Tainui suspend leader over prison consultation row

1.00pm

Tainui co-chairman Haydn Solomon has been suspended.

Mr Solomon was stood down yesterday pending an investigation into payments by the Corrections Department for consultation over the Spring Hill prison planned at Meremere.

A motion by Koro Wetere to suspend Mr Solomon, who also worked for the tribe as a consultant, was passed at a special meeting of the tribe's executive at Hopuhopu yesterday.

Mr Solomon planned to seek an injunction against his suspension and discuss legal action with his lawyer.

Yesterday's move followed the suspension earlier this month of the tribe's prison advising team following concerns over its involvement in $1.5 million Corrections Department consultation contracts.

Co-chairman Tuku Morgan said the suspension was not related to the release of a report by the Corrections Department yesterday that showed it had paid Maori consultants almost $2.5 million for four prisons.

In the report, Corrections Department bosses admitted they should have dumped kaumatua Tom Moana, who ran up a $131,000 prison consultation bill in seven months, as soon as they found out he was facing fraud charges. Instead, they continued to pay him $120 an hour.

Opposition parties have rejected the Corrections Department report and called for radical changes to the Resource Management Act.

The department carried out the inquiry after Act MP Rodney Hide disclosed in Parliament the taxpayer funds being used for consultations.

Mr Hide said the report confirmed his view that the department "bought" Maori support for the prison, but the real problem was the RMA's consultation requirements.

"It should be radically amended to prevent such extortion," he told NZPA.

National's police spokesman Tony Ryall said the report was a whitewash.

"This report is written by the department about the department. How rigged is that?" he said.

"This report is designed to take the heat off the culture of extravagance that has seen $1.5 million paid out in iwi consultation... the Government's cringing political correctness has cost taxpayers a lot of money."

Corrections Minister Paul Swain said there were lessons to be learned from the report, and "robust systems" already in place had to be adhered to.

Corrections Department chief executive Mark Byers has advised senior managers to in future ensure matters involving taxpayer money face the highest test of public scrutiny.

Mr Byers told National Radio the overall project was within budget, on time and a "very good job has been done".

"In the area of the consultation there might have been a little bit too much spending going on there, " he said.

In Northland, where there had been less consultation with local iwi, costs developing a prison site had risen through security costs, civil disorder and occupation of the site.

"So clearly we were going to be looking at a situation of putting more investment into consultation up front, and dealing with as many concerns in the community as we could."

Mr Byers "regretted" $131,000 being paid to convicted fraudster Tommy Moana for his contribution.

The report said taxpayers did not get as much value from his work -- at $120 an hour -- as they should have.

"People are well aware that level of expenditure was excessive," he said of his organisation.

"People will be held accountable as part of their performance assessment and performance management arrangements.

"There is no question that people won't be held accountable for this -- including myself."

He was confident the project had been handled well.

- NZPA