SkyCity

David Shearer claimed the other day that he just popped into the SkyCity box to say hello. Now what would say if a politician was caught in a brothel and he used that excuse.

Yeah that’s what I thought too.

Now Shearer is  claiming he was pretty darn angry about it.

David Farrar analyses a week of death by a thousand cuts.

We’re now on Day 7 of stories about Labour MPs accepting hospitality from Sky City at Eden Park, just weeks after campaigning that any agreement that gives them extra pokie machines is disgraceful and how gambling destroys people’s lives etc.  Read more »

Last night Patrick Gower covered the Labour party SkyCity hypocrisy. He also obtained comment from Metiria Turei about it:

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei says it is embarrassing and a real concern that Labour opposes the company but are happy to take gifts from them.

“They have undermined their own approach to this issue and their own opposition and that is sad […] It does undermine their own integrity,” says Ms Turei.

Which raises an interesting ethical dilemma off of the back of Russel Norman’s conference speech where he also said;

We need clean politics to help achieve a fairer society. We need clean politics to help protect the natural world that we love. We need clean politics to help make the transition to a smart green economy that can get us out from under the huge pile of debt that National has built up.  Read more »

David Shearer has now had to admit that despite calling the SkyCity deal “sleazy” he is quite happy to pop in and avail himself of their hospitality, which he described and just saying hello.

Patrick Gower doesn’t think much of this:

David Shearer and some Labour MPs visited the SkyCity box for the ABs test on Saturday night. #rankhypocrisy

— Patrick Gower (@patrickgowernz) June 12, 2013

Read more »

David Shearer confirms he was in SkyCity corp.box after ABs test at Eden Park on Sat for “5 to 10 minutes” to say hello. No drinks or hospo.

— Hamish Rutherford (@oneforthedr) June 12, 2013

So, when David Shearer was slagging off SkyCity yesterday in parliament he didn’t feel just a little bit guilty of such sanctimonious hypocrisy?

John Key needs Peter Dunne to pass the Skycity deal—that sleazy deal—because all he needs is one vote, and that is coming from Peter Dunne.  Read more »

The wowsers are convinced that the convention centre-for-pokies deal will increase the number of pokies by 230, and that these things are springing up everywhere, sucking in innocent bystanders and hoovering out their wallets. The reality is very different – the Dept of Internal Affairs has operated a sinking lid policy for over 10 years, and in fact has reduced the number of pokies over the whole country.

In Auckland alone, the biggest market by far, the number of pokies has reduced by 40% in 9 years. Here are the figures:   Read more »

Green Taliban co-leader Metiria Turei was on NewstalkZB this morning explaining her threat to sabotage the Auckland Convention Centre.

Highlights:

A Green Labour Government would legislate to over-turn a commercially binding contract.

Taxpayers, ratepayers and other businesses would be forced to cough up the $400 million to build the Centre (in other words – more taxes and borrowing).

Read more »

It is official…the possibility of a Green/Labour government is spooking business…so much so that they are writing in protection clauses into commercial contracts with the government to protect investment.

Sky City has announced they were ‘spooked’ by Green/Labour intervention.

The Green/Labour vandalism masquerading as power policy has spooked those with capital to invest in New Zealand – after all – why would any employer spend money here if the Government is prepared to rip up the contract, confiscate their property rights and impose new regulation?

Patrick Gower reports:

8 Labour MPs accepted corporate box tickets to the RWC from Sky City.

If they’re so evil, why did they accept?

Perhaps they could explain:

Grant Robertson?

David Shearer?

Clayton Cosgrove?  Read more »

And the Greens are out in front of David Shearer already promising to renege on the Convention Centre deal.  Labour will follow.

This would leave ratepayers and taxpayers paying for the centre, and the compensation.  The Greens/Labour are opposed to all investment, except if it involves them spending taxpayer money.

Unbelievable.

Party Co-leader Metiria Turei says extending SkyCity’s operating license to 2018 is unconstitutional and a breach of Parliamentary sovereignty

“As a result we are calling John Key and SkyCity on their bluff. We can and we will legislate to repeal this dirty deal and we won’t be threatened by John Key or SkyCity with this contract.”  Read more »

SkyCity has built in a compensation clause into the contract.

It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that Sky City would want compensation if a future Green/Labour Government renegs on the Convention Centre deal.

After seeing how cavalier the Greens and Labour were in destroying savings and value with their recent economic sabotage, any investor would want to be sure the rug’s not going to be pulled out from under them by that bunch of vandals.

The Green/Labour proxies are even issuing legislative threats via their blogs.  Read more »