Am Cup - Full steam ahead to meet Cup deadline
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com/NZ 22 Dec 2017 13:15 NZDT
22 December 2017
A revised report on the forecasted impact of the 36th America's Cup on the Auckland and New Zealand economy is expected to have little effect on planning for the event.
An Auckland Council spokesman to Sail-World this morning that the forecast was always in the range of $500k - $1billion of additional GDP on the New Zealand economy.
The 2021 forecast was amended yesterday after an error was picked up by analysts New Zealand Initiative, in the original figures published by a rival analysts Market Economics who had produced a report for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
MBIE later corrected the error in their published report. New Zealand Initiative were recently in the news with their advocacy of a proposal to allow recreational fishers to keep all fish caught regardless of size on the basis that they were either dead or doing to die if released.
The original Market Economics report was a forecast with a wide range of projected outcomes - and was produced without knowing the number of Challengers, the boat to be used and the cost of development of the infrastructure for the event.
More relevant are the reports conducted after the 2000, 2003 and 2017 America's Cups which were all reconcilable despite the events being conducted in two different venues and the reports being compiled by different accounting firms.
The three reports can also be reconciled back to similar outcomes using accepted team spend percentages and program costs to calculate team spend in the host venue. Other event costs/spend are also easily added from previously published data.
And of course that is not to mention the tax and GST from the $1.5billion a year New Zealand Marine industry, set to receive another shot in the arm from the 36th America's Cup.
Full steam ahead for Panuku
Sail-World has been advised that the Resource Consent Process by Panuku Developments will continue to meet a January 15, 2018, filing deadline regardless of other options that may be put forward by the Government.
Panuku Developments is the property development arm of Auckland Council and is a commercially separate organisation.
After the Resource Consents are lodged with the Consenting Authority (Auckland Council) a two week due diligence process follows where points requiring extra clarification can be sought from Panuku Developments by the Council.
The Resource Consents are expected to be open for public submission from the end of January 2018.
The Coalition Government Minister for the America's Cup, David Parker who had come up with other ideas and options after a walk around the Wynyard Point venue, and had commissioned consultants to develop those, appears to have been unable to get confirmation from the Government Caucus before it broke from the Christmas and New Year Break. His latest scheme involved the reduction of team bases from eight to seven sites. One of the Coalition Government's busiest Ministers, Parker holds the portfolios of Attorney-General, Minister of Economic Development; Environment; Trade and Export Growth and Associate Minister of Finance. The America's Cup crosses several of these portfolios.
The Caucus does not reconvene until January 23rd - a week after the filing of Resource Consents by Auckland Council and a week before public submissions open.
If Parker were able to get sign-off on an alternate option, then a second set of Resource Consents would have to be lodged, assuming the Council had the staff to process the two streams.
The Government's position is further complicated by the fact that it does not own land in the Wynyard Point area, the majority of which is owned by the Auckland Council and a privately owned property investment company, Tramco. Normally a party cannot lodge a Resource Consent for activity on land it does not own - a point which was made during the latest Council Hearing which made a determination to proceed with the Viaduct Basin option.
Minister Parker, in Argentina for a meeting, also made a plea by txt message during the course of that meeting for his option to also go forward, however, was not successful in the final resolution.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff undertook at the Council Meeting to brief Parker on his return from Argentina last weekend. The only comment made during the week came from the Coalition Government who was reported to have called in Board Chairman and accountancy expert Michael Stiassny to lead its negotiations over cost-sharing for the America's Cup Regatta.
The Government is expected to pick up the bulk of the tab for development of the infrastructure as it receives almost all the revenue generated from the America's Cup by way of taxes and 15% GST on all spending by teams and fans. A week ago it was announced that soaring tax revenue will add an unexpected $2billion this year to the projected surplus last May of $1.4billion. Auckland Council by comparision is heavily in debt due to commitments to several infrastructure projects. It's almost sole source of revenue during the America's Cup comes from superyacht mooring fees, and rates once the facilities are constructed - rounding error in comparison to the Government $600million revenue windfall.
Parker's alternative options for the entire infrastructure to be based on existing wharves and dispersed over Wynyard Point have been completely impractical from an event perspective. Their effect would now only cause further delay in a process which is subject to tight deadlines.
The Council's plans and timeframe should be sufficient to achieve the deadlines set out in the Protocol for the 36th America's Cup, using a fast-tracked Hearing process by the Environmental Court, which would still be subject to Judicial Review and Supreme Court Appeal. Although both options could also be given urgency.