“This is not, as some seem to believe, the Government backing a sporting venture. This is a case of preserving a powerful economic asset that has a proven track record of generating billions of dollars for the New Zealand economy,” he said.

“There has been some cavilling this morning about whether the Government should hold off to see if other New Zealand yacht clubs mount a challenge. This view misses the point. Other potential challenges have no such track record; Team NZ clearly does.

“This Government support simply means we can hold the line while sponsors with the really big bucks are sought to mount a credible challenge in Europe,” Mr Dunne concluded.