My public response to CNZ’s CEO who just gave Manaaki ANOTHER 5.3 million!
Welcome to the party!
Kia Ora Stephen Wainwright, Creative NZ CEO
Robett Hollis here. You may recognise me from such statements as the ones you made about me without even meeting or talking to me first. Not the best start. The truth is we haven’t actually met before and you’re probably a super nice guy (so my apologies in advance and beers on me if you are a GC) - but this shit is business AND it’s also very personal to me as there are multiple innocent Maori / Pasifika who have been directly affected by all this and we don’t want any more hurt, which is why I’m involved to start with - so let’s get down to business.
On Monday you made a HUGE public announcement of 5.3 million taxpayer dollars that have been awarded to We Are Indigo / We Are Manaaki from Creative NZ. This now brings Manaaki’s government funding to over 10.8 million dollars in the past 3 years. Quite the genius business model if I do say so myself. It’s almost like there is someone directly involved at the Exec / Director Level at Manaaki that has personal relationships with many in government to help make this happen? But I digress, let’s unpack this a lil bit more shall we. I got time today.
Stephen, considering the bad experiences that some Maori/Pasifika have gone through with We Are Manaaki / We Are Indigo, which has been heavily documented from a wide range of available sources including EVERY mainstream media outlet, I have some questions I feel we should address so we both get on the same page so we can truly make sure that moving forward no Maori/Pasifika will EVER going through similar experiences again. Am sure we can both agree that this is the most critical thing to align on. Same team right? Cool? Cool!
You’ve now said publicly there's been an ‘extensive due diligence process’ that was undertaken by Creative NZ and that the issues raised against We Are Manaaki / We Are Indigo and its Directors Andy Hamilton, Pat MacFie and Monty Betham were ‘unsubstantiated allegations’. Stephen, what are these ‘unsubstantiated allegations’ of which you speak?
Off the top of my head could they possibly be allegations from multiple parties including things like………
Manaaki providing inflated and false financial data for potential investment purposes
Manaaki’s attempted misappropriation of government funds
Use of funds without the correct authority or approval to do so
Bullying and intimidation by Manaaki’s Directors toward stakeholders, staff & suppliers
Emotional abuse towards their own staff
Lengthy legal disputes & failure to pay suppliers
Disputes of operational misconduct
Poor Director behaviours with respects to ethics and integrity
Authorisations and decisions made by Manaaki’s Directors for other businesses that were not approved correctly
Personal intimidation by a member of Manaaki’s Senior Executive to provide data of another business without legal authority to do so
Unethical behaviour by a Manaaki Director while incorporating another company and giving themselves the majority share and taking control of said company without proper agreement or discussion
Having witnesses lawyers having to threaten public release of information just to be paid by Manaaki
Intimidation, harassment and bullying by another Senior Executive of Manaaki
Manaaki Director’s ‘at risk’ behaviour in contacting witnesses which raised concerns to influence a testimony of a government investigation
Verbal Abuse by another Manaaki Director towards a well known and nationally treasured female business associate / leader
You said ‘we did our best to understand it’ - so let’s talk about this ‘Gold Standard’ that you’ve said has taken place with Creative NZ’s Due Diligence Process in deciding to award We Are Manaaki / We Are Indigo another 5.3 million dollars. Unfortunately I wasn’t smart enough to get into university when I was younger - so please enlighten me Stephen. I’ve tuned in, Subscribed, pushed the LIKE button and I even turned on the notification bell.
Stephen, is it Creative NZ’s ‘Gold Standard’ of DD that didn’t even pick up the phone to Callaghan Innovation or even read any of the available reports that were available to you and that were shared with multiple government agencies and 20+ staff for the past 5 months? Did this ‘Gold Standard’ that you speak of not even bother to talk to any one of the 9 witnesses that provided statements and hard evidence proving some of these bad behaviours that has taken place by Manaaki and their directors Andy Hamilton, Pat MacFie and Monty Betham? Or was this actually the ‘Bronze Standard’ but you just forgot to wear your glasses? Don’t worry I sometimes forget mine too.
