AussieA roars to rescue
A Spearheaded successful bid by Sydney for 2000 Olympics A Co- Chairman Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum A Chairman, BGP Holdings, 2009A Chairman, MediaWorks, 2013A Director, Ramsey Health Care 1997A Director, SkyCity 2002-2014 A Director, Telecom 2001-2010 ignored the fact commercial negotiations between state and casino are more common internationally, McGeoch says.
‘‘Elsewhere in the world, particularly in Australia, it has become imbedded in all parts of politics. It goes ‘this is a tourism matter, it’s not a gambling matter’.’’
Casino regulatory regimes typically come with exclusivity deals, cutting out competition in a territory, and the duration of that exclusivity becomes a valuable bargaining chip for governments, he says. ‘‘Exclusivity comes with an expiry date, and you don’t want it to expire. You can bet your bottom dollar politicians are asking ‘What sort of cheque are you writing before we give you that?’ That bargaining is inevitable. It has to be transparent, and it has to work for both sides,’’ he says.
‘‘I’ll tell you what, we’re not going to spend capital in any company I’m in — let alone SkyCity — unless we can make a return.’’
His New Zealand presence, at least initially, was driven by coincidence. When Telecom took over AAPT, a telecommunications company McGeoch was directing, he got co-opted to his new parent’s board.
And at Telecom meetings he spent his time profitably networking: ‘‘I sat more often that not next to Patsy Reddy, who was then deputy chair of SkyCity. After about a year she said ‘You wouldn’t be interested in joining us? We’ve got this casino in Adelaide.’’’
Personal connections, this time with former SkyCity director Rob McLeod, got him appointed to travel firm Gulliver. And his Australasian involvements made him a natural to co-chair the Trans-Tasman Leadership Forum.
His perch gives him an informed perspective as to what makes each country’s business culture tick, but he claims there’s no difference in the boardroom.
‘‘I wouldn’t describe us as different in the way we behave, think or speak,’’ he says.
‘‘We’ve both got lots to learn from each other, but I wouldn’t underestimate the regard Australia has for New Zealand. I don’t see in any sense that we’re superior, or you’re superior, or any difference in personality at all.’’
But he does see significant difference in the respective nations: ‘‘At the mid to high level of business in Australia there is enormous respect for the performance of the New Zealand government. Bill English and John Key today, every time they speak in Australia we’re asked: ‘Do they have to go back?’’’
Despite his term soon ending on the SkyCity board, McGeoch has strong links with New Zealand and says he will continue to visit the country annually on holiday.
‘‘I love the top-end experience of tourism here. It’s seriously superior to Australia. That Kauri Cliff, Cape Kidnappers, Huka Lodge is seriously high-quality stuff,’’ he says.