Mayor defends funding for a trip to Beijing

Mayor John Carter

Mayor John Carter has defended sending two councillors on a ratepayer-funded trip to China.

Northland Age readers have been raising concerns about the trip, with Far North Deputy Mayor Tania McInnes and corporate committee chairman John Vujcich fly to Beijing on November for talks with Tus-Holdings, the business arm of Tsinghua University.

The visit comes after the council signed a Memorandum of Intent with Tus-Holdings in March, when university leaders accompanied Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on a three-day state visit to New Zealand. Ms McInnes and Mr Vujcich will be joined in China by Andy Nock, chief executive of council-owned company Far North Holdings.

Concerns over the trip include that it was not in an open section of the council meeting, but Mr Carter says this was not the case - it was in an open section of the meeting that was held after a closed part of the meeting and the public could have attended.

"The decision to send a delegation to Beijing on November 13 was made during a meeting of council on October 26 that was open to the public. Discussions about the China delegation began at 2pm," Mr Carter said.

"This followed a period of public exclusion that discussed matters not connected to the China delegation . . . the proposal to send a delegation to China was discussed during an open meeting that any member of public could attend."

He said the report detailing the proposed trip was not included in the agenda as it was only tabled on the day of the meeting and its urgency meant it could not be left for the next scheduled meeting.

"Urgent matters like this do occasionally arise and their late inclusion in council meetings fully complies with Standing Orders and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, he said.

The purpose of the trip is to continue discussions with Tus-Holdings. The pair will also meet with other Chinese business representatives interested in exploring initiatives in the Far North, he said.

While the memorandum makes no investment commitments, TUS-Holdings has expressed interest in investing in tourism and geothermal energy and is keen to establish a venture capital fund to encourage innovative projects in tourism, technology, film and the environment," Mr Carter said.

"The Beijing trip is an opportunity to clearly detail our expectations and our vision for the district, as well as identify 'win-win' opportunities with a focus on local jobs and creating district income. The trip has cost $10,136. We consider this to be a good investment of ratepayer resources."

He said the decision to send its own interpreter to accompany the delegation was an operational one and was not discussed during the October 26 meeting.

"It is a reasonable addition that will ensure all discussions are well-understood by the council delegation and our hosts.

"We are aware that Chinese civic leaders are visiting Wellington in December and will also be sending a delegation to this event. However, that is separate to our relationship with TUS-Holdings, which was established following a visit by its representatives to the Far North.

"We are keen to reciprocate so we can build on that relationship.

"As a result, we consider the decision to fund a short business trip to Beijing to be reasonable given the potential for significant economic investment in the district."