended (and if you combine that with the prospect of financial gain or public embarrassment for the alleged perpetrator) then ..............it's a damned difficult road for a bloke to tread.
Having said that, the higher up the totem pole you are the more scrupulous your behaviour probably needs to be.

Yes. Exactly. And often men who harras do not sexually harras all women - just a select few. That means the it does not take multiple offences with different women to make a case ..

Maybe she just did not feel comfortable working around him, or for him - and decided to take action. Who knows. But generally, if she was feeling sexually harrased, then that is important asnd needs to be dealt with.

Yes, he should have resigned - maybe he could have waited out the results of the investigation, maybe he could have worked out something with the complainant. He's taken the best option and resigned.


We don;t know ANY of the facts here. About the only thing we do know is that someone considered his conduct bad enough that she made a complaint and saw it right through to his resignation, and that someone saw fit to have him resign.

If his conduct really was as innocent as he claims, why hasn't he released the details of the complaint? He's entirely within his right to do so, but refuses to.

Yes. We don;t know enough to make a goosd judgement, just that there was a complaint (which must be taken seriously and investigated) and he has resigned.




Note to self. Stop calling my young female legal exec "Sweetcheeks"

Good idea. If she goes the next one might complain ..

[mada]

"
A former Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority worker has blasted the official investigation into accusations of sexual harassment by former chief executive Roger Sutton as "incompetent".

Mr Sutton resigned yesterday after a complaint that he harassed a senior female staff member by giving hugs and making inappropriate jokes and comments.

Former communications adviser Tina Nixon questioned whether "people really think that a hug was what it was all about".

"No woman in the public service should currently feel confident that any complaint would be investigated professionally and without bias," said Ms Nixon, who left Cera earlier this year to become economic development programme manager at Masterton District Council.


Cera operated the most "robust environment" she had experienced, in having worked in "half dozen or so" government departments.

Therefore, she said people needed to "get past the breathtaking PR snow job"."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11360487

Read like a major PR job as soon as I saw it. If he'd done what is being made out and was so innocent, there's not a shot in hell that he would be resigning.

Those high up in the management of public service often get away with much more than any low level plod would, case and point Katrina Bach in the story below. State Services Commission has proved itself time and time again as a toothless useless do sweet f all body.


"A Government department boss has received an official warning over allegations of verbal abuse and assault against a junior staff member"

http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/govt-dept-boss-warned-over-abuse-4843401

Like others have said, if he has nothing to hide I'm sure he'll support full disclosure of what the complaint alleges etc. Rather than having one side of the story played out in the media, as the complainant wont be able to say jack shit publicly due to a confidentiality clause and her employment agreement restricting her from talking to the media/bringing govt/her org into disrepute.

[haydes55]

I wonder if she considered saying "Roger, I'd appreciate not being called sweety, and I don't like to have any physical contact with you or any other colleagues, thank you". Problem solved. If he continues, you know it's harassment and deliberate. Then report the action.

[Maha]

I called Katman sweety once, he deleted me from his online friends list, damn he got me good. :rolleyes:

[unstuck]

My ex boss got done twice for sexual harassment, by 2 different women in the office. Apparently pulling a big black rubber cock out of your fly and saying things like "suck it baby" and other shit, is frowned upon. Cost him shitloads of cash. In the 3 years I was there, he had 6 or 7 PG's against him and 2 sexual harassment cases filed. :weird:

[Grubber]

My ex boss got done twice for sexual harassment, by 2 different women in the office. Apparently pulling a big black rubber cock out of your fly and saying things like "suck it baby" and other shit, is frowned upon. Cost him shitloads of cash. In the 3 years I was there, he had 6 or 7 PG's against him and 2 sexual harassment cases filed. :weird:

Hmmmm....sounds like a nice enough bloke, what was the problem??

[unstuck]

Hmmmm....sounds like a nice enough bloke, what was the problem??

Alcohol, and just generally an all round fuckwit.:yes:

[Coldrider]

"

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11360487

Read like a major PR job as soon as I saw it. If he'd done what is being made out and was so innocent, there's not a shot in hell that he would be resigning.
Sutton has been told by the State Services Commissioner that he has breached the confidentiality clause between the Commissioner, himself (Sutton) and the Complainant, so what is the full story here, a lot more or nothing much?

[mada]

Sutton has been told by the State Services Commissioner that he has breached the confidentiality clause between the Commissioner, himself (Sutton) and the Complainant, so what is the full story here, a lot more or nothing much?

We'll never know I guess, unless someone leaks the full report.

