The damage from governance failure can be profound, and can attract significant unwelcome media and public scrutiny. Focusing on the learnings from these cases is how we can get some real benefit and continuous improvement in corporate governance.
The devastating gas explosion that rocked a quiet Christchurch street earlier this year made me think about Public Liability insurance. My first thoughts were obviously with the family and the neighbours affected by the blast but being a typical lawyer I couldn't help wonder if the gas contractor had Public Liability insurance.
Innovation has seen a number of plant-based meat alternatives grow in popularity. These plant-based products often use terms such as ‘milk' or ‘patty’ to label their products. European authorities are currently looking at whether such terms should be restricted to use with animal-based products only. Here in New Zealand, Federated Farmers has indicated that it may push the government to follow suit.
Significant changes post-M.bovis The NAIT (National Animal Identification and Tracing) system was first introduced in 2012 and came into effect progressively until it was fully implemented on 29 February 2016. Any completely new system is likely to need a review after being in operation for a period of time.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council announced changes to short-term visitor accommodation rules, covering the likes of Airbnb, for certain zones earlier this year – but that didn’t account for all properties.
It was quite the surreal situation ... the former Prime Minister in the dock – not as a star witness, but as a defendant. How paradoxical that such an accomplished luminary – someone who’d once run the entire country – was accused of failing so terribly in her governance of a construction company.
A 2018 Court of Appeal decision[1] has made a director liable for almost $500,000 of company debt due to the company’s failure to keep adequate accounting records.
