The organisers of a public $2 million crowdfunding campaign to buy a pristine Abel Tasman beach have gone into ‘‘stealth mode'' to prevent rival bidders from knowing exactly how much money they have raised.
In the face of criticism by millionaire Gareth Morgan, who described their campaign as ‘‘naive'', the Givealittle organisers consulted lawyers yesterday and discovered they were able to freeze the published total at $2 million once the target was reached, while keeping the pledges coming in until 3pm on Monday.
The $2 million target was reached yesterday evening. Now, only the increase in the number of people making pledges - so far more than 34,000 - will show on the site. The final tally will be kept secret.
Since the Givealittle site was launched on January 22, private bidders wanting a shot at owning the 7.3ha sandspit and bush property in Awaroa Bay have known exactly what they are up against in terms of the public's bid to buy the land.
Organiser Duane Major, of Christchurch, said yesterday he thought Givealittle would not be able to freeze the total. But Givealittle consulted its lawyers and technicians yesterday afternoon and established the published tally could be frozen at $2 million.
"We are going into stealth mode as we get closer and closer to the time,'' Mr Major said.
Tenders for the property close at 4pm on Tuesday.
Bayleys estate agent Glenn Dick said more than 100 people, from New Zealand and overseas, had expressed interest.
Mr Morgan has been critical of the Givealittle campaign organisers, saying they risked inflating the price and said other bidders would know to offer more than the crowdfunding total. An offer by Mr Morgan to contribute enough money to seal the deal, in return for use of the existing buildings for the philanthropist and his family for an agreed period, was rejected.
But Mr Morgan repeated his offer, pointing out it was not unreasonable and remained the campaigners' best bet to obtain the land.
In a blog, he said he did not want or need a holiday bolt-hole, but felt compelled to dig deep to keep public access to the coastline.‘‘To be honest, I don't really want this piece of land at all. I've already got quite a nice bach.
‘‘But like most New Zealanders, I am not enamoured by the thought of Kiwis being excluded from this beach. It just doesn't seem to be our way and feels wrong,'' he wrote.
While Mr Morgan's offer came with conditions giving him and his family private use of a bach and section of beach for 15 years, he said organisers were naive to think they could win a tender without his money.
If they really wanted to secure the beach for Kiwis, everyone needed to either ‘‘give a lot'' or bypass the tender process and negotiate directly with the vendors, he said.
‘‘I'm willing to underwrite that negotiation process to make sure all Kiwis can keep accessing that beach. All I want in return is to use the buildings already on site. The alternative is that there is significant risk that this particular Givealittle crowd will be well short and public access is lost forever.''
Unless the vendor took pity on the public and did a deal, they were likely to come away empty-handed, he warned.
The land, with 800m of golden sand, is owned by Wellington businessman Michael Spackman, who described it as ‘‘the best beach in the planet''.
He bought the property, surrounded by Abel Tasman National Park, for $1.98 million in 2008. The buildings are basic - a 1960s one-room bach with kitchenette, a ‘‘quaint'' redecorated former fishing boat, an old woolshed with a sleeping deck and storage area, and two long-drop toilets.
There is no road in. Access is on foot through the Abel Tasman track, by helicopter or plane - there is a local airstrip - or by boat.
Mr Morgan said if the crowdfunders failed to buy the land, it might end up in the hands of the ‘‘helicopter set'' who could block public access to the beach.
Yesterday, Mr Spackman and his son-in-law, Wellington lawyer and property developer Mike Garnham, were in the Wellington High Court fighting the BNZ over the recall of $6.2 million worth of loans.
The BNZ sought summary judgement against Mr Garnham and several companies, of which Mr Garnham, Mr Spackman and Mr Spackman's daughter, Caroline, are shareholders.
Associate Judge Warwick Smith reserved his decision.
