The first sentence of the first page of the Sport New Zealand web page says:

“Sport NZ invests in ways that will achieve maximum impact against its strategic outcomes.”

Please for all that’s good in the world, what does that mean? Did we pay to have someone write that stuff? I suppose we must have. It is the product of a government agency paid for by the New Zealand taxpayer. Is it supposed to impress? Do they really think New Zealand wants to do business with people who produce such claptrap?

But the most upsetting feature of a sentence like that is the symbolism of what it represents. While swimmers are struggling with blood oozing from chlorine burns, while runners are close to exhaustion near the summit of the Waitakere Ranges and while Olivia Podmore was preparing to die, some Wellington bureaucrat worked out that their most important contribution to New Zealand sport was to invent the phrase, “maximum impact against its strategic outcomes.”

The CEO and Australian born, Raelene Castle, must think that is a cool way to communicate. I’ve been the CEO of a couple of big companies and would never have allowed that appalling communication. But Raelene has. What does it say about the most senior bureaucrat in New Zealand sport? What does it tell us about the person?

I note she has a long-term property developer boyfriend. Perhaps he is one of the few with sufficient learnings leverage to understand Raelene checking in to see if he is prepared to buy-in to her reaching out for some meaningful, strategic input going forward. Should they punt or take it to the next level? I can see how a property developer is probably one of the few that would be empowered by her robust thinking outside the box.  

In an interview Castle did with “Locker Room” shortly after accepting the CEO role at Sport New Zealand she said, “There’s a role that Sport NZ plays in being part of a sector that can deliver great outcomes for New Zealanders, particularly young people.” So far Castle’s principal “great outcome” has been the death of a leading cyclist.

Castle’s handling of that event was indecisive at best. Some, less generous than me, would call it a crass cover-up. She appears to be gun-shy from the chaos that surrounded her departure from Australian Rugby. Lack of courage is a major problem for the CEO of Sport New Zealand.

Castle also told the “Locker Room” that her biggest challenge will be creating a legacy for young women. That is something she doesn’t need to worry about. Already, Olivia Podmore’s death is a Castle legacy. That event will forever be linked to Castle’s time at Sport New Zealand. It will never be forgotten.

Finally, in her “Locker Room” interview Castle addressed the blizzard of investigations into New Zealand sport. Many, possibly even all, the investigations were about the welfare of female athletes. Castle’s response was to say, “There are some (some! she must be joking) investigations underway, and when I get a full briefing then I will get up to speed with them. But that’s where you hope your experience comes to the fore because you have faced similar changes before.”

I’m not sure what experience she is talking about. There has been little evidence of anything worthwhile yet in New Zealand. The stain on her organisation left by the blood of Olivia Podmore will never be repaired. Olivia’s death happened on Castle’s watch. The buck stops, as it should, at Castle’s desk. Grant Robertson’s report to parliament should say, “Since my last report, Raelene has reached rock bottom and has started to dig.”