KEY POINTS:
The chances of the Ellerslie Flower Show staying in Auckland took a blow yesterday when the Auckland City Council decided to bow out of a rescue package.
A recommendation from officers to contribute $50,000 over each of the next three years for marketing and ancillary events was rejected by the finance committee.
The flower show is the third project to get the heave-ho since Mayor John Banks and his Citizens & Ratepayers rode back to power promising to review all the council's spending and end the culture of waste.
Mr Banks has promised to pull $30 million of ratepayer funding for Eden Park and has all but killed off a makeover of Mt Eden (Maungawhau) by saying the $10 million to $12 million cost was prohibitive.
Council officers were keen for Auckland City to add $50,000 to Manukau's $90,000. The Auckland Regional Council's contribution has been to provide the venue at the Botanic Gardens in Manukau.
This approach was seen as the best way to stop Christchurch or Hamilton snatching the show from under their noses. But the councillors decided that because the show was in Manukau and regional council boundaries, financing it should be the "prime responsibility" of these two councils.
The show has been held in Auckland since its inception in 1994 and is worth more than $12 million a year to the regional economy.
Auckland City finance chairman Doug Armstrong said the decision to stay out of the rescue plan was not taken lightly.
"It was done after sounding out the ARC and the Manukau City Council and the $50,000 was to publicise the event in Auckland City rather than subsidise the event."
Mr Armstrong said the committee felt its move would not jeopardise the show being held at the Botanic Gardens because it would be properly funded "no matter what we do".
"We have to be frugal with ratepayers' money."
Mr Armstrong said the council would still give the event publicity in its City Scene weekly publication and on its website.
New Christchurch mayor Bob Parker believes the "Garden City" is in with a solid chance of getting the show.
"We are putting out what we believe is a good offer on the table," he said.
Hamilton City Council is also in discussions with the show organisers about putting on the show at the Claudelands Events Centre.
Auckland City officers believe that one city has made an offer to purchase the event outright to own it in perpetuity.
Flower show managing director David Mee refused to comment on the possible sale of the event outright or discussions with the councils.
A decision on the show's future was planned for next week, he said.
Manukau Mayor Len Brown said the councils were keen to make sure the show stayed in the region and to help it grow.
"More than 50 per cent of visitors to the show live in the Auckland region and having it in Manukau, which is the gateway to New Zealand, is key to attracting international visitors and media," he said.
Auckland City events group manager Rachael Dacy said in a report to a meeting of the finance committee yesterday that the council was invited in July to bid for hosting rights to the show for three years from next year.
On September 24, council officers resolved to take a regional approach to keep the event at the Botanic Gardens. The cost of moving the event back to Auckland City did not merit a separate bid.
Rachael Dacy said throughout discussions, the event organisers had expressed a strong preference for the event to remain in Auckland, preferably moving back to the original venue at Ellerslie Racecourse.
"However, the event organisers also expressed that if Auckland City Council does not place a bid for Ellerslie Racecourse or strengthen Manukau's bid to retain it at the Botanic Gardens, the event may move outside Auckland," she said.
Botanic Gardens manager Jack Hobbs said he was unaware of the regional council being asked to make a financial contribution to keep the show in Auckland.
