Mediation best possible solution

The out of court settlement the government has reached with fuel importers, TOA Petroleum and Triad has been the best possible result for all parties concerned, says Deputy Prime Minister Sir Terepai Maoate.
The two commercial parties endorsed Sir Terepai’s comments, saying they were pleased that all issues had now been resolved following free and frank discussions.
The settlement was reached after two days of thorough mediation conducted by Nicholas Davidson QC.
Mediation between the parties was recommended as the best approach to resolving outstanding and complicated legal issues by Christopher Toogood QC, a legal consultant recently commissioned by the government.
Sir Terepai and Toogood QC were authorised by Cabinet to be the lead negotiators for government and decide on any settlements that may be necessary in the best interests of the country.
Sir Terepai says government is grateful to the two commercial parties for agreeing to the mediation process and to Davidson QC for his professional management of the negotiations.
“All parties agreed with Mr Toogood that we needed to go back to the drawing board, to sit down with a highly skilled mediator to keep everyone on track, making progress to resolve the many complex issues and negotiate terms with the commercial parties,” said Sir Terepai.
“We acknowledged that both TOA and Triad had legitimate commercial interests which each was seeking to protect or promote, and the court case has already inflicted considerable cost on the parties with the potential to cost a good deal more.”
“The government believed that it was in the interests of all parties that the risks inherent in litigation were eliminated and that the parties, rather than the courts, should take control of the outcomes.”
In light of this, Sir Terepai said mediation was seen as the best possible solution to reach a settlement at a significantly lower cost to the government than if the cases proceeded to the High Court.

Herald Issue 463 10 June
- World famous activist assisting residents
- Budget will decide if residents prosecute Government over landfill
- Forestry project sucking Mangaia dry
- Budget 2010 – fiasco or disaster?