Laws hides his 'private' emails

Wanganui District councillor Michael Laws says he will not release any private emails he had sent to other councillors about serial sex offender Stewart Murray Wilson.

All councillors have been asked to provide that information to the council's legal officer, Paul Drake.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has lodged an Local Government Official Information Act (LGOIA) request with the council for all documents held by council that related to Wilson and Mr Drake has sent out a similar request to all councillors.

Wilson has been paroled to a house outside the Whanganui Prison and earlier this month the council agreed - although not unanimously - to ban him from 17 parks and reserves in the Wanganui district.

The Howard League is threatening to take legal action against the council as a result and, meanwhile, has lodged its OIA request.

But Mr Laws said he had "no intention" of providing that correspondence.

"I regard all emails between myself and any person - councillor or constituent - to be private and to have it open to an LGOIA request sets a dangerous precedent. What next? Text messages?," Mr Laws said yesterday.

Mr Drake sent a reminder to councillors yesterday for copies of emails that may have gone to and between councillors.

Some councillors had responded and some of that involved emails sent by council staff to councillors.

Councillor Ray Stevens is another who said he would not be responding because he could not.

Mr Stevens said he got more than 100 emails each day and his computer will hold emails for two days then automatically delete them.

"And any mail I send is not retained either," he said.

The Howard League emailed Wanganui Mayor Annette Main earlier this month to inform her it was seeking legal advice on whether the council's actions in trespassing Wilson were lawful.

Jarrod Gilbert, an advocate for the league, said: "Should the council proceed to issue Mr Wilson with trespass notices or to otherwise take any steps in furtherance of its 'community shunning' campaign in a manner that our advice indicates is unlawful, then we will issue proceedings in the High Court," Dr Gilbert said.

Dr Gilbert said the league was concerned that the council's actions, while well-intended, would inadvertently create more victims of crime.