28 January 2022
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Whaka 100 event cancellation
Enquiry
I am doing a follow up story on the Whaka 100 cancellation.
I have some comments for right of reply and some questions - see below.
Could the council please respond to this query by 2.45pm today? Unfortunately we'll be unable to accept late comments today due to staffing levels. Appreciate your mahi.
Questions:
- What changed for the council between approving the event on Monday and cancelling it on Thursday?
- Did the council (along with CNI and mana whenua - I'm approaching them for comment too) look at the plans Whaka 100 organisers put together to follow Government Covid-19 guidelines?
- Some participants have indicated they are going to do the 'event' anyway as they already have the GPS coordinates and (as below) say the cancellation of the event is 'nonsensical' as it had more safety protocols in place than if the event was not in place - would the council consider closing off the forest completely to prevent this?
- What comment does the council have about the economic impact of the event's cancellation - both now and in the future?
COMMENTS
Rotorua district councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait said she was disappointed with the decision to cancel the event "at this late hour".
"Of any event, this is the one that would probably have the least risk because the cyclists are out in the fresh air and certainly not all bunched up together."
She understood the council had reluctantly supported a request from landowners, iwi and CNI Forest Management Limited to cancel the event.
"I can understand it but don't agree with it. We know about Covid-19, Delta and now we are preparing for Omicron.
"When you know the risks you can plan and manage them.
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Bike Culture owner Mike Metz said the event cancellation might cause participants to be "gun shy" of signing up for races in the future.
Metz himself was signed up for the 160 mountain bike course.
"I wouldn't like to enter another event at the moment."
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Hawkes Bay-based professional mountain biker James Pretty was "pretty gutted" by the cancellation.
"Actually I think the whole mountain biking community is gutted," Pretty said.
"A lot of people based a big chunk of their training and summer calendar around the Whaka 100. It's really big on the calendar.
Pretty said the investment for the race included spending on time, energy, equipment, pre-race events, travel arrangements, the entry fee and coaching.
"I think [the cancellation] sets a really negative trend for the racing calendar for the summer."
Pretty said many racers were already in Rotorua and cancelling the event might not lessen the risk of infection with Covid-19.
"There's still a lot of people turning up and riding in the forest this weekend who are not going to be following as strict protocols as were set up for the Whaka.
"If they were closing the forest down to all recreational use, I'd understand it. [But] no one can see an upside to this."
"There is still a lot of people who are still going to go and ride it anyway. Everyone's got the course downloaded onto their GPS devices and everyone knows the trails and I think you'll end up with a lot of people who are just going to go and ride it over the weekend anyway.
"Actually cancelling the event was non-sensical because you'll have a lot of people out there now ... riding in the forest or around without any of the controls Whaka was putting in place."
He said participants might still be in Rotorua spending money but probably not as much as they would have.
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Rotorua mountain biker Scott Taylor said he had spent a lot of time training for the event and was "gutted".
"It's not good for the mental health, you've absolutely been spending time training for nothing."
He said the council had pulled the event "at the last minute" and Taylor believed the event organisers had put protocols in place to keep the event safe.
"It's a huge mess for the whole community and the riders are not going to be able to benefit from anything anymore.
"I understand Omicron is definitely blowing up but as far as I was aware [the event organisers] had it all sorted and [were] able to run it in red. It's very weird that the council has pulled the pin and said no especially when [it] said yes to start with."
He also understood many people were going to ride the trail anyway as accommodation cancellations were hard to come by.
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From the event organiser Tim Farmer:
This is hugely damaging to an industry that is already under pressure. It sets a precedent where Government advice and guidelines can be overridden without appropriate due diligence and in an instance wipe out millions of dollars that flow into local communities for events.
Response
Response from Sport, Recreation and Environment Manager Rob Pitkethley:
- What changed for the council between approving the event on Monday and cancelling it on Thursday?
As Forest Recreation Manager, Council confirmed its approval of the Whaka 100 event plan on Monday 24 January. The decision to reconfirm the event was taken to the wider Forest Recreation Management Group (Rotorua Lakes Council, the forest land owners and mana whenua) at a follow up meeting on Wednesday 26 January. Given the changing situation of COVID-19 and the context of Omicron in the region, Council supports the decision of the forest land owners CNI and mana whenua that, taking a wider community view, the public health risk is too high for the event to go ahead. - Some participants have indicated they are going to do the 'event' anyway as they already have the GPS coordinates and (as below) say the cancellation of the event is 'nonsensical' as it had more safety protocols in place than if the event was not in place - would the council consider closing off the forest completely to prevent this?
Under Red the forest is open for recreation. Any decision to restrict access to the forest would need to considered by the Forest Recreation Management Group. - What comment does the council have about the economic impact of the event's cancellation - both now and in the future?
Council appreciates and acknowledges that this will have an impact on more than just the event organisers. Events are important to our community and the district and we are continuously looking at how we can support the ongoing sustainability of events in Rotorua including the Whaka 100.
Event organisers were notified of the likely decision on Wednesday after the Forest Recreation Management Group meeting, with formal notice provided on Thursday following further discussions.
- Did the council (along with CNI and mana whenua - I'm approaching them for comment too) look at the plans Whaka 100 organisers put together to?
All relevant plans were provided to the Forest Recreation Management Group and forest landowners by Wednesday morning.
Forest land owners CNI were also approached for comment and provided the following response:
When was the recommendation made to Rotorua Lakes Council that the event be cancelled or postponed?
The decision was made Wednesday. As we continue to see, this pandemic continues to be a constantly and some times rapidly evolving crisis.
What factors were considered in making this recommendation?
The Mana Whenua take our responsibilities as kaitiaki very seriously. Kaitiakitanga applies equally to protecting and nurturing the whenua and environment as it does to he tangata (the people)
I'd also appreciate it if you could please clarify the information in the council's press release (linked above) and provide any comment you believe is important for the public to know and understand?
These are exceptional times involving major and ongoing uncertainty as a result of Covid-19 and its variants and the risk this has to the the health and well being of all across our communities. This decision was not taken lightly and was one where the interests of people were at its heart. We acknowledge the disruption this will have to organisers and the many taking part and their support people.
As mentioned above, landowners and Mana Whenua take our responsibilities as kaitiaki very seriously. The continued use and access to the forest by the wider commuinity, is a decision we have made in the interests of manakitanga and kotahitanga. We hope these are principles that are shared and embraced by all who visit the whenua and forest.