Over past couple of months there have been accusations, and counter claims concerning the performance of an organisation called Venture Hawkes Bay.
This organisation started out as Hawke's Bay Inc and from the outset has attracted continuing low level criticism.
The name may have changed but the dissatisfaction remains. VHB was established to foster economic development in Hawkes Bay and ratepayers and citizens are paying the bill so need to be aware of what is going on. Initial funding was about $1.5 million a year was split equally between the Regional Council, Hastings District, and Napier City Councils.
At some point both Hastings and Napier disengaged, so from 2009 both control and funding have been managed by the Regional Council. Look at your Regional Council rates assessment and you will find a targeted amount for Venture Hawke's Bay.
The cost has increased as with all Regional Council projects and now seems closer to $4 million a year, with some of that financed from Government grants. Staff establishment has exploded to 17 employees.
Most of the criticism involves Venture Hawke's Bay's tourism activities. Of course this is the most visible of their responsibilities and there are many businesses and people are directly involved in the visitor industry.
I have been one of the critics almost since the beginning. In my opinion most of the problems are due to the unsuitability of the people running the organisation.
Ross Bramwell founding Chairman of the Regional Council was the first Chairman. In my opinion he given the job simply as a sort of gratuity. Ross is a pleasant fellow but I certainly don't think he's got the necessary skills for the challenge.
As proof he failed at least twice to find a suitable Chief Executive and hang onto them. It took nearly a year to find the first incumbent who resigned and departed within 10 months following months of rumors about serious dissatisfaction.
The next appointment was Tom Hamilton a former Hawke's Bay man who was working in Singapore. I have met Tom several times over the years and I could never understand why he was selected to lead Hawke's Bay into the future.
He made three tips to New Zealand for interviews, then a briefing then the final shift with his family. The process took months and cost a fortune.
It seemed just weeks had passed when whispers again suggested great dissatisfaction and right on the obligatory 12 months he also departed.
Number three Chief Executive is Janet Takerangi, also a Ross Bramwell appointment made not long before he handed over the chairmanship to Regional Councillor Neil Kirton in 2009.
She has not impressed some people. Mid 2009 she claimed visitor numbers were up but overlooked the figures she was using were seriously distorted by overseas fruit pickers. In that same month Molliner shot several police officers an event that dragged in at least 100 police and army personnel plus a significant number of media people adding perhaps 1000 bed nights to the statistics.
Neil Kirton worked in the Health sector before being swept into Parliament with the New Zealand first avalanche of 1996. As associate Minister of Health and of Customs I personally supported some of his initiatives such as the 100% speedo checks on imported second hand vehicles.
He was in constant strife with Bill English and did not seek re-election in 1999, and would not have been returned anyway.
Two years later he was elected to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and has been re-elected twice.
I question whether his knowledge or background have equipped him to head up an economic development agency, and I certainly have seen nothing to suggest Neil knows much about tourism. He was for years a critic of Hawke's Bay Inc so one wonders if he was silenced with an offer of the chairmanship and the $50 000 a year he is understood to earn as Chairman.
The other major player in the tourism story is Regional Promotion and Marketing Manager Michael Wan who hails from NZ Post. At this stage it is far from clear whether he has the skills to drive the visitor industry.
The most recent criticisms of VHB concern a recent TV advertising campaign, and redesigned internet web site both part of measures intended to attract more visitors.
Many accommodation practitioners suggest the TV campaign has been ineffective and the web site unsatisfactory, and are able to produce antidotal evidence to support their arguments. They also complain of lack of consultation. Accommodation and visitor industry operators collectively spend millions on advertising and marketing so have knowledge of the issues. They also need to know what is going on so they can co ordinate with any official programmes.
The downturn seems to have hit some moteliers hard. A couple of years ago they were doing well so what exactly has changed?
When they complained Neil attacked them suggesting they were offering an unsatisfactory product. This knee jerk reaction appears very defensive. The ultimate measure of success is surely an improvement in the official statistics.
