The Gaia Foundation has said delays in submitting audited accounts were not “a valid reason” for the Resources Ministry to delay government funding for Majjistral Park.

As listed in the contract, funds “are requested and to be paid within a specific time period upon presentation of a detailed expenditure report, which includes copies of every invoice”. The foundation – one of three environmental groups contracted by the ministry to manage the national park through the Heritage Parks Federation – rebutted the ministry’s claim that funding delays were the management’s fault because the annual audited accounts had been submitted late.