Sport Minister disturbed by report findings

The findings of a report into Cycling New Zealand’s (CNZ) high performance programme are deeply disappointing, Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson said on Monday.

He was commenting following the release of the report by Michael Heron QC who was appointed by High Performance Sport NZ (HPSNZ) to investigative allegations of bullying and other improper conduct within the CNZ high performance programme.

“I am disturbed and deeply disappointed by the findings of the Heron Report. I note that both Cycling NZ and HSPNZ have acknowledged they got this wrong, that they will do far better in the future, and that they have apologised to the athletes involved,” Grant Robertson said.

“I will be working with HSPNZ to ensure that the lessons of the report are acted on,” Grant Robertson said.

“We need athlete welfare to be central to the success of our high performance programmes. It needs to be seen as a key ingredient of excellence, rather than a nice to have,” Grant Robertson said.

“I am certain that working together with national sporting organisations, athletes, and their representatives we can do as chief executive Michael Scott says and make this a competitive advantage for our athletes,” Grant Robertson said.

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