Wearable Arts buy-up to stay secret after Ombudsman ruling

The Chief Ombudsman has ruled in favour of Wellington City Council keeping secret how much it paid to woo the World of WearableArt Awards (WOW) to the capital.

WOW staged its first show in Wellington this year after signing a five-year deal with the council for a confidential sum covering marketing, venue and financial support.

A year-long investigation into a complaint from the Nelson Mail has now resulted in Chief Ombudsman John Belgrove deciding the council has "good reason" to withhold the information.

The council's ability to attract major national and international events to Wellington was likely to be damaged by the release of the information, he said in a letter to the newspaper's editor Bill Moore.

"Extensive investigation and discussion with WCC has convinced me that events promotion is a very competitive market internationally, where building a relationship with promoters relies on trust and confidence," the OMbudsman wrote.

"Wellington, and New Zealand as a whole, would be at a significant disadvantage in this market if promoters were concerned that confidential information about an event would be made public.

"It is my judgment that in the circumstances in this case, the need to withhold the remaining information concerning the WCC agreement with WOW is not outweighed by the public interest in release."

The Nelson City Council used to grant the show $40,000 a year, with $37,000 of that going back to the council for use of the Trafalgar Centre. It was estimated the awards brought $6.5 million into the region from 9000 visitors.

- nzpa