Update on convention centre inquiry

The Office of the Auditor-General confirmed on 12 December 2012 that a draft of its report into the Ministry of Economic Development's expressions of interest process for proposals to establish an international convention centre has been sent to relevant interested parties.

This consultation is a substantial part of all the inquiries we carry out and is important for ensuring a quality outcome.

Although we and the other parties involved are working to complete the report as soon as possible, we can now advise that it will not be published this year.

No further comment will be provided at this stage; media and interested parties will be notified of publication 24 hours in advance.

The terms of reference for this inquiry are here- http://www.oag.govt.nz/media/2012/inquiry-med

For more information on our inquiries process, please visit our website - http://www.oag.govt.nz/our-work/inquiries/process.

If you are on our media subscriber list, you will be alerted as soon as the report published, and given a link to it on our website.

12 December 2012

In general, the Office of the Auditor-General carries out inquiries in private, and does not provide public updates on progress or the substance of what it is doing as that can hamper its work.

However, we are aware that there is significant interest in the inquiry into the Ministry of Economic Development's expressions of interest process for proposals to establish an international convention centre.

For that reason, we advise the following:

• A draft of our report has been sent to relevant interested parties. This is a normal part of the process as set out in the terms of reference for this report, which state that “we consult as necessary on its contents to ensure that it is factually accurate and that the rights of any affected parties are properly protected”.
• Once this consultation process is complete, the report will be finalised and published.
• We and the other parties involved are working to complete the report as soon as possible, with a view to publishing it before the end of the year.
• Media and interested parties will be provided with 24 hours’ advance notice of publication.
• No further comment will be provided at this stage.

The terms of reference for this inquiry are here- http://www.oag.govt.nz/media/2012/inquiry-med

For more information on our inquiries process, please visit our website - http://www.oag.govt.nz/our-work/inquiries/process.

If you are on our media subscriber list, you will be alerted as soon as the report published, and given a link to it on our website.