Cup debate needs to get some wind in its sails
OPINION: Time is the crucial commodity in the America’s Cup village debate and Auckland has acknowledged that.
Auckland Council has moved with the necessary speed and now the New Zealand government must match that to expedite the extraordinary process required to turn conversation into concrete and get the infrastructure in place to make hosting yachting’s greatest show in 2021 a reality.
The council made two significant decisions yesterday.
Firstly, they signalled that they do, indeed, want to host the 36th America’s Cup.
Hooray for that. Without that most basic acknowledgment, who knows where the Auld Mug would be heading, anywhere from Tauranga to Timbuktu, with possible stops in Sicily, Sochi and Abu Dhabi along the way.
The second was that they have a preference for a ‘‘clustered’’ approach that takes in Hobson, Halsey and Wynyard wharves and should ensure the required atmosphere generated from a central village environment in Auckland’s Viaduct Basin.
That flies in the face of the government calling for more time to look into the belated Wynyard Point alternative option, one that comes with problems associated around the hazardous tank farm zone and also puts a squeeze on areas that could yet need to be developed to accommodate the lucrative super yacht industry.
Auckland made it clear they don’t believe there is the luxury of time to do that, nor did they like the thought of the estimated $100 million price tag that came with shifting some of those unsightly industries, when clearing the wharves for the next-door option was estimated to be a comparatively cheap $18m.
Of course nothing comes cheap in the America’s Cup, apart from talk. And there is always plenty of that.
But it’s action that is required now and there is no time to lose.
It seems Auckland mayor Phil Goff and Environment Minister David Parker, who has responsibility for the America’s Cup, will have to butt heads to sort out the final mix. They will do that alongside Team New Zealand.
This thing needs to move fast with the next step, the consent process, a minefield that could take time to negotiate.
There have been pleasing signs about the maturity with with Auckland Council and Team New Zealand have approached the initial process. The yachting syndicate has shown an ability to compromise and Goff has urged his councillors to keep the foot on the accelerator.
Parker and the new government might need to show a bit of both of those qualities if this extravaganza is to continue to navigate tricky waters.