Crikey - Will 'Marinergate' be the last straw that breaks Belinda Neal?

[dibo]

From today's Crikey -

TOP STORIES
1 . Will 'Marinergate' be the last straw that breaks Belinda Neal?
Andrew Crook writes:

Controversial federal backbencher Belinda Neal, famously demoted by the PM over the "Iguanagate" scandal and ordered into counselling for anger management, could soon find herself back in the spotlight over a $600,000 payment to local A-League soccer team the Central Coast Mariners.

Crikey understands that a bitter row, dubbed "Marinergate" by insiders, is brewing between Central Coast ratepayers and two cash-strapped local councils, Gosford and Wyong, over money used to fund the Mariners' disastrous Asian Champions League campaign.

The NSW State Government, through its regional funding arm Business Central Coast, gave $200,000 to the Mariners in March, on the understanding Gosford and Wyong councils would both match it dollar for dollar, doubling the councils' usual contribution. The soccer-mad Ms Neal serves as an honorary director on the Mariners' board, in addition to her responsibilities in the House of Representatives.

Crikey understands the level of ratepayer support for the franchise is unprecedented, with other A-League clubs comparatively starved of local government largesse.

According to sources close to Gosford Council, both the Mariners and State Development Minister Ian Macdonald, who serves the same factional chiefs as Ms Neal's husband John Della Bosca, pushed hard to convince Gosford and Wyong to come to the party.

After Wyong agreed to the extra $200,000 payment in February, Mayor Bob Graham, Deputy Mayor John McNamara and Councillor Doug Eaton travelled to China to watch the Mariners in action. Graham serves with Neal on the Mariners board of management. It is believed the trio travelled as private citizens.

Graham confirmed the jaunt to Crikey this morning but refused to comment on the $200,000 payment due to his "conflict of interest". He said that although Wyong had agreed to pay the cash, the amount had yet to be transferred.

Gosford and Wyong's balance sheets are in tenuous positions. A damning report issued earlier this week, and carried out before the GFC gathered steam, claimed both councils possessed "unsustainable" cash positions and would need to substantially raise rates to avoid bankruptcy.

Earlier this year, Gosford Council was the subject of a 7:30 Report investigation claiming it could lose up to $47 million due to its exposure to Lehman Brothers CDOs, a proposition rejected by Gosford Mayor Chris Holstein who believes the paper CDOs aren't worthless at all. Todays Australian Financial Review reports that CDO holders would emerge with 13.5 cents in the dollar from their investment, not quite a $47 million loss, but a substantial haircut nonetheless.

In the original state government media release from March, Macdonald said the Mariners trip would boost business investment in the region by exposing the region to Asian TV audiences. The minister said seven companies had already been drawn to the region as a result of the Mariners partnership.

But insiders say the trip could turn out be a net negative -- the Mariners failed to win a single match in Asia and axed four players last week after a demoralising tournament-ending 1-0 loss at home to Chinese side Tianjin Teda.

Insiders say the inclusion of the website thecoast.cc on the Mariners' Asian jerseys has been a marketing disaster, with clickthroughs said to be minimal, some say due to a combination of confusion over the unusual domain name and a lack of interest.

Gosford deputy mayor Craig Doyle, while still supportive of the cash boost, couldn't confirm whether the money would bear fruit.
"We won't know it was value for money until we receive the report", he told Crikey, alluding to a forthcoming value for money.

Sources argue the Mariners payments have been hidden from the public by the fact that both councils and the state government channelled the funds through an umbrella group, Business Central Coast. They say this kept the funding from attracting overt scrutiny.

This ad appeared on page 66 of the Central Coast Express on 22 May, listing the Mariners' major sponsors. But it mysteriously failed to include the Wyong and Gosford logos, including only the words "Central Coast". When questioned after a recent council meeting, one Wyong councillor is believed to have laughed off the complaint, declaring residents could detect council involvement due to the presence of a stylised floral design common to both organisations.

The political backdrop to the payments is interesting one. It suggests a cliquey local scene dominated by power couple Neal and Della Bosca and including luminaries like Transport Workers Union chief Tony Sheldon, to which the couple owes their factional support.

