The junket ratepayers are funding

Penny Sefuiva

An Auckland City Council world tour investigating ways of modernising the city will visit one European town frozen in the Middle Ages.

Councillors Vern Walsh and Penny Sefuiva and two council officers will leave New Zealand on Sunday for a four-week, round-the-world trip "to build up our knowledge, and go to see various projects and various places that have been successful", Mr Walsh said this week.

Their trip includes two days in Prague in the Czech Republic and the nearby medieval city of Cesky Krumlov - described on one travel website as "a very popular destination for a weekend trip from Prague".

But the city, which first appears in historical records in 1253, is also a world heritage site, which was the reason for the visit, Mr Walsh said. "The visit is all around the issues to do with heritage protection and cultural protection.

"With Europe and New Zealand, there's no comparison in terms of age, but it's something this council is very, very focused on."

Mr Walsh earlier defended the ratepayer-funded trip to the United States, Canada and Europe as an "intellectual capacity-building tour".

The trip will include visits to sports stadiums, waterfront developments and other large-scale public works.

He said the trip was justified, as Auckland had "hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of projects coming up over the next few years", and the council meant to be ready.

These events included waterfront and Aotea Square upgrades, a Rugby World Cup competition in 2011, and a possible future America's Cup defence.

Mr Walsh said the touring party needed to talk to people in "various places" about "how they will fund some of these projects".

The group will begin its tour with a day in San Francisco, visiting the waterfront and performing arts centre. From there the party will spend two days in Vancouver inspecting another waterfront, and talking with 2010 Winter Olympics officials.

European dates on the trip include morning tea with New Zealand High Commissioner Jonathan Hunt in London and visits to more waterfronts, in the city's Docklands area.

In Spain, some group members will visit with New Zealand's Team Emirates yachting squad in Valencia while the rest check out another waterfront development in Barcelona.

Cesky Krumlov is the next port of call, before the group travels to Germany, from where it will fly home.

The trip will cost more than $30,000 in airfares alone, with councillors Walsh and Sefuiva flying business class most of the way.

The group will stay in hotels during the trip. One Spanish hotel room will cost Auckland ratepayers more than $310 a night. The group will also receive daily allowances totalling $7040 to cover their three meals a day.

News of the trip became public as Auckland Zoo plans a fundraising breakfast to send senior zookeeper Andrew Coers to an elephant conference in the United States.

About $5000 is needed to pay airfare, accommodation and registration costs for Mr Coers.

But Mr Walsh dismissed a suggestion council should help the zoo fund Mr Coers' trip, saying he was making it "off his own bat" and there was no comparison between the two trips.

Mr Walsh also defended councillors' taking the trip when some ratepayers this year faced rates rises of up to 11 per cent.

Not everyone would cop such a hefty bill, he said. Some Auckland residents might even pay 11 per cent less.

Mr Walsh is head of the finance committee, which is responsible for setting the council budget.