Auckland to slash big-event red tape

The country's fashion leaders and Pacific Island communities are being asked to rescue Auckland's killjoy image as a city that stifles events and ties organisers up in red tape.

The Auckland City Council wants to build events like Fashion Week and Pasifika to celebrate the city's cultural identity and increase local spending in hotels, restaurants, cafes and bars.

Auckland's ability to host big events has taken a hit from the debacle of the V8 street race, failed bids for the Volvo and Global Challenge round-the-world yacht races, and the failure to match Wellington's aggressive grab for the World of Wearable Art Awards, the World Rugby Sevens and a David Bowie concert.

Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard will today announce an events strategy for the city that will seek to identify 10 signature events and streamline the council's infamous record of tying up organisers in red tape. A one-stop shop will be set up to fast-track events and simplify resource consent issues.

The signature events are likely to include the Auckland Festival, Fashion Week, Pasifika, Rally of New Zealand, International Boat Show, Matariki, the Lantern Festival and a new biennial waterfront festival over Auckland Anniversary Weekend that the council gave $223,000 in this year's budget.

Mr Hubbard last night said he was keen to correct the unfair perception that Auckland City was not events-friendly, saying the V8 race was a case of the former council overpromising and underdelivering.

The debacle cost ratepayers $750,000 and led Tony Cochrane, chairman of the V8 supercar organisation Avesco, to label it a huge "embarrassment" for the city.

Mr Hubbard said the council had increased the events sponsorship budget by $500,000 to $1.24 million and would be working on building on the success of events such as Pasifika and Fashion Week to lift the city's international profile.

"Auckland has got to be smart about tailoring events that fit in with the psyche and nature of the city," Mr Hubbard said. "If you take maritime events, we are the City of Sails. With the very big Indian, Chinese and Pacific Island populations, the Diwali Festival of Lights, the Lantern Festival and Pasifika are absolute certainties."

The council was "moving heaven and Earth" on the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Mr Hubbard said.

Tourism Auckland chief executive Graeme Osborne said for too long Auckland had been uncompetitive in pursuing major events but the events strategy was a step in the right direction.

Mr Osborne said Auckland needed to learn from Wellington, which had made an aggressive stand in the marketplace to attract major events and acted quickly with financial backing to secure them.

The Wellington City Council set up an events strategy two years ago which recognised that key events drove economic benefits and made Wellington a more vibrant place.

It has an annual development fund of $1.15 million to retain and expand existing events. On top of this the council puts aside $1.5 million for the biennial Wellington International Festival of the Arts and spends $500,000 on community events.

Auckland City has caught up with a $1.24 million sponsorship budget, $445,000 for community events and $1.45 million for the biennial Auckland Arts Festival.