Media Release

16 February 2010

ATA must accept Boag company mistake and act on it

Attempts by the Auckland Transition Agency to downplay the politicisation of the recruitment process around the new super city management team won’t wash with the hundreds of senior managers applying for the jobs, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Phil Twyford.

“The agency (ATA) has argued that former National Party president Michelle Boag’s recruitment company Momentum won the contract to hire the new executive team through a fair and square recruitment process.

“But this doesn’t alter the fact that there is a conflict of interest over the Momentum decision given Michelle Boag, a senior consultant with the company, is acting as an unpaid campaign advisor to super city mayoral candidate John Banks,” Phil Twyford says.

“Even if the conflict was perceived, rather than shown to have affected appointment decisions, this could have a significant impact on the process from the point of view of those applying for jobs,” Phil Twyford says.

“How are they not to know whether or not they are being vetted by the Right’s mayoral campaign advisor and her team? Michelle Boag of course, isn’t Momentum’s only political affiliation.  Jenny Shipley is also a company director.

“The Momentum decision reflects poorly on ATA, which together with the Government is already under considerable fire for its handling of the transition process on many fronts.  Today’s biting criticism from the Auckland Chamber of Commerce is the latest of many.

“The Agency should rethink its Momentum decision immediately.  I’ve been told by a number of prospective super city management applicants that they are disturbed by, and worried about, the Michelle Boag link,” Phil Twyford says.

“Like it or not, ATA has made a poor decision which may affect the quality of applicants and therefore the staff on the new council.  This is the last thing Auckland can afford.”

Contact: Phil Twyford 0274 449 161