Another scandal hits Auckland’s building inspection system as former council building inspector faces serious bribery and corruption charges

 

Nicholas David Orlando Bright, aged 45, received bribes in cash and other benefits while working as a building inspector between 2018 and 2020, and faces 21 charges of corruption and bribery of an official. He was remanded pending trial without entering a plea and is next due to appear on 7 May.

 

The charging documents allege that Bright received bribes worth at least NZ$58,000 from the director of an Auckland construction company over two years. Among these allegations, Bright is accused of accepting a bribe worth at least NZ$3752.24 in the form of bathroom renovations at his home, including labour and building materials supplied by the company.

 

 

It is alleged that in 2019, Bright unlawfully accepted the supply and installation of aluminium double-glazed windows worth NZ$11659.75 at his home, a Mitsubishi water heater worth NZ$1650.37, a carport rebuild worth more than NZ$3137.56, and full payment for ‘gas installation work’ at his home. The gas installation work included installing an additional external water heater at the rear of Bright’s home, reconnecting hot and cold water pipes, and replacing the existing kitchen hob with a Bosch four-burner hob. This work was worth more than NZ$1300 in total.

 

Court documents state that Bright also received two cheques in 2019, totalling at least NZ$8000, made out to ‘Inspector Guy’ and ‘Inspector’. Another four payments totalling more than NZ$9500 were also recorded.

 

Court documents further allege that the former building surveyor received 9 cash bribes worth at least NZ$19,000 from the construction company director between October 2019 and May 2020, depositing all of them into his personal bank account.

 

The construction company director, who has interim name suppression, faces 23 charges of corruption and bribery of an official. Court documents show that two further charges involve bribing an official with custom-made aluminium doors worth NZ$1500, plus installation costing NZ$552, and aluminium double-glazed windows and installation worth NZ$4000.

 

The construction company director pleaded not guilty in court and is due to attend a case review hearing on 9 August.

 

New Zealand Serious Fraud Office director Karen Chang

 

Serious Fraud Office director Karen Chang said investigating potential corruption by public officials, particularly corruption that could jeopardise health and safety, was a priority for the office. This is also not the first time allegations of Auckland Council employees accepting bribes have come to light.

 

In recent years, New Zealand has fallen from first to third place in the global corruption perceptions ranking of 180 countries. (Source: NZ Herald)

 

 

Auckland Council director of regulatory services Craig Hobbs said the case came to light early in the pandemic lockdown in 2020. A staff member reportedly noticed Bright working in an area of Auckland to which he had not been assigned and raised the matter with their manager. Meanwhile, another irregularity emerged during a routine review. Hobbs said Bright was suspended from all duties during the investigation. A disciplinary process had begun, but Bright resigned before it progressed. These events took place over four weeks around May 2020.

 

Hobbs said Bright had previously worked for Manukau Building Consultants, providing inspection services in the former Manukau City area. In 2018, most of Manukau Building Consultants was incorporated into Auckland Council’s building consent processing team. Bright also joined Auckland Council in 2018 and eventually resigned at the end of May 2020.

 

Hobbs said Bright’s conduct was not only unlawful but also a betrayal of the council’s trust, and was deeply disappointing for every building consent processing staff member who took pride in upholding high building standards in Auckland.

 

Auckland Council said it began an investigation after discovering the issue, including an audit of all Bright’s work, and referred the case to police. Hobbs added that no properties had so far been found to be affected by the case. All work associated with the allegations had passed review. To maintain the investigation’s independence, the council engaged a senior inspector from outside Auckland Council to conduct a full and thorough review of Bright’s work.