The Government has stood on the sidelines while whistleblowers are being sued by ACE. Photo / Jason Oxenham
The Government has stood on the sidelines while whistleblowers are being sued by ACE. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Editorial
EDITORIAL
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 ofdocuments 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.
While those who were involved in the probe are insisting everything is fine, 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 and refusing to permit the forensic accountants who conducted the audit to speak to the Herald.
Certainly not anyone from ACE or Team New Zealand, including board members, even about the documents proactively released.
Grant Dalton is chief executive of both ACE and Team New Zealand. Photo / Michael Craig
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, pedestrian comments about the public deserving "transparency and accountability" but has not responded to attempts to get him to elaborate.
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.
At the same time, Team New Zealand has actively released documents criticising numerous parties, including the Herald.
Until last week, it appeared Team New Zealand was going to ride out the controversy, offering little or no comment on many questions about Dalton's attitudes to health and safety, dismissing materials which may be at odds with what it told to a Government-ordered audit and then suggesting that because no one at the SFO had contacted it, there was nothing to see.
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.
If Team New Zealand was running a private event, it could run it however it likes. But that is not the case given the amount taxpayers have contributed. The materials aimed at setting the record straight do nothing of the sort, and many important questions remained unanswered.
