RWC: $2m 'slush fund' plan dropped

Doug McKay, chief executive of the Auckland Council. Photo / Dean Purcell

The Auckland Council has at the last minute dumped a plan for up to $2 million of ratepayers' money to be set aside to cover "unforseen circumstances" during the Rugby World Cup.

The proposal for an "urgent decision-making process" was listed on the agenda for the council's governing body meeting tomorrow.

It proposed that up to $2 million be set aside to "redress any unforseen circumstances" during the World Cup.

Auckland ratepayers are already paying $102 million to host the cup - $65 million for infrastructure and $37 million for running costs and events, such as the $2.7 million opening night extravaganza.

A report on the agenda for the meeting reads: "... as with all major events of global significance there are external and other factors which may, during the tournament, trigger the need for Auckland Council ... to reassess scope, planning and costs".

Last night, council chief executive Doug McKay sent a memo advising councillors that the item had been pulled.

He said adequate systems had already been set up to cope with unforeseen circumstances.

It is understood that came after councillor Cameron Brewer raised concerns over the "potential slush fund".

"I have been warning for several months that ratepayers will be the ones left paying any wash-up from the Rugby World Cup," Mr Brewer said.

"This latest failed request for a sneaky two million is only the beginning. Rest assured, requests for more public money will only get more inventive after the tournament."

He said if something unforeseen came up that six years of planning and $100 million of ratepayers' money had not accounted for, an extraordinary meeting of the council governing body could be convened.

"The request to hand over a blank cheque to make it easy for non-elected officials to access more public money without any widespread political accountability was a dumb idea."

A council spokesman said he understood the proposal had been dropped from the agenda because it was "a mistake".

"It was pulled because we already have procedures to generate money fast if we have an urgent need for it, like if there's a natural disaster."