Few Aucklanders are aware of the role of the committee for Auckland in the formation of the super city .
It comes as no surprise that when the committee for Auckland is looked at a bit closer there are many things which do not stack up neatly and it is even more revealing to look at the members of the committee for Auckland and see what role they play in the city.
lets look at some facts.
The committee for Auckland is a charity , not just one charity , its three charities
CC43500 Committee For Auckland group
CC43499 Committee For Auckland Limited
CC43498 The Committee For Auckland Trust
There is a lack of transparency in its accounts as it only lists one set of books which is for the CC43499 Committee for Auckland Limited.
The company was registered as COMPETITIVE AUCKLAND LIMITED it changed its name 23 Dec 2002 to Committee For Auckland Limited . The shareholder is a group of people who may or may not be a trust there is no indication of this other than the fact that the shares are jointly held.
The beneficiary of the company / charity proceeds is COMPETITIVE AUCKLAND Trust this is not a charity it is not a trust registered under the charitable trust act 1957, no trust deed is visible.
Documentation which relates to the competitive Auckland entity indicates that the purpose is not charitable and it has been created to inspire business growth. It is very much a commercial venture. the crucial documents are located at the following links
Transparency New Zealand has made a complaint to the charities commission with regards to these charities see the complaint here Complaint by Grace Haden with regards to the committee for Auckland
One of the earlier documents relating to Competitive Auckland is found on a council web site which is a page which had the origins on the Waitakere city council web site. Indeed many of the members of committee for Auckland and their associates appear to have common connections thorough the Portage trust and the Waitakere licensing trust
Early documents relating to the who is who and the intention behind the project can be found in the internet archives it speaks of Auckland being a ” one stop shop ” Investment attraction agency and it comes as no surprise that one of the key drivers of the project is Richard Didsbury of Kiwi Income Properties and another is Bryan Mogridge who is well connected with travel industry and liquor industry see the Proposed strategy document here and the Interim report dated 4 may 2001 here the opening remarks state
Competitive Auckland is a charitable trust that has been established
by a group of Auckland’s business leaders concerned about:
– The poor economic performance of the region;
– The loss of businesses;
– The loss of talent.
• They established Competitive Auckland in March 2001 to:
‘Deliver a well articulated competitive strategy to enhance Auckland
as an internationally competitive location to undertake business’.
Transparency New Zealand has noted that over the years the members of the committee for Auckland have done exceedingly well in comparison to the average person in Auckland. their focus has ensured the development and expansion of the casino .
Many of the members or their associates from other businesses which they are involved in have made it on to boards of CCO’s such as Auckland Transport , Auckland property etc.
Transparency New Zealand is concerned that some of these members seem to have a very close relationship with projects which the companies which these persons are involved with will also benefit from once the project gets the go ahead.e.g. Peter Wall , the harbour access trust and BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX
We are continually told that ” New Zealand is a small place ” it is not that small that those who lobby for a project should end up on the decision making authority which gives the go ahead to the project which is then contracted to the company which the lobbier owns or controls.
Conflicts of inertness appear to have no meaning and to declare a conflict of interest apparently makes it OK.
So we go over budget and over time who cares there is a bottomless pit of ratepayers out there, they can come up with more rates and if they cant afford to live in Auckland well they can move because the marketing that has been done by the committee for Auckland internationally ensures that there are plenty of buyers for your property people who can afford to live here.
Its time we put an end to this conduct we need more transparency and more accountability.
Strangely enough Businesses don’t get a vote , they are not who council is there for. Council appears to have lost sight on who put them in power and who they serve.
Another oddity is the CEO of council Doug MC Kay who with no previous experience in local government came straight into the hot seat from companies which the members of the committee for Auckland were involved with mainly the liquor industry . check him out here
We have to have people in Governance who represent the people and do what is best for Auckland as a whole not just the Auckland based business of multinationals.
see also
Council CEO Conflict of interest none of our business ??????
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