Tag Archives: Overseas travel

DVML and the “Otago Rugby” deal (sponsorship and payments)

Is Terry Davies, chief executive of Dunedin Venues Management Ltd, telling porkies about the “Otago Rugby” deal signed in 2012 ???
(DVML/ORFU/NZRU)

Compare Mr Davies’ reply to Bev Butler today with information Whatifdunedin received from a source in mid-July 2014.

The reply to Question 1.(d) is interesting. Mr Davies states that none of the $3 million sponsorship was paid to ORFU but DVML does provide a staff member to assist ORFU with its sponsorship proposals. This is probably Paul Thompson. The other information from a source claims that DVML has to make up the difference to $1 million per year; this is paid to ORFU if less than $1 million in sponsorship is obtained. So the other staff member only spends one hour per week for six months each year?

Question 3. He says there’s no DVML company record of staff movements and NZ/overseas travel in approaching sponsors. Really? If true, that’s a large management failing which the DVML board is ultimately responsible for.

Why the discrepancies, Terry Davies ????

INFORMATION FROM SOURCE

Received mid-July [paraphrased]
Re the “Otago Rugby” contract – DVML did the Sponsorship but had to guarantee a certain amount. There was a heated exchange over this between Darren Burden (DVML chief executive) and one of his managers who said ‘we work for the ratepayers not rugby’. Burden was going to pay Otago the difference between what was raised and what DVML had to raise in the contract, despite Otago making a profit. The manager said DVML shouldn’t pay Otago, because they were deciding what was sponsorship and what was not.

[One day later]
The Otago Rugby deal is something like this:
DVML assist Otago Rugby with their sponsorship and the target is $1 million per year. DVML’s Paul Thompson was supposed to assist Otago Rugby. In the first two years, sponsorship didn’t reach the $1 million mark.
DVML still pays Otago Rugby to play at the stadium. Ask how much DVML have paid to Otago Rugby in the last two years to keep them afloat despite them making a profit.

[Two days later]
Not sure how it’s recorded in the DVML accounts, it was around $150k in the first year and similar in the second year. This is the difference between the $1 million DVML had to ensure ORFU got for sponsorship and what ORFU got. The deal lasts for three years. So this would be the last.

From: Bev Butler
To: Neville Frost [DVML]
CC: Kim Barnes [DVML]
Subject: LGOIMA Request: DVML Sponsorships
Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2014 08:57:35 +1300

Tuesday 1st April 2014

Dear Neville

It was reported in the ODT (22/03/14) that Mr Guy Hedderwick played an “integral” part in securing over $3 million in sponsorship for the stadium during the period ie Jan 2010 to Dec 2013.

I request:

1.
(a) How much of this $3 million figure has already been paid to DVML?
(b) Does DVML receive the full $3 million or does some other organisation receive some of this $3 million?
(c) How much of this $3 million is earmarked for the ORFU with payments already received or payments yet to be received?
(d) What percentage of the sponsorships secured by Mr Guy Hedderwick and/or other DVML staff does the ORFU receive?
(e) Is the ORFU making any financial contribution to Mr Hedderwick’s salary or expenses? If so, what percentage?

2.
(a) Did Mr Hedderwick’s salary package include commission on any sponsorship agreements he secured in his role as commercial director of DVML?
(b) What percentage commission did Mr Hedderwick receive for the $3 million sponsorship agreements secured as reported in the ODT (22/03/14)?
(c) Did the commission payments received by Mr Hedderwick exceed the salary range as stated in the DVML annual reports? If so, on what date was the DVML board informed of this?

3.
Thank you for your recent email containing the list of Mr Hedderwick’s DVML business trips. In this list the main reason for the majority of these trips was “meet with potential sponsors”. I request the names of the sponsors which Mr Hedderwick was successful at securing coupled with the name of the city where he met these potential sponsors. For your convenience, I have supplied a summary of these cities and the number of times he visited each city. Note I have included only the cities where it is stated the reason for the trip being “meet with potential sponsors”.

City (Number of trips)………Names of Sponsors
Christchurch (11 times)
Singapore (once)
Sydney (once)
Auckland (20 times)
Wellington (4 times)
New Plymouth (once)
Rotorua (once)

Please respond electronically. Thank you.

Yours sincerely

Bev Butler

————————————

From: Bev Butler
To: Terry Davies [DVML]
Subject: LGOIMA Request: DVML Sponsorships
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2014 07:06:59 +1200

Dear Mr Davies

I understand the LGOIMA request I sent below was delayed due to the investigation by Crowe Horwath. Now that the Crowe Horwath report has been released and the report does not answer these questions would you please respond to my LGOIMA request.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely

Bev Butler

————————————

From: Bev Butler
Sent: Monday, 28 July 2014 2:51 p.m.
To: Terry Davies
Subject: FW: LGOIMA Request: DVML Sponsorships
Importance: High

Monday 28th July 2014

Dear Terry

The LGOIMA request below is still outstanding and has now breached the 20 day requirement under the provisions of LGOIMA.

