MWLT Trustees again disappointed by misinformation
MWLT Trustees again disappointed by further misinformation on community Facebook page
On Tuesday 2 September a post was published on the "Panmure Remember When" Facebook page by its moderator Brian McDonald, making false and damaging claims of inappropriate allocation of grants and conflicts of interest related to previous community grants made during 2024 and 2025 by the Lion Foundation via funds raised through gaming.
This follows similar false claims made on Sunday 24 August (and subsequently removed) by Mr McDonald on a separate Facebook community page for the Tamaki Residents Association. It is disappointing that Mr McDonald, the moderator of these two Facebook pages, continues to make claims that are factually incorrect, misleading, and personally damaging to the current Trustees of MWLT.
While robust rhetoric ahead of local body elections is not new, it is disappointing that Mr McDonald, who is himself standing for election to the Trust, has repeatedly chosen to use his various community Facebook pages to make such false claims.
In particular, Mr McDonald has falsely claimed:
Claim: Grants were made in 2024 and 2025 to community organisations outside the Trust area
Fact: All grants were made to benefit the MWLT community - where an organisation receiving funds was based outside the MWLT area, the funding was for activities benefitting the local area (eg a football programme delivered in local schools and a marine education programme where local school children were transported to participate in the programme on the Waitematā Harbour)
Claim: Grants were made where there was a conflict of interest
Fact: All potential conflicts of interest related to any grant were noted and the person with the potential conflict of interest recused themselves from the discussion.
It is important to note all grant decisions were made by the Lion Foundation, advised by the MWLT grants committee. Grants made via gaming proceeds are highly regulated, and appropriate measures are in place to manage any potential conflicts of interest. Full records of grants approved and declined, and where conflicts of interest have been noted and avoided (including those mentioned in the posts) are documented by Lion Foundation at lionfoundation.nz.
While public scrutiny of decision making is part of the job for elected officials and to be expected, it is disappointing when this crosses the line into false and damaging accusations of conflicts of interest.
The current trustees of MWLT represent a wide range of political and community interests. Regardless of the outcome of the local body elections, the proposed conversion of the MWLT into a Community Trust and the investment of the proceeds from last years sales of the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre and the Panmure Hotel into higher returning and less risky assets means more money being granted to the community than before.
In an environment where week on week more hospitality businesses continue to close and the hotel industry reports declining occupancy rates and mounting losses, greater amounts of money being returned to the community should be seen as good news by everyone, regardless of political persuasion.
This will leave a legacy for future Trustees to administer that benefits more community members than was possible under the Licensing Trust model, and MWLT is looking foward to two public meetings:
Public meeting at 6pm on 11 September at the Panmure Town Hall to outline the next steps in the transition to a Community Trust - the how and why.
MWLT AGM at 6pm on 1 October at the Panmure Town Hall to provide an overview of the 2024 and 2025 financials - note this AGM has been delayed until now because of a backlog with the government appointed auditors.
Updates will be published at mwlt.org.nz