In terms of substance to the DD Process, did your Creative NZ ‘Gold Standard’ just consist of just interviewing the 2 referees who were supplied in Manaaki’s application by Manaaki themselves? And did these 2 referees provide all the proof that the Creative NZ Audit & Risk Committee needed to confirm that all the other evidence available to you was simply ‘unsubstantiated allegations’ as you now publicly claim? This seems like a big ask. No doubt you can easily back that up.
Stephen, is your ‘Gold Standard’ of Due Diligence at Creative NZ more credible than a Globally Awarded Private Investigator whose report was also Independently validated and verified by EY? While we’re at it, what investigative experience does Creative NZ’s Audit & Risk Committee have that would supersede those of a Globally recognised PI or the Director of one of the Big 4 Accounting firms who deals in billions of dollars on the regular? I bet that skillset of DD must be significant within your organisation, I’m genuinely curious to see you back this shit up too.
You said that you couldn’t get an ‘independent perspective’ but that you did ‘read closely all the stuff that was in the public domain’. So just for clarity Stephen - you didn’t read the PRIVATELY available Due Diligence reports from Callaghan Innovation, or even the independent review that was verified by a Director at EY, but you did read the stuff in the ‘public domain’ like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Soccer Mum Blogs and some EDM’s from a entrepreneurial misfit like myself to make your decision? Seems like a pretty fool proof system there Stephen to get to the heart of one of the biggest contracts Creative NZ has ever awarded with tax payer funding. Gummmmmmonnnnnn!!!!!
For an agency like Creative NZ that ‘absolutely’ gave pause for thought and ‘conducted more research’ it then seems a lil ironic that you were only ‘vaguely aware’ that Manaaki had actually been already turned down for the Regional Business Partner Network. Your ‘Gold Standard’ attention to detail with critically important details like this concerning millions of dollars of taxpayers dollars continues to inspire me. Will you be dropping a DD Masterclass in the New Year? I’ll be copping that one for sure.
So without even speaking to anyone directly affected by the bad behaviours of We Are Manaaki / We Are Indigo - Andy, Monty and Pat must have really just provided you with suchhhhhh a compelling case verbally to be fully trusted by Creative NZ with a contract of this magnitude.
Speaking of Pat MacFie - I’m sure your ‘Gold Standard’ Due Diligence is already aware of this - but totally coincidentally Pat is actually now running, driving and leading his own private Web 3.0 NFT Discord channel called ‘Fools and Fam’ sorry I meant ‘Friends and Fam’. From what I’m told it’s looking like it’s gearing up to drop a super exclusive NFT collection with the proceeds and gains going to themselves. A NFT art project most likely with no genuine utility and use case whatsoever but will be hyped harder than a American ED infomercial to uneducated web 3.0 Maori and Pasifika using their personal credit cards in search for a quick buck. Sounds like a hyper speculative financial project which won’t put any more Māori / Pasifika at risk right? But what would I know about that world though? I only live in the heart of the tech universe that is Silicon Valley / San Fran and am an ambassador to the worlds largest exchange so I might have a lil insight to how these things ACTUALLY work. I’m happy to share you some ‘light reading’ to get your team clued up to how this will probably play out next for all involved.
Anyways, with one of his latest posts in Pat’s private Discord group that I got sent, he’s quoted as being over “pinning my hopes on any government all of whom continue to over achieve in creating no real change for us here at ground level”. Do you think Pat is talking here about the same government that has now given him 10.8 million dollars?
If this ‘system’ that Pat so passionately speaks on in his Instagram Videos ‘wasn’t designed for us to succeed’ is a system that has actually now given Manaaki over 10 million dollars of public funding, one could argue that it’s actually the greatest system in existence.
Maybe Creative NZ’s Risk & Audit team should ask for FULL access to this private ‘Friends & Fam’ Discord group and go through ALL the comments, timings and posts to make sure all is above board and any upcoming future offers for their personal gain are legit, responsible and tangible. After all Stephen, we have established the one bond we do share is to ensure that no more innocent Māori / Pasifika are hurt in the future, and that extends to Māori and Pacific artists in NFT land, especially if this was to be enabled by government funding in the digital arts space.