So far the only side we've heard is Suttons which ofcourse he would want to present himself in the best light - a hug may not seem bad, but then we know nothing about the situation, or context and setting its hard to judge for example, if he came up from behind the staff member and gave her a "hug", is that really appropriate? What if he had done that, then later on called her "sweetie". For the investigation to call it sexual misconduct, there's a bit more to it than just happy go lucky friendly banter.

The great thing for Sutton is that he'll only get a small part of severance pay docked, whereas the complainant can't say jack without risking her job.

[Coldrider]

We'll never know I guess, unless someone leaks the full report.

So far the only side we've heard is Suttons which ofcourse he would want to present himself in the best light - a hug may not seem bad, but then we know nothing about the situation, or context and setting its hard to judge for example, if he came up from behind the staff member and gave her a "hug", is that really appropriate? What if he had done that, then later on called her "sweetie". For the investigation to call it sexual misconduct, there's a bit more to it than just happy go lucky friendly banter.

The great thing for Sutton is that he'll only get a small part of severance pay docked, whereas the complainant can't say jack without risking her job.A spokes person for the Commissioner has said he meant 'serious misconduct', not 'sexual misconduct', the cracks are starting to appear.

[mada]

A spokes person for the Commissioner has said he meant 'serious misconduct', not 'sexual misconduct', the cracks are starting to appear.

That's the problem with the SSC they cant even get basic shit right with the facts they have on hand, which is why I have no confidence in their ability to do proper investigations.

Most useless govt. dept out of them all.

[Akzle]

Most useless govt. dept out of them all.

:killingme, oh jeez, there's some pretty stiff competition for that title...:laugh:

[Paul in NZ]

The real problem is that he IS probably a good bloke and is obviously a really good leader BUT it appears that he has a stupid and inappropriate sense of humour.

I mean would you rather loose your best general half way through the war just because he made dodgy jokes??

There are limits of course but its a shame there is no system to steer people away from doing the dumb stuff earlier... I work with engineers - I mean some of them are as Asperger's AS and make the guys on The Big Bang Theory look like genuine social charmers but they are good guys to a T... Their social skills are zero...

The point I'm getting to is that we run the risk of everyone just being a socially acceptable nothing rather that encouraging a exceptionally talented but flawed people. It seems an awfully big hammer...

[willytheekid]

I called Katman sweety once, he deleted me from his online friends list, damn he got me good. :rolleyes:

You lucky bastard!...he ADDED me to his friends list when I did it!:blink:
...Now Im really hoping he doesn't get me good :crazy:

[pete376403]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/63327126/Victim-upset-by-Suttons-conduct

Surely no-one could be this stupid - This alleges:

- Sutton made a sexually suggestive comment about Prime Minister John Key's wife, Bronagh, in the presence of the chief executive of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Andrew Kibblewhite.

[mashman]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/63327126/Victim-upset-by-Suttons-conduct

Surely no-one could be this stupid - This alleges:

- Sutton made a sexually suggestive comment about Prime Minister John Key's wife, Bronagh, in the presence of the chief executive of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Andrew Kibblewhite.

:killingme... you do remember the u.s. politicians and the shite they came out with in regards to other world leaders? What happened there? Fuck all. Let him get on with the job if he's good at it... and if he did say something inappropriate about johnny boy keys wife, give him a medal.

[HenryDorsetCase]

I was very pleased to be sexually harassed by my young female staff member today (she is 26). She said she wanted me to partake in "visible G string friday" which up until recently I just called "friday". I didnt know it was compulsory.

[ellipsis]

If you've seen one, used to be white, but is now brown G-String, you've seen 'em all...

[Grumph]

The real problem is that he IS probably a good bloke and is obviously a really good leader BUT it appears that he has a stupid and inappropriate sense of humour.

I mean would you rather loose your best general half way through the war just because he made dodgy jokes??

The yanks sidelined Patton after he slapped a wounded soldier and accused him of malingering....probably saved a lot of allied lives there..

HDC - whatever you do, don't ask to borrow one of her G strings...

[Winston001]

I was very pleased to be sexually harassed by my young female staff member today (she is 26). She said she wanted me to partake in "visible G string friday" which up until recently I just called "friday". I didnt know it was compulsory.

Cripes mate, don't be seduced by that. You'll be tossed out and have to bunk up with Roger Sutton. Got a pic of you heading to Sumner Beach...

http://www.thumbsupworld.co.uk/uploaded_images/1299752519_Picture0063.jpg


(sorry Tim couldn't resist) :D