Motat board in dark about fraud complaint

A Motat tram. Photo / Supplied

Hundreds of youngsters have enjoyed Auckland museum Motat during the school holidays, but the home of old engines and science gadgets is now the subject of a complaint to the Serious Fraud Office.

And the museum's board is in the dark about who the complainant is or the nature of the complaint.

The Museum of Transport and Technology is the country's largest transport and technology museum, funded by Auckland ratepayers.

It is undergoing its annual audit by the Office of the Auditor General and last week the board became aware of the complaint, but board chair Paul Bayly did not know its source or what it was about.

"I have no reason to understand there would be any substance to it," he said.

"They get many of these types of things."

Although Motat is loved by families with children fascinated by old technology, behind the scenes its board has a history of infighting. Veteran volunteer Alan Curtis took Motat Society chair Ian Hambly to the High Court last year and chief executive Jeremy Hubbard was "locked in a dispute" with Hambly for more than a year over Hambly's conduct as a road transport collection manager, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Bayly said there was no link between the complaint and the infighting.

One Motat insider said an issue could be pest control, with unusual contracts in place. Motat chief executive Jeremy Hubbard denied being aware of that being a problem.

The anonymous worker also said the general mood among staff was not good and people were quitting every month.

"It's an unhappy place to work."