Anyways Stephen, sorry I digress again. That often happens with me. Let’s talk about some dollars here buddy - 5.3 million is a LOT of money right? The Notorious BIG aka Biggie did warn us that Mo’ Money means Mo’ Problems - So how will Manaaki be held accountable by Creative NZ with these millions of taxpayer dollars which are now even more under the microscope? Well I found the answer in your docs where you said the parameters for execution of this 5.3 million contract will actually be defined by We Are Indigo themselves in ‘consultation’ with the arts sector. PAUSE here old mate!!! My Burning Man eccy’s must have just kicked in. So just to be clear Stephen, as the CEO of a government organisation already under intense scrutiny, you’ve now just given out over 5 million bucks without even knowing what the outcomes need to be? Jacinda must be stoked. And you will let these parameters of the 5 million dollars be defined by Manaaki themselves? The same Directors and company with direct allegations related to finances, transparency and accountability issues. My confidence in your leadership capability grows by the second.
Creative NZ’s procurement report said ‘management was satisfied with We Are Indigo Ltd’s explanation of the circumstance and noted that the various media reports were believed to be largely based on social media posts, rather than information sourced from Callaghan Innovation or We Are Indigo Ltd’. It’s mindblowingly disturbing you hadn’t even talked to Callaghan at all. Not to its CEO Stefan Korn, not to the board, its Chair Pete Hodgson, any of their procurement team or even any of the 9 witnesses who actually had direct experience with Manaaki as a supplier, a contractor, a partner and let’s not forget any Māori / Pasifika entrepreneurs. Not even a call to the Director at EY who read and validated the report, or even Rachel Kelly, the Callaghan Innovation Board member who resigned over this shit storm VERY publicly. NO ONE. Your eye for detail even has Stevie Wonder impressed.
With these pathetically weak decisions of yours, you’ve now just ramped up even more interest into this situation as countless others in the ecosystem are all screaming a collective ‘WTF Creative NZ!!!!’ atm. And now many higher up the food chain including the Ministers WILL be double checking the i’s were dotted and the t’s were crossed and are still 100% comfortable for this contract to go ahead with an election around the corner.
You can see this open letter isn’t going very well here Stephen so let me blunt (as I tend to do from time to time after my 2nd whiskey) - the utter incompetence and negligence shown by you and Creative NZ with regards to your handling of this 5.3 million contract to Manaaki and your ‘Gold Standard’ of Due Diligence will not only NOT age well, but it’s clearly speaks volumes to your now extremely questionable moral and ethical compass, with a situation that unfortunately has become more radioactive than Chernobyl on steroids. And even more bad news - is about to get louder for you and EVERYONE involved as more questions will do doubt get asked from MANY including the board. That doesn’t seem like a fun Xmas present? Well - you made your bed homie. Hope you brought a comfy pillow.
Stephen, how can you seriously look in the mirror and say with your head held high that you’ve had ‘sufficient information about the issues surrounding the Callaghan Innovation report’, yet you've never even spoken to anyone at Callaghan Innovation or even read the report? For a well experienced, industry veteran such as yourself this is about as naive as I have ever witnessed from a leader, and above all it’s simply looking to show your true colors and intent of where you wanted Creative NZ’s decision of this 5.3 million to go - regardless of what info, intel, facts or witnesses come in front of you. Wonder why that could possibly be? Mmmmmmm. Maybe that’s a story we could publish another day. How will the other applicants be feeling now? That’s also probably another story for another day.
As I type this, many in power continue to ‘circle the wagons’ to protect AND now extend funding to the same commercial bullies and predators who have hurt vulnerable indigenous Maori / Pasifika in the ecosystem, you’re now really sending a horrifically shocking message to the public and those Maori / Pasifika victims who were affected by the bad actions of Manaaki and their Directors Andy Hamilton, Pat MacFie and Monty Betham.
So well done Stephen, with this one single move you have now sent an extremely clear message - THIS IS HOW YOU ROLL - and THIS IS WHO YOU ROLL WITH. Duly noted! To those hard working epic kiwis working within Creative NZ - are you happy with this level of competence at the C-Suite? Are you proud of this type of leadership from your CEO? Is your board aware of all of this info? Are the ministers across all the info and decisions you’ve made? This is what you’re all fully happy to hang your hat on in the public domain?
