Bid criticism uncalled for

PNG NRL Bid chief executive officer Brad Tassell expressed his disappointment at the continuous criticisms levelled against the Bid and its efforts in developing rugby league in the country.
Responding to an article in Last Thursday’s The National in which an unnamed source called for the termination of the Bid office and a redirection of funds to other rugby league grassroots programmes, Tassell said the person should have contacted the Bid office first to find out more on its work.
Tassell descibed the claims by the annonymous source as incorrect, ill-informed and ignorant.
He said while he did not normally respond to media reports he felt the nature of the story, which he said was ridiculous, and objective of the person quoted in the article painted a false picture of the PNG NRL Bid office.
“The story is ill-informed and incorrect and not once has the ‘unnamed’ source or The National contacted me to determine if the story was factual, which is it not,” Tassell said.
“I am aware that certain people within PNG have a vested interest in the game of rugby league and use the game to further their own financial or political agendas while being totally ignorant to what is required for rugby league to develop in PNG.
“The article is another example of this and must stop if rugby league is to move forward in PNG.”
Tassell said the points brought up in the story had no basis in reality and proceeded to give the facts.
“The PNG NRL Bid was funded upfront upon inception so there was never any ongoing funding to be allocated or paid to the Bid.
“All funds are managed professionally in accordance with standard accounting and financial procedures.
“All management and staff were selected by the Bid board under normal procedures and were selected due to extensive experience in their fields to ensure the professional management of the Bid at all times.
“No outside agency, including AusAID has ever provided funding to the Bid.
“All funding was supplied by the PNG government and all programmes the Bid manages are paid for entirely from its finances.
“To say our staff live a lavish lifestyle is an insult to my staff who work long hours, are dedicated and truely believe in what we are doing.
“I will use myself as an example – I live in a small one bedroom apartment and drive a troop vehicle supplied as part of a sponsorship, which until recently was a shared vehicle.
“My salary is far less than a CEO would receive in Australia in a similar position and I certainly don’t live a lavish lifestyle as anyone who knows me will attest to.
“I took the job as I truely love rugby league, saw it as a challenge with the chance to build something from scratch and achieve something significant in PNG,” Tassell said.