"Instead of Craig taking the credit, he should acknowledge the people who actually did the work and won the bid because without them it would never have happened - they made it possible."
Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule supported Ms Lorck's position.
"I think she's right," he said. "I don't believe the Government's ultra-fast broadband roll-out was responsible for any of it [the council's winning bid for the call centre].
"Unison happened to have a large fibre optic cable in very close proximity to the site ... which made it a very safe fibre network. We had nothing to do with Craig Foss in approaching Kiwibank. The Government wasn't part of this bid."
In response to Ms Lorck's comments, Mr Foss said he'd never claimed to have lobbied for the call centre on Hastings' behalf. But he maintained the relocation wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the Government's UFB roll-out.
"I've always said UFB is an enabler for businesses such as Kiwibank to move to Hawke's Bay. If UFB wasn't being rolled out around the country, then we [Hastings] wouldn't even be considered."
When asked about the nature of his role in facilitating UFB, Mr Foss said "It's a National Government policy and we're rolling it out".
"It's bigger than just Hawke's Bay. The tyranny of distance is being minimised by the day."
Ms Lorck said while Unison Networks would connect Kiwibank's call centre to ultra-fast broadband with the FX network, and Kiwibank did require diversity of service provision, it was "a complete overstatement" to say the move was impossible without the Government's UFB.
"Kiwibank could have secured another technical solution without it.
"Instead he [Mr Foss] should be saying what he actually has done for Tukituki as the local MP and give real examples - it's the very least he owes the hard-working people of Tukituki."
Unison Networks customer relations manager Danny Gough confirmed the company's fibre network had no relation to the Government's roll-out of UFB.
"We certainly assisted in providing information to the council in terms of their pitch to Kiwibank. Unison has a state-of-the art, robust fibre optic network in Hastings CBD near the Kiwibank site."
Mr Gough said Unison's network was a "commercial venture" done "in complete isolation" from the Government.
A Kiwibank spokesman said the bank was establishing a regional office and operations centre in Hastings "to enable the bank to continue operating in the event of a major earthquake, extreme weather event or serious fire or gas leak at our main sites in Wellington and Auckland".
"Hastings was chosen because it offers a strategic location and is large enough to supply the people and services the bank requires to function. It also provides modern infrastructure the bank needs to communicate internally and with its customers locally and in the rest of New Zealand."
Xero chief executive Rod Drury, who originally approached Hastings District Council about a call centre strategy, said Kiwibank chose Hastings for "a whole raft of reasons," and "no one person is responsible".
