Barclay criticises ‘privacy breach’
Former KiwiBuild boss Stephen Barclay is pursuing a constructive dismissal case with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, and says the complaints about him were the result of a ‘‘direct management style’’.
He said the complaints came as he attempted to meet KiwiBuild’s targets ‘‘at pace’’ and says when he was suspended the policy’s one-year target was still in reach.
Housing Minister Phil Twyford has now admitted that oneyear target of 1000 homes by July 1 is unreachable.
Barclay stopped working as the head of the KiwiBuild unit late last year with no explanation offered by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (MHUD).
Twyford later confirmed there was an employment dispute.
Yesterday MHUD chief executive Andrew Crisp confirmed that Barclay had resigned in January, saying the issue stemmed from complaints about Barclay’s ‘‘leadership behaviour’’ from ‘‘employees, contractors, and stakeholders’’.
‘‘The allegations reflected behaviours that are not consistent with standards expected of senior public servants,’’ Crisp said.
‘‘I commenced an employment investigation into those allegations. While the investigation was ongoing, Mr Barclay resigned.’’
‘‘There was no exit payment or confidential deal reached with Mr Barclay. Mr Barclay resigned with immediate effect and received no payment in lieu of notice.’’
Barclay put out a statement yesterday pushing back at the complaints. He said divulging the existence of the complaints was itself a breach of privacy.
The statement also revealed that he is pursuing a constructive dismissal case.
‘‘Mr Barclay was employed by MBIE from July to October 2018 when the KiwiBuild programme was transferred to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.
‘‘During this period, there were no issues raised about his performance, management style or leadership,’’ a spokeswoman for Barclay said.
‘‘Within two weeks of the KiwiBuild programme moving to MHUD, he can confirm there were a small number of complaints from individuals who held a close relationship to the CEO, Mr Crisp. The nature of the complaints related to Mr Barclay’s direct management style and dealings with certain individuals.’’
‘‘They were entirely linked to the implementation of the KiwiBuild programme which was Mr Barclay’s only remit. His commitment was to execute against the targets of the KiwiBuild programme, and he was attempting to do this at pace.’’ The first man to face combined charges of slavery and human trafficking has signalled that he intends to plead not guilty.
Viliamu Samu, also known as Joseph Matamata, 64, appeared in the High Court at Napier yesterday. The first offence carries a maximum tariff of 20 years and the latter one of 14 years.
Samu’s lawyer, Roger Philip, said his client intended to plea not guilty to the charges before Justice Peter Churchman.
A trial of three to four weeks was set down for February 2020. Samu was remanded on bail.
He is the first to face slavery and human trafficking charges together in what Immigration NZ alleges is a major scam involving Samoan migrants.