America’s Cup Financing: New Zealand team says MBIE wanted to fire Grant Dalton

A prominent business lawyer with long ties to the New Zealand team has launched a scathing attack on the government’s handling of allegations made about its use of taxpayer funds for the America’s Cup.

Greg Horton detailed his concerns in a lengthy statement, sent to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Auckland Mayor Phdil Goff, accusing government officials of making misleading claims, the former attorney general for offensive conduct and a campaign to fire Grant Dalton.

Horton, a former director of the New Zealand Team, is now on the board of the America’s Cup Event, which is receiving up to $ 40 million in taxpayer funding to run the regatta.

Hours after the Herald revealed that the Serious Fraud Office was showing interest in funding the America’s Cup taxpayers, the New Zealand team issued a statement attacking MBIE, accusing it of inappropriate behavior.

MBIE later defended its handling of the allegations against ACE, but also revealed that the upcoming mediation would also cover whether the parties acted in good faith.

Accompanying the short statement were a series of documents that the union, formed by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron to pursue the America’s Cup, had sent both to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and to a number of prominent politicians, including Goff and Ardern.

Included was a statement from Greg Horton, director of the America’s Cup Event (ACE) of epic scope and proportions, nearly 5,000 words long. Horton is a founding partner of the commercial law firm Harmos Horton Lusk.

The statement was dated September 17. It is marked confidential and recipients were asked at the time not to share it, but Team New Zealand has released the document.

Makes a series of assertions about an audit ordered by MBIE to investigate complaints filed by whistleblowers “regarding a variety of matters that essentially allege gross dishonesty and even fraud on the part of ACE and [Team New Zealand]”Horton wrote.

“The accusations have all [been] “Beattie Varley,” Horton added, concluded that was not true.

Beattie Varley’s conclusion was that she had seen no evidence to show that America’s Cup money had been misappropriated.

Horton complains almost bitterly that MBIE CEO Carolyn Tremain had refused to tell the Herald if she believed ACE had misled her organization.

ACE and [Team New Zealand] we’re not perfect, and we don’t pretend to be, “Horton said.

“But we are honest.”

An attempt to eliminate Dalton

Horton accuses MBIE of taking a predetermined approach to the investigation and that, even after an interim report, they were seeking to have Dalton, and other personnel, immediately removed from ACE.

The wish, Horton said, was communicated when MIE sent ACE an escalation notice, stating that ACE could be stripped of rights to organize the regatta.

On June 23, in a phone call with Tremain and Team New Zealand President Sir Stephen Tindall, MBIE Tourism General Manager Iain Cossar informed the call that “Grant Dalton and other designated personnel must be replaced in ACE “.

Cossar “warned separately [ACE chairwoman] Tina Symmans on a phone call on Monday June 29 following a meeting between the Hosts and [Team New Zealand]/ ACE, where we outlined our position on the allegations (which we had also assumed in part in writing on June 26), that Mr. Dalton and other staff needed to be replaced and that was ‘non-negotiable,’ “Horton wrote.

“I have no doubt that MBIE will explain these as possible outcomes, scouting matters if the investigation finds irregularities or something similar, but that would be completely out of context regarding how the messages were delivered and the force with which they were delivered.” .

Horton went on to appear to accuse Cossar of misrepresenting the position of former Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford.

In August, MBIE, the Auckland Council and the New Zealand Team issued a statement welcoming Beattie Varley’s final report. The statement noted record-keeping concerns, but ignored Beattie Varley’s criticism of the ACE government.

Horton said the agreed statement was “substantially agreed on the weekend before the launch, but on the day of release, Mr. Cossar attempted to introduce wording that was inappropriate and it had been agreed to exclude.”

Horton added that Cossar “explained to Sir Stephen that the language was included as it was an” end result “for Minister Twyford, however when Sir Stephen called the Minister, he found that Mr. Cossar’s statement was false.”

Horton said MBIE used the statement in response to media inquiries, but did not reveal what the disputed statement was.

“I don’t see that that is consistent with good faith.”

Mike Heron’s conduct is ‘deeply offensive’

Horton makes detailed criticisms of the communication, accusing MBIE of wrongly claiming legal privilege over the documents, delaying the publication of the Official Information Act requests (publicly reveals that ACE demanded to know who was making the OIA requests in this regard) , while prioritizing requests from the media.

The letter details a confrontation between Horton and Mike Heron QC (the former attorney general) who had been hired by MBIE.

Horton said in a “non-judgmental” meeting that he proposed a timeline “to create some structure in the host’s unstructured process,” proposing a timeline in July for the remainder of the audit.

“Mr. Heron QC was extremely angry at this proposed schedule, calling it an ‘ambush,’ and then stated in writing that I was seeking to ‘control’ the investigation in a way that I have never experienced before,” Horton wrote, adding that the meeting “degenerated” and the couple got angry.

“This caused Mr. Heron QC to speak about me in a sustained and deliberate manner and therefore not allow me to speak. For context, I have a weak and weak voice due to Motor Neuron Disease, which the Mr. Heron QC knew about because of our relationship outside of this matter, including our children who went to school together. This caused a severe reaction in my impaired nervous system, with uncontrollable tremors in my legs. Despite that obvious reaction, the Mr. Heron QC persisted until I angrily managed (with the help of our attorneys) to stop him from behaving inappropriately and reinforced that he needed to listen. “

Horton said Heron offered an apology that he did not think was sincere, then claimed the actions were “inadvertent.”

“The conduct of Mr. Heron QC, which was and continues to be deeply offensive to me, was raised by Sir Stephen Tindall to Ms. Tremain of MBIE when he learned of the behavior.”

Elsewhere, Horton claims that the Herald’s report on handling a disputed $ 3 million fee, allegedly for the vessel’s design, was inaccurate.

However, for several months, ACE and the New Zealand team have refused to discuss the fee with the Herald, even about the material that appears on his face to contradict what they told Beattie Varley about it.

Heron declined to comment this afternoon.

The New Zealand team has not responded to requests for comment. According to a Stuff report, Sir Stephen Tindall telephoned Tremain to ask about the nature of his discussions with the OFS, but she declined to respond.

MBIE has not responded to requests for comment.

Stuart Nash, the minister responsible for the America’s Cup, did not respond to requests for comment.

The Prime Minister’s office has said it is a matter for MBIE to address.

In a statement, Tremain said that after receiving allegations about matters at ACE, the ministry “used the contractual provisions of the Headquarters Agreement to hire Beattie Varley to conduct an audit.”

Tremain noted Horton’s comments that ACE’s initial approach to the audit was futile.

“MBIE has at all times treated all parties involved in the process with due respect and vigorously refutes many of the issues raised in ACE’s letters,” Tremain said.

It revealed that the mediation that had been initially announced would cover the dispute over a $ 3 million design fee that had been expanded to cover “issues of the parties acting in good faith.”

Mediation is expected to finally begin in December. “MBIE looks forward to the completion of this process.”