hour date release error, apology to government minister

A billboard revealing the City Rail Link’s opening date before an official announcement was accidentally displayed for more than six hours before it was spotted and pulled down, records released today reveal.

The blunder sparked a scramble behind the scenes, with Auckland Transport (AT) saying the error was “not intentional” and advertising company QMS calling it a “severe breach of confidence and process” in a grovelling apology to a government minister and Auckland’s mayor.

The emails detailing the mistake and string of apologies were released to the Herald under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

The records reveal that advertising company QMS inadvertently released the embargoed campaign at 12.01am on August 6.