Critics accuse Neal of using the soccer club as a powerbase to shore up her shaky preselection ambitions, a tactic also employed by her ALP counterparts in western Melbourne. Sources say Neal's numbers are hanging by a shoestring with her 2010 preselection in grave doubt.
The part-owner of the famous Iguana Joes bar, Ray Awadallah, also served on the board of the Mariners alongside Neal, with both identities joining as foundation directors on October 14, 2005. Awadallah was the first person Della Bosca called after the Iguanagate scandal hit, with Della allegedly demanding he make the controversy "go away".

Neal seems to be an ardent backer of the European game. But her enthusiasm famously bubbled over in May 2008 when she was suspended for two matches for kicking a rival player while playing for local club Umina United.

The Gosford Council meeting on Tuesday night ended in farce after quorum repeatedly couldnt be reached, because of exclusions due to vested interests. Questions over the payments are likely to be aired when the council meets again in two weeks' time.

There are bits of that article that I find problematic.

Ian MacDonald is a member of the Socialist Left faction, Neal, Della Bosca and Sheldon are in Centre Unity. Any thought that factional powerplays got him to move the money are ridiculous.

Doug Eaton (one of the Wyong councillors named) is a former Liberal candidate for Dobell. Was he also heavied in a Labor Right powerplay? I doubt it.

The Gosford Mayor was a Liberal candidate for the seat of Gosford in 2007 - Chris Holstein. Was he also stooging for Labor powerbrokers? Not likely.

Ditto for Wyong Councillors John McNamara (a Lib) and Bob Graham (a former Lib MP for The Entrance). Craig Doyle's an actual independent, Awadallah is a local businessman, Mariners director and ALP donor.

Basically, there's plenty of names dropped and whatnot, but the only people whose connections are made clear are the ALP folks.

There's basically a form of parochial cross-party support for the Club up there. Whether this is necessarily wise is a fair point for debate (particularly given the side's woeful performance) but from a cursory examination of the allegiances of the *other* named players here, it's clear that to suggest that it's some sort of internal ALP shenanigans is clearly rubbish.

Lastly, while $200k payment is a not insignificant sum, in the context of supposed $47m losses on CDOs it's a drop in the ocean. There'd have to be nearly 250 of them to get near that sum.

And as beastjim said, it's a commercial agreement to advertise.

What about the MAA on the Mariners' sleeves or on Souths jerseys? Or the NSW government's 'Sydney' branding on the front of SFC's stips in their AFC CL campaign? Are they also clearly examples of dodgy dealings?

Rubbish article.

 

[FFC Mariner]

She is now ok in my eyes - top woman, wont hear a word said against her ;-)

I also want to get to Chris Holstein, if he thinks CDO's have value, have I got a deal for him

 

[adz]

I have a bridge for sale while we're at it

 

[FFC Mariner]

Adz, the Bridge is free with every kilo of CDO's you buy.

No worries if Gos Council has no cash, we will take real estate

 

[Sacko]

Do my RAT shares count as real estate?

 

[FFC Mariner]

rub and tug?

and belinda.............

(bad mental image)

 

[adz]

rub and tug?

and belinda.............

(bad mental image)

or good...
depends how you voted in the old "would you tap it" poll ...

 

[FFC Mariner]

As she organised the cash for the ACL, I will change my vote to

Only if pissed and 2 bags are provided

(best offer she will ever get)

 

[adz]

sounds fair

 

[Capn Gus Bloodbeard]

fkn waste of $600k that was...

 

[midfielder]

The article is right about the CC website it had this HUGE announcement the site will do something that it never produced but the site said it would... each week I logged in and there was Wilko doing his thing and it never changed.

 

[FFC Mariner]

I think I spotted your 1st mistake

 

[clarence]

I don't tie up the Football efforts to the supposed trade efforts that went along with the sponsorship in an attempt to drum up business opportunities for the Central Coast region.

I would like to think it wasn't some backhanded way for local pollies and business organisation folks to get a legitimate way to free trips for the ACL away games, and that those that went actually tried to drum up trade.

If that did happen, then it may still be early days, and yet to see the results.

 

[Jesus]

Were there not trade shows that went with the mariners in asia? I remember reading that was the plan.

If 7 companies are actually moving to employ people from the coast, 200k is not a bad investment at all.