America's Cup: Minister put under the pump over Cup bases
by Compiled by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com/nz 15 Feb 2018 01:39 PST
Dr Jonathan Coleman, then Minister of Sport with the Prime Minister, Bill English at the America's Cup Victory Parade in Auckland, July 2017 © Richard Gladwell
Dr Jonathan Coleman, formerly Minister of Sport in the last National Government took the Minister of Economic Development, David Parker to task during Question Time in Parliament today over the surprise move sprung by the Coalition Government and the Auckland Council which appears to have to have placed the two governmental bodies in an adversarial relationship with the America's Cup Champions.
Ultimately Emirates Team New Zealand and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron have to make a decision on whether the plans issued by the the Council and Government are viable for an America's Cup Defence in Auckland.
The issue between the two parties seems to lie with the the fact that the input of Emirates Team New Zealand with 30 years of America's Cup experience including three wins, seems to be nuisance value. While those making the calls on the government and council side as to what is required for bases have no America's Cup exposure since the Cup left New Zealand in 2003. The Council's development arm Panuku Developments (the Council's property arm) with substantial expertise in property development also seems to be marginalised along with the America's Cup Defender.
The official record of the Question and Answer session follows, along with a video of the exchange between the two.
9. Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (National—Northcote) to the Minister for Economic Development: What discussions has he had with Team New Zealand since yesterday's announcement of the Government and Auckland City Council's preferred option for an America's Cup base?
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for Economic Development): Since November, Auckland Council, Team New Zealand, and the Government have been working together with the ambition of hosting the America's Cup in Auckland. The Government and Auckland Council jointly announced our preferred option at 1 p.m. yesterday. Team New Zealand have long been aware of this Government and Auckland Council's preference to minimise incursions into the harbour and save costs, while providing a world-class venue for the cup. I've not had further discussions with Team New Zealand in the past 24 hours, but negotiations will continue.
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: So what was the feedback that Team New Zealand gave him, because presumably he would have spoken to them before the public announcement on his new so-called Wynyard hybrid option for the base yesterday?
Hon DAVID PARKER: I'm aware that Team New Zealand prefer the option that is already in for consent, which is more expensive by tens of millions of dollars, excluding the value of the environmental impact, which is worse under that option than the one that we have put forward. This option wasn't properly considered because there was no prospect at the time of the Stolthaven Terminals company moving off the southern part of their tank farm. We've negotiated that to occur, and therefore this better option becomes possible.
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: Why did he publicly announce the further option for the location of the America's Cup base—in fact, his preferred option—without seeking the agreement of Team New Zealand before he did so?
Hon DAVID PARKER: We chose to make that announcement yesterday because the Mayor of Auckland city was obliged to tell his council of the revised plans, and it seemed appropriate that we answer the questions from the media, because there's a public interest in the outcome.
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: When does he expect negotiations to secure New Zealand's hosting of the America's Cup to be settled—or is he going to take this right to the end of the August deadline, playing a very high-stakes game that could see the event moved to Italy?
Hon DAVID PARKER: We've been working with Team New Zealand and Auckland Council throughout this. We have a responsibility to take care of the Government's money. The cost of this at the moment is looking like about $180 million, excluding the hosting fee. Team New Zealand tell us that they're not yet in a position to complete negotiation of the hosting fee.
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I asked him specifically: when does he expect negotiations to be completed?
Mr SPEAKER: I think it's worth the Minister addressing that part of the question.
Hon DAVID PARKER: A negotiation may or may not be completed. We are hopeful that it will be. Until it is completed across the agreement that's necessary between Auckland city and Team New Zealand, we won't commit finally to the deal, and neither will Emirates Team New Zealand.
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: Does he realise that his failure to engage properly with a clearly pretty irritated Team New Zealand puts the whole hosting of the America's Cup at risk, potentially losing a billion-dollar pay day for the New Zealand economy?
Hon DAVID PARKER: The cost-benefit analysis certainly shows that it's not a billion-dollar pay day. That said, New Zealanders are proud of the success of the America's Cup. We do want it to be hosted here if that can be arranged on reasonable terms. We believe—and this is the advice I've had from officials—that the design that we have put forward, which is a hybrid proposal that Auckland Council also backs, is a better one.
Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: Does he want to be the Minister who lost the hosting rights to the America's Cup because of his dogmatic approach, his refusal to work with others, and his failure to bring Team New Zealand on his pet project's plans?
Hon Grant Robertson:[Interjection] He doesn't want to be the leader.
Hon DAVID PARKER: No, I don't want to be. Yes. I'm confident that the Government is handling this responsibly.