Events funding ‘needs oversight’

Duco Events director says Am Cup probe highlights issue

One of New Zealand’s most successful events promoters has called for greater oversight of how public monies provided to major events are managed.

The Herald revealed yesterday that financial investigators had compiled a report for the Government over the spending of public money invested in the America’s Cup regatta.

To date the Government and Auckland Council have poured $250m into the event, including payments to cup holders Team NZ and for infrastructure to ensure smooth running of the 2021 event.

Duco Events director David Higgins said matters raised by the investigators highlighted the need for full transparency.

That included consideration of a local or central government representative to attend board meetings

discussing use of funds.

“One hundred per cent. If you have an unprecedented in New Zealand history investment in the hundreds of millions of public money, there should absolutely be [independent oversight],” Higgins told the Herald.

“I am not saying [the America’s Cup funding] is a bad thing. If it creates a whole yachting and boating industry for a generation, creates jobs, and a lot of those sailors and teams are paying big taxes back in [to the economy]. But what I would say is there should be thorough oversight and representation and reporting against

criteria and analysis, and it should all be transparent. That is a no-brainer when such large sums of money are involved.”

In 2013, Higgins and Duco Events drew up a five-year, $9m sponsorship deal with Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development [Ateed] to host the Auckland NRL Nines.

It was one of Ateed’s biggest investments from its Major Events Fund since the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Higgins described the scrutiny which Duco had to go through to access funds through the process as “rigorous”.

“[And] I was quite impressed by that approach. When it is public money, that is how it should be,” he said.

While Duco’s payment was dwarfed by the $250m in public funds provided for the yachting event, Higgins said he had to provide a “full and comprehensive cash flow”, which also included best, medium and worst case scenarios, a full operational plan, occupational health and safety plans, traffic management plans, and detailed information on staffing and resourcing.

“And we weren’t allowed to draw down any funding until that plan was fully written and submitted, but also not before it was signed off after thorough process,” he said.

“Then that triggered us to be able to draw down some of the sponsorship.”

Higgins said many events — including sporting and cultural — would not go ahead without contributions from both central and local government.

A spokesperson for Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford initially referred questions over what checks and balances were in place for Government funds provided to America’s Cup activities to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment as it was an operational matter.

Twyford later said outside Parliament: “There’s a contractual dispute. MBIE are dealing with it and I’m not going to comment on it.”

He said MBIE was getting to the bottom of whether any public money had been misspent, and he didn’t believe there would be any delays to the event.

MBIE general manager tourism, Iain Cossar, said there was little he could share while the claims were being looked into. “This process is ongoing and there are contractual agreements in place,” he said.

“We will provide an update when more information is available.”