NZ Rugby to sidestep $550,000 ‘gender quota’ penalty from Raelene Castle

NZ Rugby are set to avoid a fine threatened by Raelene Castle, with World Rugby powerbroker and businessman Bart Campbell to step down from the board.

Sport New Zealand chief executive and former Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle.

New Zealand Rugby is expected to avoid a $550,000 penalty with leading businessman and World Rugby powerbroker Bart Campbell to step down from their board next week with a woman to set to replace him.

Sport New Zealand chief executive, and former Rugby Australia boss, Raelene Castle had threatened NZR with the financial penalty after the organisation had previously failed to meet the government demanded “40 per cent women” quota on their board. NZR had already had $NZ280,000 withdrawn by Sport NZ in September when they had only three women on their nine-person board.

Campbell confirmed to The Weekend Australian on Friday that he is not seeking re-election at the conclusion of his four-year term this month with much of his time these days taken up by business and World Rugby commitments.

Campbell’s departure will create a path for a female to be elevated to the board, when the election is held on April 27.

Campbell said was he grateful for his time on the NZ Rugby board.

“It has been an honour and a privilege to serve the game, which I have always tried to do to the best of my ability,” Campbell told The Weekend Australian.

“I have met some amazing people through rugby in NZ which has further reinforced the positive role the game plays in our community.

“I will always be grateful for the opportunity”.

Campbell, a former chairman and co-owner of the Melbourne Storm, will still continue to serve various World Rugby roles.

The global rugby commitments had seen Campbell spending six weeks a year in Europe stretching to nine weeks this year as tournament director for the World Cup in France – he added without the NZ Rugby commitments he looked forward to spending more time with his wife and two children.

The Weekend Australian understands the vacant board position is expected to be filled by “high qualified” woman, with a number of female candidates in contention, and NZ Rugby are expected to eclipse the 40 per cent gender quota demanded by the New Zealand government.

Currently there are three women on the nine-person board which has been chaired by former Governor-General and lead Crown Negotiator on the Treaty Of Waitagi, Dame Patsy Reddy, who took up that role in February 2023.

She replaced Stewart Mitchell who stood down after nine years on the board.

The other female board members are highly rated former Black Ferns captain, Dame Farah Palmer, a three-time World Cup winning captain, and leading lawyer and former Chair of Otago, Rowena Davenport.

The Castle-led Sports NZ is expected to now return the $280,000 funding - which they had withdrawn last September - if NZ Rugby meet the board gender target this week.

In September last year Castle reminded the board of the government mandated gender targets on the board.

“While they have made good progress towards compliance, with three out of nine board members now female, they have advised the likely earliest date they will be compliant with the 40 per cent target, will be at the annual meeting in April 2023,” Castle said late last year.

Out of 65 major New Zealand sporting organisations, NZ Rugby was the only one not to reach the government mandated 40 per cent women on boards quota by December 2021.