Council asks Govt to take over big Q.E. II loan burden

Press, 3 October 1979, Page 1

Council asks Govt to take over big Q.E. II loan burden

The Christchurch City Council will appeal to the Government to take over its heavy Queen Elizabeth II Park loans commitments.

After an acrimonious debate yesterday, with many assertions about the park being a “white elephant” or a “national asset,” according to political viewpoint, rhe council’s parks and recreation committee decided to send a deputation headed by the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr H. G. Hay) to the Minister of Recreation and Sport (Mr Highet).

However, the Minister’s first response last evening was that Christchurch would have little chance of getting more Government help for sports facilities in the city.

The Q.E. II debt of 52.6 M will cost the council $234,000 to service in the current financial year. In the last five years, SI.2M has been paid in loanservicing charges, but the total debt has been reduced by only $150,000. “Certainly we will look at any application made to us by the council, but I think Christchurch has done pretty well in terms of Government funding over the last 12 months,” said Mr Highet from Wellington.

“Queen Elizabeth II Park is a valuable asset to New Zealand as a whole, but they are talking very big money indeed and there is not much more available for allocation to Christchurch at the moment,” he said.

The Christchurch City Council had been granted $lOO,OOO by the Government for sports facilities in

the last 12 months, half of which was authorised only last week, said Mr Highet. The money was granted under the Local Authority Community Facilities Scheme, funded by the National Lotteries Board, and Mr Hay was a member of the allocation committee which decided on grants from the fund to local bodies, he said.

Mr Highet said he had been told by Mr Hay that the first priority for Christchurch was the new Pioneer Sports Stadium in Spreydon. and $50,000 had been granted last year. A further grant of $50,000 had been approved only last week, he said. “Now they are coming at us with the other hand out.

“Any request the council cares to make will be considered by the Government because of its value to the country as a whole,” said Mr Highet. The proposal to send the deputation to Mr Highet was passed after heated opposition by Cr Helen Garrett.

Referring to the former Labour Mayor of Christchurch, Mr N. G. Pickering, Cr Garrett said the complex was “Mr Pickering’s legacy”, and a “world-class white elephant.”

“For nine days of glamour, the City of Christchurch has been given half a century of debt and substantial losses,” she said.

"It is time to stop calling Q.E. II Park an asset; there is no doubt it is a liability,” said Cr Garrett.

Christchurch had been "permanently saddled” with debts it could not afford. Cr Garrett blamed

"misguided leadership” by the Labour Mayor for the decision to build the complex for the 1974 Commonwealth Games.

“If Q.E. II Park were not there tomorrow, not many Christchurch ci t i zen’s would miss it,” she said. A report by the council’s parks and recreation officer (Mr N. W. Drain), who with Cr R. Lester and Mr Hay will make up the delegation to the Minister, said that the Government had made a very small contribution ($330,000) to the original $5 million cost of the park. Mr Drain pointed to large involvement by Federal and state governments towards the cost of the Commonwealth Games to be held at Brisbane next year.

The amount of the existing loans was what could have been "fairly expected” from the Government for the initial funding of Queen Elizabeth II Park, said Mr Drain.

Cr Lester described the complex as “the finest sports facility in New Zealand.” Cr Garrett’s remarks had been “only a political outburst,” he said.

“One might have been inclined to listen more closely if there had been a conclusion and a proposal.”

The council owed it to children and competitive swimmers to keep the swimming pools at the park open all year round, said Cr Lester. "By the end of the term we will have proposals to make sure the park is a more viable proposition.”

Cr Noala Massey argued that building the park had been preferable to alternative arrangements for holding the Commonwealth Games.

“We were committed to the Games eight years before they were held, and I don’t know if we can blame any particular group of people,” she said.

“I, like the others, will fight to keep it going and put many other activities there.”

Cr Vicki Buck said that the Government should recognise that Queen Elizabeth II Park was partly a national facility, as well as a local facility.

Wiping the loan debt from the council would involve only internal monies, and not create huge overseas debt, she said.

Cr D. J. Rowlands said Christchurch had taken on what was really a national responsibility and it was now appropriate for the Government to take some of that responsibility. He pointed to the PanPacific Games in 1981 and the Fourth World Veteran Games which will be held at the complex in 1981.. “In the future what other major sporting events are going to be attracted there?”

There had probably never been a greater political argument in a New Zealand local body than that over Queen Elizabeth II Park, said Cr M. R. Carter. He appealed to Labour councillors to “look up the record and see what did happen at the time of the election 12 years ago.” “We pointed out the pro-

blems that were going to be faced by future councils,” he said. “I cannot see the Government accepting responsibility for loan financing. The issue will affect the ratepayers of Christchurch very substantially. I don’t know what we are going to do.” Cr P. W. Anderson said the park was potentially a national training school for sportsmen. “We are now asking the Government to take on that possibility.” he said. The committee’s chairman Cr P. N. G. Blaxall) said the complex was one of the finest in the world. If the Government was not prepared to finance the building of a sportsman’s hostel at the park, said Mr Blaxall. “is it not fair to ask for relief of repayment costs?”

Mr Hay was in Wellington last evening and could not be reached for comment.