A wise person recently told me ‘Sunlight is the best disinfectant’. Well, with the streets, C-Suite and industry are allllllll now finding out about what’s actually been happening with Manaaki and this additional 5.3 million dollars signed off by you personally at Creative NZ, and I have a funkyyyyy feeling it’s about to get REALLLLLLL sunny for a few people over this next phase. Hope you brought some sunscreen!
To the victims who currently feel utterly forgotten, dismissed, totally disillusioned, dismayed with what’s now playing out publicly by seeing millions more dollars go to Manaaki and their Directors, don’t stress whanau - THIS AIN’T GOING NO WHERE, and there are many industry heavy hitters who ACTUALLY matter that are proactively beginning talks behind the scenes to do something about, and it to bring it back to what it’s all about - The Victims and the Founders who have been done wrong and left emotionally and financially broken. You are what matters - none of this political power bullshit. FOUNDERS FIRST.
Finally, for you Stephen, you proudly spouted to the media that ‘We’ve done all we can’ with your ‘heightened levels of due diligence’, but with the utter minefield of commercial, ethical and cultural red flags raised over the past several months by multiple media outlets, government agencies and even multiple Knighted business leaders in the public domain, you have showed about as much initiative here as a flaccid appendage in a retirement home.
If you do need the contact for the CEO at Callaghan, their Board or even the 20-30 other people at NZTE or MBIE that have had and circulated these reports since June feel free to connect with me and I’m happy to do an intro. Even though I may mean well, I’m probably not any of their Xmas list’s this year tbh. But this isn’t about me. It’s about the Maori / Pasifika victims who I’ve been speaking up for since day one - and will continue to do so.
And my final message is to those in Government accountable for this current decision that’s just been made in the Arts and Culture portfolio - Minister Carmel Sepuloni and associate Ministers (Prime Minister) Jacinda Arden and Minister Kiri Allan (Ngāti Porou hardddddddd).
Through all of your various portfolios you already know how much Māori and Pasifika are struggling and their vulnerability. Perhaps it’s time to take a deeper look at this gold standard due diligence that’s taken place by Creative NZ in this Manaaki situation to reassure yourselves 10000% as to the real risk at play here and ensure you’ve got some rigorous standards in these contracts to 1. Ensure no one else gets hurt and 2. Ensure there’s some good mechanisms for Maori and Pasifika to speak up, especially in an environment where they maybe be bullied into silence. If you’ve just been made aware of this gong show and need a lil OTR context - You’ve got my number.
My mum always told me - “If you don’t stand for something - you’ll fall for anything”. I know what I’m standing for here.
Do you?
Robett
Ps. Oh yeah Stephen - I TOTALLY almost forgot, I just put in this OIA to the government this morning with a few lil questions that I’ve attached below. I look forward to seeing your ‘Gold Standard’ of detail and transparency in due course. Have a great day!
Submitted : December 7th, 2022
Sent To : info@creativenz.govt.nz
Creative NZ OIA Questions by ROBETT HOLLIS
Creative NZ has stated they have completed ‘gold standard’ due diligence. Can Creative NZ please define what gold standard due diligence is and how they have determined they have delivered gold standard due diligence?
Please provide the due diligence report on We Are Indigo and the recommendations provided to the Arts Council.
Please provide the papers and minutes of all meetings (including but not limited to the Exec and Board) involving the decision to appoint We Are Indigo.
Can you please provide a summary of all meetings that have taken place in regards to this due diligence process for We Are Manaaki / We Are Indigo? If meetings are by phone or online please provide a summary of them. Please also provide all written communications regarding this due diligence process. For both of these questions please provide everything regardless of who at Creative NZ was involved (board, executive, all staff) and anyone else involved (for example other government agencies, We Are Indigo but not just limited to these).
Please provide a summary of the Arts Council meeting (not the bullet points from the meeting that were already provided but a more thorough summary of the discussion held, the types of questions asked etc). Please provide an overview of how long this discussion took but when and where it took place.