Hawkes Bay Inc and Venture Hawke's Bay have cost ratepayers more than $10 million since inception and there is not a lot to show for the money.
The criticisms and complaints require answers. To succeed people need to perform and this is more likely if they have a proven track record. It seems so far at least, this is not the case. With elections looming it is time for transparency and accountability so we can decide whether to continue to support Venture Hawke's Bay or not.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Upgrade the Airport before its too late
For over 5 years a group of concerned citizens has been engaged in a battle with the Mayors of Napier and Hastings to get some action on upgrading the local airport so we can have passenger jets come here and perhaps even direct flights to Australia.
This battle has only been necessary because in 2004 the Airport Board accepted a very misleading $30 000 report from a well known firm of public accountants.
To put it bluntly the report was riddled with errors. Clearly the board did not realise how inadequate it was until the issue was exposed in local papers but then both they and the consultants failed to put matters right.
Incredibly neither the Mayors of Napier or Hastings did anything about it either.
Only after years of criticism did the two councils commission a second report in 2007 at a further cost to ratepayers of $60 000. At the same time a third privately funded report costing nearly $40 000 was commissioned.
The findings of both these new reports were so convincing, the Airport Board was instructed to develop plans to financing a runway extension to 1900 metres.
Another three years has been wasted but at long last the Airport Board has announced it is extending the runway to 1750 metres.
This will not give us flights to Australia, though it will allow other airlines such as Pacific Blue and Jet Star to fly domestic services and we badly need competition to break the Air New Zealand monopoly on on air services to Hawke's Bay.
Passenger jets will also allowed increased capacity at times or on special occasions when needed while providing the sort of aircraft that already fly to places such as Hamilton, Rotorua, Dunedin and Queenstown.
OK you say “who cares, doesn't affect me I never fly anyway”. This is a very narrow and selfish view of the situation. The same retarded thinking would have us still using stagecoaches, steam trains, morse code, or dial up internet instead of broadband.
If we are going to survive in today's tough world and compete with other cities for businesses, for conferences, for tourism and other forms of commerce then affordable, convenient air services are essential. Business people need regular contact with customers and suppliers.
The high cost of airfares has been given as the major reason local business people are deterred from travelling outside the area.
We should also continue the fight for direct links to Australia, this countries biggest source of manufactured imports, biggest export market, largest source of overseas investment monies, and biggest recipient of overseas investment by New Zealanders. Our business people need easy access to Australia to help them prosper and provide more employment . Right now they are seriously disadvantaged by having to fly via Auckland or Wellington at double the cost and double the travel time.
Over half of all New Zealanders travelling overseas, are heading to Australia. Many Hawke's Bay people have children, relatives or friends living in Australia who they would like to visit, or have visit.
And even more importantly Australia is the source of over half of all overseas visitors to this country. And that percentage is growing fast. If people in Australia find Hawke's Bay too difficult and expensive to travel to, they simply won't bother to come.
The visitor industry is a major employer. After the 3 main centres we are 7th largest of 29 regions for visitors but our growth rate is near lowest.
We pay through the nose for airfares and suffer from the other monopoly practices employed by Air New Zealand. Actions that should be illegal but somehow never seem to escape the attention of regulatory authorities. Excessive airfares could be robbing our community of at least $10 million a year.
So why has the airport board sat on its hands for so long? Probably because the airport is also a monopoly so there is no pressure for then to act. Its just a comfortable old man's club.
Why have our Mayors and other civic leaders dithered for so long? They seem willing to spend mega dollars trying to get people to come here, but have failed to make it easier for them to do so.
Remember it's not going to cost ratepayers a thing. The airport is profitable, about the only council activity that is, and has at least $5 million in reserves. More can be borrowed if needed.
In reality the extension should not stop at 1750 metres. The 1900 metres needed for direct flights to Australia has been estimated to cost as as little as a million dollars if done at the same time.
That's the order of money the Hastings District Council has to pour into Splash Plant or the Opera House every year.
