We were interested to read the reaction and dismay of moteliers in Whangarei that are being stretched by hosting two major sporting events next week.
We see that Whangarei moteliers have taken a knee-jerk stance and have suggested that their council "take a more active role" and there is a suggestion that an events coordinator should be employed.
We are aware that many organisers of events operate in isolation and circle future dates that have significance to their particular event with little thought of accommodation demands. They tend to place an over importance on their particular activity and discount other groups that may also have events planned at the same time. Luckily other organisers go out of their way to consider the availability of accommodation. However, this can be difficult when events are planned many years in advance and usually exclusively occur during the warmer months where there is a tight window of available dates to maneuver.
Would an Events coordinator make a difference? We doubt it!
We wonder how much public money would moteliers be comfortable their council spending on the creation of an events coordinator position? Would an events coordinator be an appropriate public investment?
If clusters of private businesses wish to appear credible, we reckon that they should be consistent in calling for councils to restrict activities to core services, restrain expenditure and effectively identify actual use of public goods and services by property owners.
Advocating more council involvement along with an apparent self-serving publicly funded events coordinator does not seem to fit this ethic.
