We Say – Sold a lemon

The news that One Mahurangi is seeking ratepayer dollars to prop up the Warkworth Information Centre should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the centre’s history.

When it was established under Dave Parker’s management in the 1980s, it was run almost entirely by a large roster of enthusiastic, dedicated and trained volunteers. These were people who knew the town and area well, so were well equipped to provide visitors with the information they needed to enjoy their stay.

However, when the supercity was created, a decision was made in downtown Auckland that the centre should be put on a more “professional” footing. The volunteers were given the boot and a paid manager was installed.

As competent as he was, running the centre as an isite was a challenge. In 2014, when it looked like council might close the office, Matakana Coast Tourism (MCT) stepped up. It approached council (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development – ATEED) to suggest a partnership arrangement – MCT would run the site with ATEED providing funding and specialist support.

MCT was given a grant of $215,000 spread over three years and a Licence to Occupy the Baxter Street site. But when the money ran out, MCT struggled to keep the doors open. Enter One Mahurangi (OM).
In 2018, a joint venture was struck between OM and MCT. But within a year, MCT had pulled out, saying the visitors centre was too much of a financial burden on its members.

OM was left carrying the baby – on an optimistic note at the time, then OM chair Chris Murphy said, “One Warkworth (subsequently One Mahurangi) would be looking at sustainable ways of financing the information centre so it could operate for longer hours if possible.” Unfortunately, this did not come to pass. Eight years on and nothing has changed.

OM now needs to ask itself some hard questions. Can it justify asking local businesses to fund a centre, which largely benefits tourism operators outside the BID boundary? Wouldn’t BID funds (not to mention ratepayer dollars) be better spent on core business – business initiatives, marketing and advocacy for the businesses who pay the BID levy?

Plus, with phones in hand, do visitors really need an information office anymore anyway? And if they do, perhaps the original volunteer model might necessitate a ‘back to the future’ approach.