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Mr Newman noted that this report covered issues of future
governance and management options for Venture Hawke’s Bay (VHB) and sought
guidance from the Committee as to which specific option would be progressed.
In response to a question about whether the VHB advisory
board still existed, the Chief Executive advised that he had written to each
of the Board members and advised them that their role and the current
structure of the Advisory Board had ceased, which meant there is no Board
currently in place.
The Chief Executive went through the various options
presented for VHB and said that his preference would be to create an unincorporated
joint venture with the tourism industry.
The Committee then discussed the various options and it
was noted that the economic development agency (EDA) plus Regional Tourism
Organisation (RTO) synergies were there and questioned how these would be dealt
with. Mr Newman noted that under an EDA option this would separate the two –
the RTO and the EDA in a management and governance sense. He also advised
that he would be speaking further to the Chamber of Commerce and industry
sectors on this issue. In response to a question around timing for the
business case for this, the Chairman asked whether this would be completed by
15 December to be presented to Council. The Chief Executive said that as VHB
are very much in limbo at this stage, it is preferable to progress this
matter as soon as possible so as not to leave the staff not knowing what
their future is.
It was acknowledged that there is a need to get on with
this in fairness to the VHB staff and the industry as VHB is nearly half way
through the current financial year. Any future organisation must be committed
to being regional and needs to be over-arching and complementary to other
organisations in the region. It would also need clear lines in terms of
governance and financial management and have industry behind to drive it.
It was commented that work had been done a few years ago
by Fran Wilde which produced the “Power of One” document and identified some
strengths and this document should be reviewed in case it can provide
anything further for the way forward for Venture Hawke’s Bay.
It was also noted that territorial authorities are
progressing with economic development and tourism issues in their own right.
It was suggested that this matter be included on the workshop agenda for
early December so Councillors are very clear with what is being proposed.
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