The focus of HPSNZ is threefold: sports that can produce medals at Olympic and Commonwealth Games, success at the Paralympics and world championship podium finishes.
Unfortunately sports such as football, basketball and tennis don't fit that criteria. New Zealand is never going to win the Fifa World Cup and are equally unlikely to make the podium in basketball or tennis.
There is a choice to make - how important is winning, regardless of the profile of the sport, versus the importance of achievement in sports that matter to the rest of the world?
Having Ryan Nelsen and now Winston Reid in football's English Premier League, seen by hundreds of millions on the world stage, surely does far more for the profile and status of New Zealand sport than the performance of almost any rower, cyclist, triathlete or equestrian performer - certainly in terms of numbers watching.
The same goes for Steven Adams' remarkable rise in the NBA, or when Erakovic progresses through the early rounds of a Grand Slam.
However, in New Zealand, we still don't seem to understand the value of, and competition in, truly global sports.
"The fact is ... they didn't even finish in the top 16 at the World Cup," was Mahe Drysdale's surprised reaction when the All Whites were nominated for the Halberg Awards in 2011.
"If rowing was as big as football, Mahe would find himself up against 120 rowers of his level," was Ryan Nelsen's reaction to that statement.
Surely there is room for some additional benchmarks. In football, it should be qualification for the Fifa World Cup. A strong All Whites team offers innumerable possibilities, both for sport and the nation.
The recent play-off against Mexico brought an estimated $5 million in television rights payments - an astonishing figure for a single match - while all 32 teams at next year's World Cup will receive US$9.5 million ($11.56 million) just for being there.
As a contrast, the 2011 rowing world championships in New Zealand lost $2.2 million.
A creditable All Whites team also opens the door to 'football diplomacy', one way into key markets such as China, Japan and South Korea.
In tennis - what about being eligible for funding if you reach the top 20 in the ITF junior rankings, or top 150 on the ATP or WTA tour? Once inside the top 100, players are generally self-sufficient; it is getting there that is the battle. Imagine if there were three or four Kiwis in the main draw of every grand slam.
"It's never easy but where do you draw the line?" says HPSNZ CEO Alex Baumann. "Our main focus has to be on sports and athletes tracking towards a top three finish [at Rio] in 2016 and those that can win world championships. We need to maintain the bar pretty high and can't use the excuse that a sport is more global than others. We can't just support a sport because it is global."
HPSNZ has $62 million at its disposal, compared with Australia (A$260 million or $286 million) and England (300 million or $597 million), and has to deliver on that investment. He is wary of spreading resources too thinly.
The 1984 Olympic gold medallist swimmer feels that Australia has "lost focus and not prioritised", while Baumann's native Canada used to take an "egalitarian" approach towards funding sports which wasn't conducive to top results.
"We won't please everybody," says Baumann. "But if we don't get some criticism, we are probably not making hard decisions."
