Crown agency wanted metro court documents kept secret

Monday, 20 November 2023

Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre has figured in court action between contractor CPB and crown agency Rau Paenga.

The crown agency behind the trouble-plagued Metro sports centre opposed a The Press request to the High Court to view court documents relating to its bid to stop the main contractor from dumping the job.

However the contractor, CPB Construction Pty Ltd (CPB), was happy for the court to decide.

In September CPB filed notices with crown agency Rau Paenga saying it wanted to suspend work on the centre and then terminate its contract if certain conditions weren’t met.

Rau Paenga went to the High Court in Auckland seeking orders forcing CPB to continue work on the Parakiore sports and recreation centre and to litigate its claims through arbitration. Justice Geoffrey Venning issued the injunctions in a decision on October 25 saying CPB had to go through the arbitration process.

Scaffolding at the Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre in central Christchurch looks as complicated as the contractual wrangles plaguing the project.

The Press then sought access to the court documents including affidavits Rau Paenga had filed to support its case on the basis the public deserved to know as much as possible about the publicly-funded project’s problems.

Rau Paenga opposed the court releasing the documents although CPB said it would abide by the court’s decision.

Justice Venning said as the case fell under the Arbitration Act, access could only be granted if a judge was satisfied there was good reason for permitting access.

He said the confidential nature of arbitration should not be undermined and he also had to consider the right of parties to bring civil proceedings “without the disclosure of more information about commercially sensitive matters…”

Rau Paenga had been forced to disclose commercially sensitive and confidential material to obtain the injunction, he said, and the public interest in receiving information was met by the release of his ruling on the injunction applications.

The building of the Parakiore Recreation and Sports Centre has as many twists and turns as its hydroslide.

“I agree with the submission for RPL [Rau Paenga Ltd] that in this case the judgment itself provides sufficient information for the public to meet the principle of open justice and the freedom to seek, receive and impart information.

“Weighing the above considerations, the balance comes down against the application to access further material from the Court file. The proper public interest…in the delays and increased budget costs of completing the sports facility have been met by the information contained in the judgment and by the articles published about it. The application is declined.”

Rau Paenga and CPB are currently working through their differences with the centre only about 70% complete and opening not expected until 2025.

CPB started work in March 2019 after winning the build-only contract at a price of $220 million, promising to complete the job by October 2021 for Rau Paenga, the Crown agency in charge of delivering infrastructure around New Zealand for Government agencies.

In September CPB revised its programme, forecasting a completion date of June 2025 at a final cost of $696 million. It issued default notices and demands for $453m for cost overruns, liabilities to subcontractors and a contract price adjustment. It also wanted a 28-month time extension.

Justice Venning, in a decision on October 25, issued orders preventing CPB from suspending or terminating the contract “until further order of the Court or arbitral tribunal”.