Am Cup questions need answers
Team New Zealand’s decision last week to reveal some details of its troubled relationship with the Government was an interesting one. Hours after the Herald reported the Serious Fraud Office was showing interest in the taxpayer funding of the America’s Cup, the syndicate released a series of documents saying it would “set the record straight”.
But while the documents revealed previously unknown details of its anger at the way it was being investigated, it did nothing to resolve unanswered questions the syndicate is avoiding.
The reason for releasing the documents also appears disingenuous. Rather than being proactive, as claimed, in reality they were about to be released whether the syndicate wanted them out or not.
Two days after the release, the Auckland Council released the materials following an official information request from the Herald.
Given that the documents — including a very long and deeply personal complaint from lawyer Greg Horton — were marked confidential, it seems unlikely that this was the moment Team New Zealand decided to act transparently.
Earlier this year the Government conducted an investigation into how America’s Cup Event (ACE), a company run from within Team New Zealand’s base, is spending $40 million of taxpayer money provided to it by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
ACE and Team New Zealand are so closely linked as to be considered almost one and the same: Grant Dalton is chief executive of both, while ACE’s only two directors, Tina Symmans and Horton, previously sat on the board of Team New Zealand.
No one is prepared to answer questions posed by the Herald over several months, or respond directly to materials which appear to be at odds with an audit released in August.
Not the Prime Minister or the ministers responsible for the America’s Cup, first Phil Twyford and now Stuart Nash.
Not the boss of MBIE, Carolyn Tremain, who maintains that everything has been done excellently but who is blocking most questions.
Certainly not anyone from ACE or Team New Zealand, including board members, even about the documents proactively released.
The Government has stood on the sidelines while whistleblowers who made a complaint about ACE’s handling of public money are being sued by ACE, possibly in part using public money to do so.
Nash made vague comments about the public deserving “transparency and accountability” but has not elaborated.
Team New Zealand has made repeated use of the courts to prevent details of the accusations against it or its legal case against former contractors Mayo & Calder from being reported.
The Herald is a proud supporter of the America’s Cup and has no wish to disrupt the event or detract from the sailors’ efforts. The materials aimed at setting the record straight do nothing of the sort. It’s well past time questions were answered.
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