We had a letter from Peter Dunne,
CEO of Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union Inc recently, that
included comments about our last Delegates report in the March
Gazette. Here is a synopsis of that letter:
“I wish to take issue with the
article…we believe it is …. but more importantly not factual.”
.Matthew Newman was correct in stating the
CMRFU would achieve its goals with or without ‘The Ultimate Fan’
promotion. That has proven to be the case. However, this was not a
contradictory statement. Even after our profit of $130,000 in 2000,
the Union still has $170,000 of short-term debt. Any surplus funds,
which may have been raised, would simply have improved our profit in
2000 and reduced the level of that short-term debt.
.To say the ‘CMRFU’s costs appear out of
control’ is simply not true. The NZRU receive our budgets, updated
and finalized accounts. The benchmarking they do, against other
Unions, show we are frugal and in particular with regard our NPC
team, run a very tight ship.
.To suggest that ‘money is thrown at almost
everyone who does something for the CMRFU’ is scandalous and would
not be well received by the hundreds of volunteers who contribute to
the well being of the Union.
.The Team Manager and his assistant are not
paid exorbitant salaries. They are reimbursed for the numerous hours
spent assisting our semi-professional Steelers team perform against
powerhouses of New Zealand rugby. The recently completed Boston
Consulting Group report identified that to be competitive we should
be moving towards paying our support team more, not less.
.The Steelers do go into camp before home
games and will continue to do so. It is deemed to be an essential
part of team preparation and is wholly endorsed by our medical staff
who then have access to all players for treatment, strapping, etc.
The cost of this accommodation was fully covered by
sponsorship.
.The suggestion of a cost of $30,000 for
security handling car parking is ludicrous. The total cost for 2000
for our 4 NPC matches was approximately $6000. This covered manning
of gates, ground security and car parking. At each Council of
Delegates meeting, members were invited to assist on match day – we
normally have a response of 5-6 individuals, which is greatly
appreciated, but falls short of guaranteed numbers required.
“…on a more positive note, I wish Karaka
all the best for the season. The transition to Premier grade is not
an easy one but I am sure, with full club support, it will be a
successful one.”
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