Please provide the recommendations and papers provided to the Arts Council Audit and Risk committee.
Were the decisions by the Arts Council and Audit and Risk Committee to award this contract unanimous and if not how many were not in agreement to award the contract?
As part of their gold standard due diligence did Creative NZ contact any of the entrepreneurs, contractors or partners that have worked with We Are Indigo? If not, why not and how do they consider gold standard due diligence if they’ve not spoken to a range of entrepreneurs, contractors and partners that have worked with We Are Indigo in the past few years?
Did this list of people they spoke to who have used We Are Indigo services include those who have spoken publicly about Manaaki in the NBR article who came forward to share concerns? If not, why not?
Please provide how many people Creative NZ spoke to who have received services from We Are Indigo and on what dates those discussions happened?
In your discussion with MBIE re We Are Indigo / We Are Manaaki, why did you dismiss subcontractor issues in supplying a service especially when that subcontractor was a creative digital Māori entrepreneur which is the audience you are targeting with this initiative? What did he have to say about this?
What advice did Creative NZ (internally or externally) receive to support their decision not to discuss with Callaghan Innovation the due diligence reports received? This includes any possible legal advice, advice from risk specialists, probity advisors or due diligence experts?
Were Creative NZ aware that EY had reviewed the due diligence process by Callaghan Innovation finding very little issues in the DD process? Did Creative NZ discuss with Callaghan Innovation the EY review? And if not, why not?
What are the objectives of this initiative and how will you measure the success in the short and long term for Aotearoa.
Please provide the RFP assessment markings and rankings for all providers (obviously without names).
Please provide an understanding and proof of We Are Indigo’s ‘deep experience’ in the Arts and Cultural sector in NZ as cited by Creative NZ?
Please provide a copy of We Are Indigo’s full RFP application / response including the referees that were submitted by We Are Indigo.
Will We Are Indigo / We Are Manaaki be subcontracting or partnering to deliver this contract? If so, who are the partners?
Creative NZ stated they have worked with Pat MacFie at Xero and Rachel Adams previously. Please provide a detailed overview of Creative NZ’s previous relationships and experiences with both Pat and Rachel.
Please provide a copy of the full contract with We Are Indigo / We Are Manaaki.
What mechanisms are in the contract that enables Creative NZ to ensure they are protecting Māori / Pacific artists if there are any issues, and what mechanisms are in the contract to deal with potential poor performance?
What financial monitoring mechanisms do Creative NZ have in the contract in regards to how money is spent? Is this monthly financial report or quarterly etc? To what level of detail is this reporting?
Are Creative NZ aware that We Are Indigo are actively developing an NFT community and within this NFT community are heavily marketing the Creative NZ this contract? Are Creative NZ part of this NFT community? What mechanisms are in the Creative NZ contract to ensure that money from Creative NZ isn’t spent on the We Are Indigo NFT community for the Directors personal gain?
Are Creative NZ aware that We Are Indigo have been in multiple social media posts discussing and complaining about the ineffectiveness of government and inability for government to create any real change? What are Creative NZ’s views on these opinions directly from We Are Indigo?
Please provide all communications between Creative NZ and We Are Indigo / We Are Manaaki (email, summary of phone and online meetings, text messages etc) between any members of both organisations.
Thanks all for now, but am sure there may be more after I finish my Extra Hot White Chocolate Mocca with no whip. Churrrrrr.
Robett
REFERENCE LINKS for those Ministers / Officials or members of the public new to the party: https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/01-11-2022/deep-inside-the-explosive-we-are-indigo-saga
This weeks 5.3million dollar Announcement Press:
NBR Article: https://www.nbr.co.nz/business/indigo-group-gets-5-3m-in-government-digital-arts-funding/
BusinessDesk Article: https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/policy/firm-at-centre-of-callaghan-row-wins-53m-creative-nz-contract
Spinoff Article: https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/05-12-2022/cnz-just-picked-embattled-agency-we-are-indigo-for-a-5m-digital-arts-platform
Herald Article: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/new-public-contract-for-embattled-firm-we-are-indigo/FICCSNQA7BGRPGJLDGTBCKQXRY/
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