I have received the following email from Bronwen Radford, the Chair of Swimming Bay of Plenty (Swimming BOP). The email is obviously her response to the questions we raised, in our previous post, about the state of swimming in Rotorua.

There are several questions that arise from Radford’s email.

1. “I am not going to dissect your article and point out all the incorrectness.”

In an email such as this it hardly seems creditable that if the original Swimwatch post was “riddled with incorrect facts” Radford would not take the opportunity to point out some of them. It is extremely difficult to reply to someone who simply says it’s all a lie and you should be ashamed for writing it. It is difficult to feel ashamed when Radford refuses to explain what I should be ashamed about. In fact she does give one example. Which brings us to point two.

2. “I am not employed by swim rotorua”

And I am confused. In the page tagged “Coaches” this is what the Swim Rotorua website says about Bronwen Radford.

That seems to say employment to me. However Radford might be playing with semantics by saying she works for free or something similar. I just don’t know and Radford is not saying. The clear intention of the constitutional restriction is to avoid conflicts of interest. That safeguard is compounded hugely when what Radford says in her email appears to contradict with what Swim Rotorua says on its website. It is difficult not to question whether anyone knows what’s going on down there.

3. “I personally do not care”

Well then Radford should care. The issues raised appear serious and cannot be dismissed by a blanket claim of fake news. Radford would be far better to address the errors in the post calmly and seriously rather than throwing insults around the internet. In my opinion, her reaction smacks of someone with something to hide. Or a Shakespeare put it better than me, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

4. “I trust this email will not become public”

I am pleased Radford only went as far as to hope her email would remain secret. Because there was never any chance of that happening. Events in Rotorua are of public interest. The management and use of a public facility are in question. The public has every right to know what the Chairman of Swimming BOP thinks. And I will not stand in the way of them finding out. Sadly the only facts Rotorua rate payers have discovered so far is that the Chairman of Swimming BOP is better at throwing insults than she is at addressing whether a key city asset is being properly managed. Are Rotorua ratepayers getting value for their money from the aquatic centre? What are the answers to the questions raised in the Swimwatch post? Radford’s email throws no light on that subject. In fact, if I was a Rotorua ratepayer, I would be very concerned at the string of insults and abuse Radford felt best answered the questions raised by her Board’s letter to the Council.

5. “SBOP board are made up of good people who do amazing stuff for our athletes and do not deserve to be shamed like this.”

No one reading the Swimwatch post could possibly reach the conclusion that the post was out to shame Swimming BOP Board members. The six members however are on a public body that deals with an important activity. If there are questions about decisions that have been made, or letters that have been written, then Bronwen Radford and the five other members must be willing to explain and defend their position. Nothing wrong with that. In fact the only thing wrong is the autocratic arrogance that says even asking the questions is a personal attack. That is not the way New Zealand works much as it appears the Chair of Swimming BOP would like it to be.

Take care Rotorua – I suspect you may need it.