Venture Hawke's Bay costs ratepayers $3 million dollars a year, and that organisation has a very unsatisfactory record of success.
May be you are one of the few who still don't agree with the runway extension. You are in the minority. The 2007 investigation found 90% support and only 3% opposed. A 30 to one majority of supporters over opponents.
This battle has only been necessary because in 2004 the Airport Board accepted a very misleading $30 000 report from a well known firm of public accountants.
To put it bluntly the report was riddled with errors. Clearly the board did not realise how inadequate it was until the issue was exposed in local papers but then both they and the consultants failed to put matters right.
Incredibly neither the Mayors of Napier or Hastings did anything about it either.
Only after years of criticism did the two councils commission a second report in 2007 at a further cost to ratepayers of $60 000. At the same time a third privately funded report costing nearly $40 000 was commissioned.
The findings of both these new reports were so convincing, the Airport Board was instructed to develop plans to financing a runway extension to 1900 metres.
Another three years has been wasted but at long last the Airport Board has announced it is extending the runway to 1750 metres.
This will not give us flights to Australia, though it will allow other airlines such as Pacific Blue and Jet Star to fly domestic services and we badly need competition to break the Air New Zealand monopoly on on air services to Hawke's Bay.
Passenger jets will also allowed increased capacity at times or on special occasions when needed while providing the sort of aircraft that already fly to places such as Hamilton, Rotorua, Dunedin and Queenstown.
OK you say “who cares, doesn't affect me I never fly anyway”. This is a very narrow and selfish view of the situation. The same retarded thinking would have us still using stagecoaches, steam trains, morse code, or dial up internet instead of broadband.
If we are going to survive in today's tough world and compete with other cities for businesses, for conferences, for tourism and other forms of commerce then affordable, convenient air services are essential. Business people need regular contact with customers and suppliers.
The high cost of airfares has been given as the major reason local business people are deterred from travelling outside the area.
We should also continue the fight for direct links to Australia, this countries biggest source of manufactured imports, biggest export market, largest source of overseas investment monies, and biggest recipient of overseas investment by New Zealanders. Our business people need easy access to Australia to help them prosper and provide more employment . Right now they are seriously disadvantaged by having to fly via Auckland or Wellington at double the cost and double the travel time.
Over half of all New Zealanders travelling overseas, are heading to Australia. Many Hawke's Bay people have children, relatives or friends living in Australia who they would like to visit, or have visit.
And even more importantly Australia is the source of over half of all overseas visitors to this country. And that percentage is growing fast. If people in Australia find Hawke's Bay too difficult and expensive to travel to, they simply won't bother to come.
The visitor industry is a major employer. After the 3 main centres we are 7th largest of 29 regions for visitors but our growth rate is near lowest.
We pay through the nose for airfares and suffer from the other monopoly practices employed by Air New Zealand. Actions that should be illegal but somehow never seem to escape the attention of regulatory authorities. Excessive airfares could be robbing our community of at least $10 million a year.
So why has the airport board sat on its hands for so long? Probably because the airport is also a monopoly so there is no pressure for then to act. Its just a comfortable old man's club.
Why have our Mayors and other civic leaders dithered for so long? They seem willing to spend mega dollars trying to get people to come here, but have failed to make it easier for them to do so.
Remember it's not going to cost ratepayers a thing. The airport is profitable, about the only council activity that is, and has at least $5 million in reserves. More can be borrowed if needed.
In reality the extension should not stop at 1750 metres. The 1900 metres needed for direct flights to Australia has been estimated to cost as as little as a million dollars if done at the same time.
That's the order of money the Hastings District Council has to pour into Splash Plant or the Opera House every year.
Venture Hawke's Bay costs ratepayers $3 million dollars a year, and that organisation has a very unsatisfactory record of success.
May be you are one of the few who still don't agree with the runway extension. You are in the minority. The 2007 investigation found 90% support and only 3% opposed. A 30 to one majority of supporters over opponents.
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