A letter about moving speedway from Western Springs has led to a complaint to the Serious Fraud Office. Photo / Colin Smith
A letter about moving speedway from Western Springs has led to a complaint to the Serious Fraud Office. Photo / Colin Smith
The Serious Fraud Office has been notified about concerns regarding an altered letter at Auckland Council.
Michael Brough claimed the letter under his name was “fraudulent” and not written by him
Councillors voted to move speedway to Waikaraka Park after the letter was withdrawn
The Serious Fraud Office has been notified of concerns about an altered letter put before Auckland’s mayor and councillors.
The letter, purportedly written by a speedway club boss, was placed on a governing body agenda item on moving Auckland’s speedway from its 96-year-old home at Western Springs to WaikarakaPark in Onehunga.
The governing body is the council’s highest decision-making body, made up of the mayor and 20 councillors. The letter was purportedly signed by Auckland TQ Midget Association president Michael Brough. Midgets are a popular class of race car.
Brough said he told a senior council officer, Anna Bray, that he believed the letter was fraudulent.
“She said fraudulent is a strong word and I said ‘you can call it whatever you want - manufactured, counterfeit, whatever the right word is, but when it doesn’t come from me, it wasn’t written by me’,” Brough told the Herald.
Bray acknowledged shortcomings over how the letter was created and put on the governing body agenda but said it was withdrawn before councillors decided to spend $11 million consolidating speedway with stock and saloon cars at Waikaraka Park.
Questions about the authenticity of the midget club letter surfaced after a governing body meeting on October 24 was adjourned after Speedway New Zealand general manager Aaron Kirby claimed another letter on the agenda in support of consolidation was “a complete misrepresentation”.
The altered Auckland TQ Midget Association letter that appeared on the October 24 governing body agenda.
Concerns about Speedway New Zealand’s letter - one of seven supporting pieces of correspondence about moving the facility - led to the meeting being adjourned to clarify the position of each of the seven letter writers before the meeting resumed on October 30 where councillors voted 11-8 to move speedway to Waikaraka Park at the end of the current summer season.
Bray told the October 30 governing body meeting that the midget club letter incorrectly portrayed its views and it was withdrawn from the agenda.
She told councillors the midget club letter originated from an email from Brough to speedway manager John McCullum on October 17.
Bray said further investigations found the email from Brough to McCullum was sent to James Parkinson, the stadium director for the council’s events arm Tataki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), with some changes.
Bray said council management raised this with McCullum who said Brough had authorised him to make changes.
James Parkinson, director of stadiums Tataki Auckland Unlimited, received a copy of the altered letter from John McCullum. Photo / Jason Dorday
In an email to Bray, McCullum said: “I met with Michael Brough at his place of work. While with Michael he typed and sent me an email. When leaving the meeting I commented to Michael that I may have to tidy the letter up, his reply being ‘no problem pal’.
Bray said the McCullum email was forwarded by TAU to an Auckland Council officer helping prepare the new governing body report.
“The staff member, having read the email, mistakenly believed it represented the views of ATQMA, and attempted to make that clear by adding the logo.
“The council considered that this should not have occurred. However, it is satisfied that the staff member made a genuine mistake and neither the changes to the original email nor the addition of the logo were an attempt to mislead the committee or to obtain any form of benefit.
“It has been made clear to the individual staff member that this should not have happened,” said Bray, who did not name the officer.
After 96 years, speedway is moving from Western Springs to Waikaraka Park in Onehunga. Photo / Jason Dorday
Councillor John Watson said the process of moving speedway has been inept and pre-determined with questions about the honesty of some individuals.
He said after Speedway New Zealand said its position had been misrepresented, another letter appeared to have been altered to give the impression that the racing club supported the move.
“What we see in front of us is deeply concerning. I think the Serious Fraud Office should become involved. We were dealing with a sizeable amount of public money, and the future of one of Auckland’s oldest sporting institutions,” he said.
Jason Jones, left, and councillor John Watson are critical of the process to move speedway from Western Springs. Photo / Alex Burton
Jason Jones, a volunteer on the safety crew at Western Springs for 25 years, has asked the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate the midget club letter.
He said the speedway community and the public have been left out of the process, saying the future of the sport is at risk of being downscaled to a smaller venue and the $11m upgrade will not fit the purpose of speedway.
The SFO said it could not confirm or deny it had received a complaint.
Commenting on the move of speedway and concerns about the letter, former stockcar driver Lance Anderson described the process as an “absolute sham”.
“Western Springs is the greatest place on earth.”
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