America's Cup case: MBIE enters legal fight between Team NZ, ACE and NZ Herald, Newstalk ZB

Team NZ and the America's Cup event have gagging orders against NZME. Photo / File

The government and Auckland Council have hired a Queen's Counsel to represent them in the stoush between Emirates Team New Zealand and NZ Herald publisher NZME.

Michael Heron QC appeared briefly this morning at the High Court at Auckland for the Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment and the council.

It is not clear what their position is on the gagging orders Team NZ and America's Cup Event have obtained against the media company.

Heron told BusinessDesk his clients wanted to be heard, but would not provide further detail.

MBIE is currently investigating the use of public money to run the event.

This morning, NZME's lawyer Robert Stewart told Justice Simon Moore he had just brought to court the publisher's evidence as it fights a suppression order over publication of a Beattie Varley report into America's Cup Event.

The gag order was made last Thursday by Justice Christine Gordon, without NZME being able to state its case.

Restrictions

The order states NZME cannot publish the report, or any part of the contents of the report, or any parts of the contents of recordings of meetings referred to in the report.

Justice Gordon made the orders on the condition that Team NZ and America's Cup Events Ltd set out their case, which NZME formally responded to this morning.

At an administrative hearing, Justice Moore indicated he had not read Team NZ's evidence and Stewart said its evidence and argument, including an affidavit from NZME's managing editor Shayne Currie, had just been filed.

The case will resume later this afternoon and is expected to take a few hours.

Team NZ and ACE's lawyer Davey Salmon indicated the case has "layers of sensitivity" and will need suppression orders given some information is confidential, some private, and some defamatory.

On Friday, BusinessDesk revealed three key executives employed by ACE are assisting the investigation.

Tom Mayo, Grant Calder, the principals of sports event management firm Mayo & Calder, and their accountant Michael Choy, have made protected disclosures to MBIE under the Protected Disclosures Act.

MBIE last week announced it was suspending further payments to ACE "pending the outcome of the process" to investigate claims it had received. Some $29 million of $40 million has been paid to ACE under 'milestone' payments relating to the race fee for the event.

Mayo & Calder was contracted to work for ACE, reporting directly to Grant Dalton, who is chief executive of both ACE and Team NZ, the defender of The America's Cup, which will be raced next year.

The allegations came to light last week when Team NZ put out a statement saying it had been spied on and was under investigation over "inaccurate allegations regarding financial and structural matters."

The yachting syndicate has continued to deny any wrongdoing, saying it had already addressed concerns of MBIE and Auckland Council and wasn't in breach of its host venue agreement.

- BusinessDesk