23 Oct 2020

Mana whenua speak out after America's Cup courses scrapped

From Midday Report, 12:17 pm on 23 October 2020

A group of Auckland chief executives have confirmed that Luna Rossa had previously agreed on the courses for the America's Cup races.

Luna Rossa went to the Cup's arbitration panel, which decided to remove the two courses closest to the shore line because they would not be available for practice runs, or early round-robin events.

But those courses give people on Auckland's waterfront the best view of the races and show off the stunning vista for the international audiences watching at home.

The AC36 Joint Chief Executive Group - which represents the Americas Cup Events company, the Crown, Auckland Council and mana whenua - says everybody agreed to that course availability in February.

Māni Dunlop spoke with mana whenua spokesperson, Ngarimu Blair from ngati whatua.