Campaigning to give Marryatt a $1 million payout

Sam Sachdeva at the Press reports:

At least 2000 people attended a protest calling for mid-term elections and the removal of chief executive Tony Marryatt and mayor Bob Parker in central Christchurch yesterday afternoon.

It would be nice if protesters had a basic understanding of the law.

I have no problem with people calling for Bob Parker to be sacked. He is an elected official. I would note though that I reckon a fair number of those demanding the Government sack the Christchurch City Council were also those who protested against the Government sacking the Canterbury Regional Council. Consistency would be nice.

I’m actually of the view that the Council may have to be sacked, if the Crown Observer can’t help sort things out. But Kerry Marshall and the Council should be given a chance to sort things out.

But what is really dumb is calling for the CEO to be sacked. Because if that actually happened, a $60,000 payrise would be the least of their aggravations. Marryatt has a 2.5 year contract. He would inevitably win a court battle requiring him to be paid out the remaining two years of his contract, which means he would walk away with $1.1 million.