● The Trusts Charitable Foundation (TTCF Inc) ● The Trusts Community Foundation Ltd (TTCF Ltd) ● Otago Rugby Football Union (ORFU) ● Professional Rugby ● Centre of Excellence for Amateur Sport ● Harness Racing ● Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) ● Gambling Commission ● Pokies ● Rorts ● Organised Crime ● Serious Fraud ● Political Interference
### ODT Online Thu, 7 Feb 2013
Report on ORFU confirmed
By Hamish McNeilly
The Department of Internal Affairs has confirmed the existence of a commissioned report on the Otago Rugby Football Union’s involvement with pokies, but continues to withhold the material. The Otago Daily Times revealed last year the union was involved in buying three Auckland bars, with the intention of setting up its own pokie trust.[…]At the time of finalising the union’s recovery package, New Zealand Rugby Union officials confirmed there were ”potential issues relating to funds obtained from gaming trusts”.
A source close to the inquiry has confirmed the information sent to Internal Affairs was compiled by Cascade Consulting, on behalf of the NZRU. Last week, Internal Affairs confirmed the existence of the Cascade Consulting report, but declined to release it, on the grounds it would prejudice the supply of similar information from the same source.
A 2012 email from an NZRU official to an Internal Affairs senior manager following the release of the Cascade Consulting report, has since been obtained by the ODT. The NZRU email asks for an ”assessment of likely DIA action in light of what the investigator came across”. The ODT has lodged an appeal to the Office of the Ombudsman, for the release of the report.
Read more
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Related Post and Comments:
24.1.13 Pike River, Department of Internal Affairs #skippingthebusiness
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
What if? Dunedin... 
In America the subsidising of football welfare bludgers has meant that in Oakland they have lowered the rent for the billionaire owned football stadium by firing cops to pay off the debt created on behalf of football. In our little neck of the woods what will Cr Hudson, Liability Cull and co sacrifice in order to whitewash the failure of Farry’s failure? Our water asset? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHLP3RqXL_w
The government is thinking to make it more difficult to obtain official information, by changing legislation.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/127451/govt-ordered-to-release-more-hobbit-documents
Amanda, whatever it takes. Their hands are heat welded to the pie pan and they will work to sell the assets for the usual twenty thieves. Elizabeth, smells like National. The whole lot of them seem to be on a totalitarian kick. Just got to look at the latest arrogance – no pay from Novopay – and it’s obvious they’re looking down their noses at us. People will be screwed locally if the Stadium Councillors/Dave Cull mob survives this election and, nationally, if National takes another term. We seem to be getting banged up both ways. Those dark days Calvin is foreseeing ain’t that far off. I think this local election is our last hope.
So today I wrote in the comments thread in the ODT article on how sad it would be if sports clubs couldn’t continue to get pokie funds.
They published the first two paragraphs of what I wrote, but silently removed the last one:
“Of course the danger of reducing pokies in Dunedin is that some local sports organisation will probably come up with the bright idea of buying pubs in some other larger city and funnelling their pokie revenue here, but of course that would be contrary to the Gambling Act.”
Maybe a little too close to the bone?
Mike’s first two paragraphs copied here:
ODT Online
Sport should pay its way
Submitted by MikeStk on Mon, 17/06/2013 – 11:07am.
Let’s face it taxing gamblers to support local sports is just about the worst thing you can do, you’re selecting the ignorant, the mathematically challenged, the addicts and taxing them at the worst possible time, when they lose money – income tax after all happens when you make money. A sinking lid on pokies is the obvious way to slowly remove them from our city and to reduce the harm that they cause.
What I don’t understand is why sports organisations need all this money, the city already provides the biggest expense, the playing fields, all they need is a ball, some boots and a shirt – balls can’t cost that much. Where does the money go? surely it’s not all going to subsidise club rooms so that people can have a drink afterwards, one would assume they can charge enough for the beer to cover those costs rather than unfairly competing with local pubs with a public subsidy – perhaps a return to a world where people pay for their own fun rather than depending on rifling others pockets is in order.
I think today’s Hayden Smith cartoon in the ODT on this issue was spot on