14 February 2018
Official Information Request No. 8140002407 (Please quote this in any correspondence)
Garrick Wright-McNaughton NZ Taxpayers’ Union requests@taxpayers.org.nz
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 Re: 2018 Auckland Open
I refer to your email, which we received on 16 January 2018, requesting information about the 2018 Auckland Open. We respond to your specific questions below: 1. Whether the Council, or any Council Controlled Organisation, hosted any staff or guests at the 2018 ATP Auckland Open? 2. Whether the Council, or any Council Controlled Organisation, hosted any staff or guests at the 2018 WTA Auckland Open? Yes. Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) invests in the ASB Classic on behalf of Auckland Council as part of the annual major events portfolio. An allocation of tickets is provided as one of the rights and benefits under the sponsorship agreement. Last year, the major events portfolio invested in by ATEED on behalf of Council delivered an estimated $76 million new GDP into the regional economy, and generated more than 550,000 visitor nights. The ASB Classic tournaments help to showcase Auckland to a global audience, and bring in international and domestic visitors. In the most recent publically disclosed figures, the 2015 tournaments delivered a GDP injection of nearly $2m, and about 14,000 visitor nights. No other part of Council hosted staff or guests at the tournaments. 3. How many staff the Council (or any CCO) hosted at each tournament, and the total cost incurred by hosting staff? 4. How many guests the Council (or any CCO) hosted at each tournament, and the total cost incurred by hosting guests? A total of 18 ATEED staff hosted external business growth partners or key stakeholders across the 10 days of match play across the two tournaments. On most days, one staff member hosted a group of guests for each of the day, and night sessions (two staff in total); the maximum on any day was four (across three groups of guests for the men’s semi-finals session). They were issued tickets which were part of ATEED’s sponsor benefit ticket allocation and had no face value. There were
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no additional costs associated with obtaining the tickets provided as a sponsor contractual benefit. As part of the hosting programme, staff purchased food and beverages for guests and themselves. In some cases, staff were hosting on site for up to eight hours, and ATEED deems it entirely reasonable for staff to eat and drink while working for that duration. The costs of food or beverages consumed by staff are not separated out from those consumed by the guests at venue, so it is not possible to give the cost requested in Q3 above (please note, the full hosting cost is listed below). The total number of guests hosted was: 76 The total cost of hosting was: $4467.21 (excl GST) 5. A list of names of all guests hosted by the Council (or any CCO) at each tournament. Guests who are elected members are named below, as they are public representatives and have a high threshold of public accountability. The councillors invited have a specific interest in ATEED’s activities, and they were invited in line with the sponsor ticketing hierarchy agreed with the Mayor of Auckland in 2017. The councillors attended in their official capacity, representing the region’s interests by hosting important external stakeholders who have the potential to significantly contribute to Auckland Council’s strategic priorities. Current and potential ATEED business partners and potential investors in the city appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from elected representatives. Name Cr Penny Hulse Cr Richard Hills
Position Auckland Council elected member Auckland Council elected member
The name of one elected member’s guest has been withheld, pursuant to section 7(2)(a) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 to protect privacy. Where the guests attended to represent a company or organisation, ATEED has (in the answer to Q6 below) named the organisation hosted, but not the names of the people who attended representing those organisations. The names of one consultant, a superyacht owner, and two new investor migrants have not been given. The names referred to above have been withheld, pursuant to section 7(2)(a) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 to protect privacy. In ATEED’s view, naming the companies satisfies the public’s right to know the organisations ATEED has hosted at catered events – with a view to fostering its business relationships. The people hosted were there in their working capacity and have an expectation of privacy. So in ATEED’s view there is no particular public interest in their name being disclosed in addition to the organisation they represent. In ATEED’s view, the fact the events were broadcast does not affect the guests’ rights to privacy, as only viewers who know a particular person already would be able
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to identify that they were there, and the broadcasts themselves do not identify individuals in any way. 6. A list detailing which organisation or agency each guest represented, including the number of guests from each organisation or agency. Client/stakeholder organisation Investor or talent attraction stakeholder ANZ New investor migrant Stern Yokohama Higashi Co Ltd Private housing consultant Innovation stakeholder Fonterra Callaghan Innovation Tourism operator Matakana Estate Keppel Cove Marina Jet Tour Superyacht owner Tourism stakeholder BNZ Pango Entertainment Tuwharetoa South Pacific Pictures Johnson & Laird Ngai Tahu Christchurch Airport Air New Zealand NZ Cruise Association Business growth EKO360 STL Brisbane Marketing Holland Partner Group Media NZME Fairfax TVNZ The Newsroom Newshub Bauer Media The Spinoff Freelance Major events partner Te Wananga o Aotearoa NZ Warriors Orange Productions Ticketek NZ Breakers Business events partner SkyCity Auckland Advocate Alliance The Production & Music Agency International education
Number of attendees 5 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 1 2 6 2 1 3 3 2 3 1 2 2 1 1 1 3 5 2
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Broadspectrum Education NZ TOTAL clients/stakeholders Elected members Guest of elected member Total
1 2 73 2 1 76
Note: where multiple people attended from the same organisation, in a number of cases, the individuals were invited by different parts of ATEED with separate relationships. For example, international business events bid team, and the small business growth team, each hosted representatives from the same company on different days.
7. The reason for hosting staff and guests at each tournament. What was the value to ratepayers for them to host people at each tournament? The sponsor benefit tickets provide valuable opportunities to host strategically important guests who are key contributors to ATEED’s business activities and targets. As the region’s economic growth agency, ATEED’s focus is to use the ticket allocation specified in sponsorship contracts to host individuals or organisations as part of an overall strategy to grow a particular industry sector, or attract inbound investment or multi-national businesses. Corporate hosting at events such as the ASB Classic is a vital part of growing connections with important corporate partners and stakeholders, with the ultimate aim of delivering new productive investment into Auckland, and encouraging business growth which creates new jobs. In its most recent audited annual report (2016/17), ATEED facilitated deals which brought $341m of new GDP from foreign direct investment into Auckland and screen production deals, and it achieves that through various relationship building activities. In some cases, such as with leaders of international partner travel companies or high-net-worth investors and entrepreneurs considering migrating to Auckland, the hosting is also part of a programme to showcase Auckland’s attributes – including world-class major events – which contribute to making Auckland a place where talent wants to live, and one of the Asia-Pacific’s fastest growing visitor destinations. Should you believe Auckland Council has not responded appropriately to your request, you have the right by way of complaint, under section 27(3) of the LGOIMA, to apply to the Ombudsmen to seek an investigation and review of the decision. If you have any further queries please contact me on 09 301 0101 quoting Official Information Request No. 8140002407. Yours sincerely
Leigh Collecutt Privacy & LGOIMA Business Partner Democracy Services
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