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The minister responsible for the America’s Cup will let officials resolve a bitter dispute between his ministry and champion of the Cup Team New Zealand, but described the team’s principles as honest and upright.
Team New Zealand has published three months of correspondence with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), angered that MBIE publicly stated that there had been contact with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), while considering the accusations against the team that later they were refuted. .
The cup defender said MBIE had behaved inappropriately, dealing with a “whistleblower” for five months before informing the team of the allegations about his financial management.
MBIE, the team’s sister company, America’s Cup Event Limited (ACE), and Auckland Council are parties to a detailed venue agreement under which the state contributes $ 40 million toward event costs.
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Team New Zealand said it had asked the Ombudsman and the State Services Commission to examine MBIE’s conduct, but had not heard from either of them.
He had also not heard from the OFS and assumed the office was not involved.
In a statement, MBIE Executive Director Carolyn Tremain said the ministry “vigorously refutes many of the issues raised in the ACE letter (s),” but did not comment on any of the issues raised.
A spokesman for Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash said “the problem is for officials to make progress.”
Ross Giblin / Stuff
MBIE CEO Carolyn Tremain “vigorously rebutted” the issues raised in the letters.
Nash would not be interviewed by Things but in a regular appearance on Newstalk ZB he praised Team NZ President Sir Stephen Tindall and CEO Grant Dalton.
“The fact that Sir Stephen Tindall is involved gives me confidence that things are going well within the America’s Cup and the event,” said Nash.
“Grant Dalton is a man of integrity, as you know, he’s a round-the-world sailor and has negotiated a number of important sponsorship deals in his time, and I understand that he has always acted with integrity and honesty.”
Nash said he wanted to make it clear that no corruption had been found.
The minister did not believe that MBIE had tried to force Dalton to resign from his position at ACE, although the material released by the team said that MBIE had done so in two phone calls and described it as “non-negotiable”.
ROSA WOODS / Things
Stuart Nash as the new Minister of Economic Development, is responsible for the America’s Cup
In material released Thursday and in an interview with Stuff, Tindall described some of the team’s grievances with MBIE’s conduct.
The New Zealand Team president alleged that the whistleblower, who subsequently fired the contractor Mayo and Calder, had continued to make recordings at board meetings and provide them to MBIE during the five months in which the ministry had not raised the matter with the defender.
A forensic audit commissioned by MBIE based on the whistleblower’s claims found no wrongdoing, but mediation will decide if ACE charged $ 3 million for the design of the new AC75 ships, it was a cost of the event.
Added to that mediation is Team New Zealand’s claim that MBIE has violated the terms of the hosting agreement, by failing to act in good faith and denying the team “natural justice” in its dealings with the disputed allegations.
Mediation has not yet started, and the New Zealand Team awaits the information it requested from MBIE in July, but was told it might not be available until November.
The mediation process may not be over by the time the Christmas regatta begins on December 17, which will feature the New Zealand team and the three challengers.
Tindall on Tuesday said Things The decision to go public followed a reference in the MBIE media that it had at one point contacted the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) about the allegations.
The Team New Zealand president unsuccessfully tried to clarify that comment with MBIE CEO Carolyn Tremain in a phone call on Tuesday.
Todd Niall / Stuff
Grant Dalton, Executive Director of the New Zealand team
“Carolyn said she had spoken to the OFS, I asked her how it went, she said I can’t tell you,” Tindall said.
Tindall said that at that time the team decided to publish three months of correspondence stating its side of events, in an attempt to defend its reputation and the position of the Copa América event.
The published correspondence included a document from ACE Director Greg Horton saying that a day after receiving a letter from MBIE in June about the allegations, the ministry demanded that ACE CEO Grant Dalton step aside. .
“Mr. (Iain) Cossar (MBIE) reported separately (ACE president) Tina Symmans in a phone call on Monday June 29 – that Mr. Dalton and other staff needed to be replaced and that was not negotiable,” he wrote Horton.
“MBIE has at all times treated all parties involved in the process with due respect,” Tremain said in the MBIE statement Tuesday.
Nash said that when money is accepted from the government, certain levels of transparency and accountability are expected.
“That applies no matter who you are and no matter what type of organization you are,” he said.
