Auckland City Councillors Give Aotea Board The Message On Hero Party

Auckland City Council's City Attractions Committee wants The Edge Board to work with the Hero Trust Board in a joint venture.

The Council, as owner and funder of The Edge, is financially supporting the Hero Parade this financial year. In this capacity, it is strongly recommending that The Edge and the Hero Trust should work together to maximise the growth potential that could arise from a joint venture.

A Majority of the Edge Board members earlier rejected a proposal from their own staff that The Edge should enter into a joint venture to run the Hero Party. Staff had recommended that "the party is the event that The Edge wants to secure as it could generate the most revenue for the organisation".

Councillor Kay McKelvie said she believed the decision by the Edge Board to decline the joint venture suggested by its own staff had not been made for financial reasons.

"The Edge is a wholly owned stand-alone business unit of Council and, as a councillor, I am concerned that if prejudice has played a part in the Board's decision, then The Edge could be contravening the Human Rights Act.

"The information that I have seen clearly indicates that the Hero Party could have given a positive financial return to The Edge," Councillor McKelvie said.

Councillor Victoria Carter, Chair of the City Attractions Committee said if the Board considered there were political sensitivities about the Hero Party, it should have referred the matter to the shareholder, through the City Attractions Committee, allowing the politicians to make the decision about the proposed joint venture.

"I don't think its right for the Council to underwrite the costs of the Hero Party because the Edge Board is not prepared to acknowledge that this a low risk financial event for the Edge to be involved in," Cr Carter said.

Councillor McKelvie said that if the financials stack up, she would be suspicious about the Board's reasons for declining to become involved in the Hero Party.

"The Council must be careful not to be party to institutionalised discrimination," declared Councillor McKelvie.

"Hero are not out to exploit other sections of the community; they are having a party to celebrate their diversity'" she added.

ENDS

For further information
Please contact Cr Victoria Carter
Telephone 529 1121 or 025 377 018
Or
Cr Kay McKelvie
Telephone 846 7076 or 025 279 6448

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