to lose

Too much to lose

ORGANISERS of next year’s Auck land Commonwealth Games are

reviewing planned events after

being forced to reveal an estimated budget deficit of NZ$25 million. The budget blow-out was made public on Au gust 29 after Sports Minister Peter Tap sell ordered an emergency meeting with the hierarchy of the Olympic and Com monwealth Games Association and offi cials of the games company. The games association president, Sir David Beattie, says the potential deficit is “substantially attributable to reduced revenue expecta tions”. The deficit would be slashed by fundraising and cuts to budgeted

spending.

Sir David won’t reveal which activities might have to be cut, saying officials are still working on it. But there’s been spe culation that the games company might target security as one area to save money. Assistant police commissioner Brian Davies says 1100 police would be involved in games security, including 500 brought in from outside Auckland.

Davies says 40 per cent of Auckland’s total police staff would be tied up with

games security and there won’t be any capacity to take on extra games work.

Games company security executive Geoff Downey won’t comment on possi ble security cuts but says there will be 700 volunteers working two daytime shifts and a private security firm has been contracted for night work. The en forced revelation of the games deficit came after games company officials ridi culed as “just nonsense” newspaper re ports of the financial blow-out. But Games company chief executive Tom Aldridge says media reports of a possible black African boycott had a “devastating effect” on sponsorship. Potential spon sors had shied away after what Alridge described as “media speculation” over a

boycott had overshadowed supportive

statements from a succession of black African leaders.

The Government has warned the games organisers they’ll get no extra funds to bail them out. The deficit re velations came on the eve of Foreign Minister Russell Marshall’s departure for the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Belgrade. Marshall planned to use New Zealand’s observer status to lobby coun tries from the Organisation of African Unity to ensure there’d be no boycott in Auckland next year. □

Tears: Long jumper Ikani Taliai receives Tonga’s only gold medal from Princess Pilolevu.

Tears: Albertin An,of French Polynesia, runs in the sprints. But she pulled out of the 100m with a muscle injury.