Port of Napier partial sale - conflict of interest?

Pauline from Hospital Hill

Port sale: conflict of interest - real or imagined? See Bruce Bisset's column in today's paper and what we can expect thanks to an Aussie called Stephen Bradford, appointed to the Port of Napier Board in 2014 under Andrew Newman's reign (remember HBRIC - their specialty was setting up holding companies to keep regional council at arms length from "complicated" financial investments): A company called Flagstaff Partners Pty Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Flagstaff Partners Holdings (formerly called HoldKing), is a "mergers and acquisitions" corporate advisory firm based in Melbourne. STEPHEN BRADFORD has been a "senior adviser" with the firm for several years. BRADFORD was CEO of Port of Melbourne Corporation from January 2004-December 2013. BRADFORD then became specialist adviser to Flagstaff on the Port of Melbourne "transaction" (2016), which resulted in that publicly-owned port being commercially leased out for a 50-year term. BRADFORD was also involved (2015) in a scoping study for the Northern Territory Government examining the future of Darwin's port – which was ultimately leased out to Chinese interests on a 99-year term, causing a stir with the US over its strategic value. BRADFORD is currently chairman of Tasports, which runs all major ports in Tasmania.
BRADFORD'S involvement with Napier Port began in November 2014 with his appointment (by HBRC) to the port's board for a three-year term. The port board and the council began discussing a planned expansion and how to finance it at the beginning of 2016.
BRADFORD resigned from the port board in July 2018, saying while he had a "minor role" with Flagstaff he was resigning on account of a "public perception" of conflict of interest, rather than an actual one. (He'd done his job.) GREAT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM... THANKS Bruce Bisset. www.nzherald.co.nz...