4. Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) Link to this
to the Minister for the Rugby World Cup
Has he received any reports or briefings, verbal or written, since he became the Minister for the Rugby World Cup on the ability of downtown Auckland to host Rugby World Cup 2011 related events and what were the dates of those briefings?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY (Minister for the Rugby World Cup) Link to this
The member may be aware that the Government is leading the delivery of a range of activities at Queens Wharf, of which it is the part-owner. As a consequence I receive a range of regular reports and briefings regarding its capacity to host planned events. With regard to the wider waterfront, ATEED—Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development—the events arm of Auckland City, is active in the lead role. Officials would have received reports and briefings in the context of the management committee responsible for Queens Wharf.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That was a deliberately straight, direct question asking—in the end—what the dates of those briefings were. I think he has had plenty of time to sort through his files for them. He did not attempt to answer that part of the question.
Mr SPEAKERI think it is a fair point of order. Although it may not be reasonable to expect all the dates, because there may be quite a long list of briefings—the Minister indicated a number of briefings—some dates, I think, would be appropriate to answer the question, since it is a primary question.
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
I can indicate that there would have been a substantial number of those reports around the time of the acquisition of Queens Wharf, and, more recently, as we got closer to the opening of the Rugby World Cup there would have been a significant increase in the number of reports on the various activities to be engaged in at Queens Wharf. If the member would like me to supply a list of the dates of all of the reports I have received, I would be happy to make it available to him separately.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I accept the offer. Did he receive in the briefing to him as an incoming Minister at the end of 2008 warnings about transport and crowd issues in central Auckland for the Rugby World Cup?
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
What priority did he give to the task of sorting that, as Minister for the Rugby World Cup, between December 2008 and last Friday?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
With regard to the transport challenges, it would be fair to say that they would have received the highest priority. It is no great secret that I identified in the risk assessments that were undertaken in conversations with agencies, including directly with the Auckland Transport Agency itself, that I assessed that the transport challenges were one of the greatest risks facing the Rugby World Cup, and, accordingly, a good deal of time and discussion have gone into managing those challenges. Again, I would be very happy to make a list of the various discussions with the Auckland Transport Agency available to the member. Further, the issues of crowd control and participation on the Auckland waterfront have been managed by ATEED and Auckland Council. The Queens Wharf interface has been the focus of the Government’s attention in that respect, but, of course, it has, alongside other elements of the Rugby World Cup, received attention from officials, and therefore from me, from time to time.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Did he receive a full-day briefing, along with the Minister of Transport on the Rugby World Cup—mainly transport issues—in June of this year, which led to some photo opportunities, and did he express at the end of that briefing satisfaction with the arrangements?
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
It was not, in fact, a full-day briefing, but it was a substantial part of a day. It involved a range of visits, including a visit to the transport control centre to see how it worked. But, no, it would not be fair to say that I pronounced myself fully satisfied with arrangements as a consequence of that briefing, and, as the member will discover when I give him an ongoing list of the interactions, there were further matters that I was exploring with the Minister of Transport and directly with transport officials.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
Did the Minister spend more time focused on crowd issues in the event that more than 12,000 people wanted to go down on to the wharf, or on picking the colour of the shirt for the Prime Minister to mince in?
Hon Rodney HideI raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I think you will find that that comment was totally unacceptable to this House.
I do not want to be ruling out words that may be marginal words. I am sure we are big enough children not to take offence at every possible word. If I thought the Prime Minister was going to be terribly upset by that word, I might rule it out, but I do not want to be ruling out endless words.
Hon MURRAY McCULLY Link to this
It has been my impression that the Prime Minister has an extraordinarily good sense of fashion judgment and therefore is in no need of advice from me. Indeed, were he in need of such advice, I doubt he would seek it from me.