June 2015
www.waterfordpress.co.nz
Artist’s Legacy
Len Lye Centre - page 18
Business leader rejects criticism of tourism fund Chris Hutching The Taxpayer’s Union ginger group has again accused the government of “corporate welfare”. It’s an accusation vehemently rejected by Tourism Growth Partnership Fund chairman Jim Boult. He says some ventures would never get off the ground without the grants. The Taxpayer’s Union was griping over $350,000 of taxpayers’ money being given to Pukeroa Lakefront Holdings, a commercial arm of Ngati Whakaue, to build a spa complex in Rotorua. But it seems many businesses don’t even know about the fund. While attending the Trenz conference earlier this month, Mr Boult said in a speech there had been a lack of quality applications to the fund. The Tourism Growth Partnership Fund has been allocated $8 million a year in government funding over four years. Mr Boult told Business North one of the recipients of a $250,000 grant was for the Rotorua Skyline Mountain Bike Gravity Park. He says it would not have happened without government assistance. It had attracted a large number of people to Rotorua for an event that wouldn’t have taken place otherwise, he says. “And there is now a permanent asset there that will provide payback for the industry and New Zealand in general.” Mr Boult likes government seed funding to the way governments fund roads and bridges in recognition they are part of community infrastructure. Mr Boult says his comments at the Trenz conference have boosted inquiry levels. The fund administrators are evaluating several applications in the latest round under way. The fund’s web site lists 12 recipients for the 2014 funding round. The average grant is $250,000 initially.
“And there is now a permanent asset there that will provide payback for the industry and New Zealand in general.” Ventures to receive funding include the Christchurch International Airport “Welcome China” programme to secure direct to the South Island from Guangdong ($275,000). The airport is two thirds owned by Christchurch City Council and one third by the Crown. NZX-listed Auckland International Airports received $1.1 million over three years for “increasing the air connectivity out of Guangdong, China”. The project involves developing a food and wine micro-site, and promotions. Funding of $2 million was granted to private Canadian company Select Evolution NZ to develop the Christchurch Adventure Park on 315ha of forested land in the Port Hills, 5km from the centre of Christchurch. It will be the biggest downhill bike park in the Southern Hemisphere. The fund’s “independent panel of experts” which allocates the money includes Mr Boult, Jennie Langley, who is a director of tourism-related companies including NZ Hotel Council, Steve Smith of Craggy Range Winery, Mike Simm who has been involved in various tourism bodies, and Courtney Johnston, director of the Dowse Art Museum. The web site does not state how much the experts receive for their services Meanwhile, Taxpayers’ Union’s executive director Jordan Williams says the grants are “corporate welfare at its very worst”. He says the grants allocate taxpayer money to industries and regions favoured by politicians.
Casting off..... “Solace in the Wind” on Wellington’s Waterfront. The 2-metre high iron sculpture - created by renowned English sculptor Max Patte - was cast by Palmerston North company Cast Components in 2008. Company owner Murray Hamlin says the job was something out of the ordinary for the firm which mostly does specialist casting work for the plastics industry and for the manufacturing sector. “One of the things I most enjoy about this work is that opportunities come along to create beautiful and significant forms.” See story page 14
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