I would appreciate a response to this request.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely

Bev Butler

————————————

From: Terry Davies [DVML]
To: Bev Butler
Subject: FW: LGOIMA Request: DVML Sponsorships
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2014 02:56:12 +0000

Dear Bev

Further to your email dated 28 July and original request of 1 April, please find attached the response. A copy of the letter has been posted to you today.

Yours faithfully
Terry Davies

CEO [DVML]

B Butler 310714 (PDF, 82.8 KB)
Terry Davies letter 1.8.14 (2)

Crowe Horwath report cover (May 2014)

Crowe Horwath Report – Review of DVML Expenses (PDF, 363 KB)

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

3 Comments

Filed under Business, Democracy, DVML, Economics, Highlanders, Name, New Zealand, NZRU, ORFU, People, Politics, Project management, Sport, Stadiums

Crowe Horwath Report (May 2014) – Review of DVML Expenses

Dunedin City Council released the following report through the LGOIMA process, in reply to Bev Butler who lodged an information request.

The report by independent auditors Crowe Horwath investigates the work expenses of DVML’s ex Commercial Manager, then part-time contractor Guy Hedderwick.

Crowe Horwath report cover (May 2014)

Download: Crowe Horwath Report – Review of DVML Expenses (PDF, 363 KB)

NOTE: The report is not the result of a forensic audit, which should now take place to provide clarification for Mr Hedderwick and his manager.

QUESTION: Why is Dunedin City Council not seeking requirement for a forensic audit?

Related Post and Comments:
9.6.14 DVML: Crowe Horwath audit report (Hedderwick)
22.3.14 DVML, Money for jam…..fig jam’ [see links provided]
4.3.14 Bev Butler: Guy Hedderwick’s departure package (LGOIMA)

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

6 Comments

Filed under Business, DCC, Democracy, DVML, Economics, Highlanders, Media, Name, New Zealand, ORFU, People, Politics, Project management, Site, Sport, Stadiums

DVML: Crowe Horwath audit report (Hedderwick)

Updated post 17.6.14

Crowe Horwath Report – Review of DVML Expenses (PDF, 363 KB)

Dunedin City Council has released a report recently completed by independent auditors Crowe Horwath, into the work expenses of DVML’s ex Commercial Manager then part-time contractor Guy Hedderwick. ODT reporter Chris Morris is covering the story.

[Received]

Readers of this site will recall the efforts that campaigner Bev Butler went through to track down the expenditure incurred by Guy Hedderwick while he was the Commercial Manager for Dunedin Venues Management Ltd (DVML).

After much effort through the LGOIMA process Ms Butler was told that Mr Hedderwick had run up bills of nearly $80,000 during 51 work-related trips since 2010.  

Readers will also recall the reaction by Neville Frost, DVML’s Finance Manager (ODT 22.3.14), who labelled Ms Butler’s claims of this expenditure as “completely inaccurate and ill-informed” while accusing her of “disgraceful” conduct and that she was “lacking in personal integrity”.  

Readers should now be fully informed that the figure of nearly $80,000 was indeed incorrect. The figure arrived at in the report compiled by Crowe Horwath is $144,879 – the amount released by Mr Frost in response to Ms Butler’s LGOIMA request has nearly doubled.

Readers should also be informed that the report found there was almost $4,000 spent by Mr Hedderwick with no evidence of what it was spent on; and a total of over $34,000 with no evidence of any approval.  

City ratepayers now need real answers to some basic questions.

1. Why, when Neville Frost was required to provide accurate information under an LGOIMA request on Guy Hedderwick’s expenditure, did he provide information that was inaccurate and misleading? Readers should not need to be reminded that when Steve Prescott, Manager of Aquatic Facilities at the DCC, did just this recently he resigned.  

2. Now that the full extent of Guy Hedderwick’s spending has been revealed by the Crowe Horwath report, can DVML still maintain as Neville Frost did in his press release, that it was “frugal”?  

3. What is DVML doing to obtain refunds from Guy Hedderwick on those sums incurred where there was no approval, or where there was no evidence of what the expenditure was for? For expenditure where there was no approval, is Neville Frost or Darren Burden at fault for lack of oversight and lack of management, and if so, should they be also responsible for repayment?  

4. What benefit to DVML and the ratepayers occurred from this $144,879 expenditure? Guy Hedderwick seems to have had carte blanche to travel at his own whim and it appears that DVML can’t point to any general or particular benefit from any of it.  

5. What accountability will be enforced by DCC, on behalf of the ratepayers, on the actions of Guy Hedderwick, for Neville Frost’s failure to both financially control this expenditure and to mislead and misinform both Bev Butler as the LGOIMA requestee and the general public by the content of his press release, and on the Board for its failures to contain costs?  

6. A full, comprehensive and public apology must be obtained from Neville Frost for his disgraceful and inaccurate statements made in his press release of March 22, 2014.

Note: Thanks to Bev Butler and Russell Garbutt for these statements.

Related Posts and Comments:
22.3.14 DVML, Money for jam…..fig jam’ [see links provided]
4.3.14 Bev Butler: Guy Hedderwick’s departure package (LGOIMA)

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

59 Comments

Filed under Business, DCC, Democracy, DVML, Economics, Events, Hot air, Name, New Zealand, ORFU, People, Politics, Project management, Sport, Stadiums, Tourism