Guilty verdicts in corruption case
Two iwi top financial table
Southern Ngai Tahu and Auckland-based Ngati Whatua are the most financially successful iwi in the country, a new report shows. TDB Advisory’s Iwi Investment Report looked at the structures, investment strategies and investment performance of eight iwi, which had combined assets worth $4.3 billion, or 70 per cent of all postsettlement iwi assets. Overall, there was reasonably positive financial performance, with Ngai Tahu and Ngati Whatua Orakei seeing the greatest returns. Over the past 10 years Ngai Tahu has nearly tripled its assets, going from $561 million in 2006 to $1.504b in 2016. The iwi has little debt and has received a number of payments from the Crown, with the last one in 2015 of $29m. Ngati Whatua Orakei’s assets were valued at $939m and it had a net worth of $717m.
Murdoch buys APN newspapers
News Corp’s buyout of APN News & Media’s regional Queensland newspapers won’t hurt market diversity as readers are turning to online news regardless, according to Australia’s competition watchdog. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Thursday gave the all-clear for Rupert Murdoch’s media giant to buy APN’s Australian Regional Media, which includes 12 daily newspapers, 60 smaller publications and more than 30 websites. APN owns NZME, which publishes The New Zealand Herald, but the deal does not include New Zealand holdings. The ACCC had raised concerns that the A$36.6 million ($38 million) acquisition could lessen news supply competition. But after consulting readers and some 600 advertisers, it found there would be little impact.
Vinyl sales break UK records
Vinyl records have returned to the mainstream, with sales overtaking digital download sales for the first time in the United Kingdom. A record £2.4 million ($4.2 million) was spent on vinyl in the past week, out playing digital sales of £2.1m. It’s a stark contrast from this time last year, where vinyl sales stood at 1.2 million and digital sales at 4.4m. Kim Bayley, chief executive of the Entertainment Retailers’ Association, said the surge was in part due to an increased number of retailers stocking records. Another factor was vinyl’s increasing popularity as a Christmas gift. There has also been a resurgence in vinyl in New Zealand. Recorded Music NZ figures show vinyl in 2016 accounts for about 10 per cent of the entire physical market, coming off a base of near zero in the early 2000s. A former council employee and a roading contractor have been found guilty of corruption worth more than $1 million relating to Auckland roading contracts.
Stephen James Borlase and Murray John Noone stood trial over eight weeks earlier this year, after pleading not guilty to bribery and corruption charges brought against them by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
Borlase, a former director of Projenz, which undertook contract work for Auckland Transport (AT), faced eight charges of corruption or bribery of an official and four charges of obtaining a document for pecuniary advantage.
Noone, a former director of transportation at the Rodney District Council and later an AT employee, faced six charges
"It appears that within the road maintenance division during this period the acceptance of gratuities was considered the norm."
of corruption or bribery of an official.
In the High Court at Auckland yesterday, Borlase was found guilty and was convicted on the charges of corruption or bribery, but was found not guilty of the charges of obtaining a document for pecuniary advantage.
Noone was found guilty and convicted on all six charges he faced.
Justice Sally Fitzgerald remanded both men on bail until sentencing in February next year, but emphasised this should not be taken as a reflection of what the sentencing outcome might be.
The alleged offending took place between 2006 and 2013 relating to roading project consultation contracts Projenz carried out for the Rodney District Council and AT.
Auckland Crown solicitor Brian Dickey said during the trial Noone and George were overseeing, authorising, managing and receiving benefits in relation to contracts Projenz had with the organisations.
A culture tolerant of corruption and the acceptance of gratuities developed within the councils’ roading maintenance divisions as a result of the relationships. Dickey said Noone received payments from Projenz of about $1.1m and gratuities of $83,000 during the offending period, with the corruption arising from a pre-existing relationship between the two.
Justice Fitzgerald said yesterday that Noone did not provide any consulting services for which he had received monthly payments over the period of at least $8000.
It was ‘‘implausible’’ there would be no documentary evidence if the work had indeed been carried at as the defendants said, the judge said.
Neither Noone or George disclosed the benefits they were receiving despite a clear policy in place at their organisations. The judge said she inferred from this both men took to knew the arrangements were wrong.
A third man involved with the offending, Barrie Kenneth James George, was sentenced in September to 10 months home detention for two charges of accepting bribes.
AT chief executive David Warburton welcomed the guilty verdicts and said the type of behaviour exhibited was ‘‘completely unacceptable’’.
He said concerns were first raised in 2013 following an internal review.
‘‘Their actions are not an indication of any sort of systemic failure but rather those of two individuals betraying the trust placed in them.’’
SFO director Julie Read said corrupt activity was a risk if businesses turned a blind eye.
‘‘It appears that within the road maintenance division during this period the acceptance of gratuities was considered the norm. That sort of behaviour cannot be tolerated if we are to continue to promote New Zealand as a safe place to invest and do business.’’