Letter linked to sudden resignation of AWL director

The public release of a sensitive letter is believed to have contributed to the sudden resignation of a Northland economic development leader.
Advance Whangarei chairman John Goulter quit suddenly last week citing "personal reasons".
His resignation came amid a major review of the company owned by Whangarei District Council. Mr Goulter has declined to comment further.
However, The Northern Advocate understands the release to the paper of a letter from Mr Goulter to Whangarei Mayor Pamela Peters was a major factor in his decision. The letter, dated January 28, stated Advance Whangarei's case to keep operating and was given to the Advocate before he could be told it was being made public. It was written in reply to a request by Mrs Peters for constructive ideas on Advance Whangarei's future.
The council released the letter to The Northern Advocate before Mrs Peters could tell Mr Goulter or Advance Whangarei general manager Ros Martin about its intention. "I regret I didn't get hold of him personally," Mrs Peters said.
After the letter's release, Mrs Peters had received Mr Goulter's resignation letter "out of the blue" and rang him immediately.
Mrs Peters - who last September had warned that bad publicity could result in the loss of Advance Whangarei's "talented and skilled" directors - said she had not asked Mr Goulter to reconsider as she respected the personal reasons he had cited for leaving.
She was "saddened" by Mr Goulter's resignation, which is effective from March 31, but still expected councillors to form a "clear and agreed new direction" for the future of "economic development" by an April council meeting.
Mr Goulter's letter, which councillors received at a recent workshop held as part of the council's review of the agency, points out that when setting up the agency in November 2002, the council had fully considered "structural options" before deciding to create a separate company, rather than a department or a trust.
"The board of Advance Whangarei continues to believe that the company structure can be further developed into a top performing economic development agency and does not recommend that it be abandoned or significantly modified."
He said the board would only support a review of the structure if Northland's three districts agreed to pool or rationalise their efforts and investment in economic development within a "single integrated organisation".
"The council might wish to examine this option," his letter said.
Mr Goulter wrote that Advance Whangarei's core function was to "promote, protect and encourage economic development and business within the district".
The company had intended to identify opportunities for new investment and bring those to the attention of investors, with only a small staff, and limited personal involvement of directors.
However, the letter went on, when the agency took over the Whangarei Tourism Trust at the council's request, it took over an organisation that contained "a number of small underperforming businesses and a culture that was neither commercial nor entrepreneurial".
Restructuring and improving the businesses, which included Clapham's Clocks, and the Whangarei visitors' information centre, and developing other projects in the marine, forestry, tourism and urban planning sectors, had "generated a workload well beyond that for which the company and the trust are resourced".
He said directors had needed to become involved overseeing projects at a level "well in excess of that advised at the time of appointment".