New Zealand politics

It took far less time for the Australian electorate to become disenchanted with Tony 'Dumb Dumb' Abbott than for the NZ electorate that opted for fascism in the last 'election'.

One lives in hope (as one did when when revelations of corruption and dirty politics came out before the elections. Signs are there that the media are dropping support for Key and adopting Little.

Signs of change? I'm not easily given to optimism in the face of real facts, I'm afraid.

This is the government's corrupt deal of getting its convention centre in Auckland in return for more gambling in the heart of the city

No sign Govt will walk away from SkyCity

Radio NZ,

11 February, 2015

The Government is showing no sign of backing out of the SkyCity convention centre deal despite the likelihood it will have to put in more public money.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said using taxpayer money was the least preferred option, but there may be no option.

An artist's impression of the convention centre. - Photo: SKYCITY

Under a deal struck in 2013, the SkyCity casino operator agreed to build a $402 million convention centre in Auckland in return for an extra 230 gaming machines and 40 tables.

But late last year SkyCity announced it was short $70 million to $130 million in funding because of cost over-runs and design improvements and was seeking a top-up from the Government.

Mr Joyce said the Government could walk away from the deal.

"And I know the opposition are very keen for us to walk away and that's not new. But the point is you want a convention centre for Auckland, and we do, we want a very good one. Nobody else is volunteering to turn up and spend $402 million on it, nobody ever has.

"So yes, you could walk away but to get to the same point you'd have to stump up another $402 million."

Sky City's chief executive Nigel Morrison has said the casino was making a significant tourism investment by paying for the convention centre and he absolutely expected the Government to help plug the funding gap.

Chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce Michael Barnett said the numbers for the convention centre still stack up and the deal is still a good one, but taxpayers need to know what they are getting for their money.

Labour Party economic development spokesperson David Clark said the writing was always on the wall.

He said the Government did a bad job of negotiating the deal.

"The independent experts say it was a very good deal for Sky City. They know they've got the Government over the barrel. They know the Government's got political egg on its face and they're leveraging it."

Under the contract, if the estimated cost of construction exceeded $402 million, SkyCity and the Government could agree to design modifications, cancel the deal or either party may pay the other cash.

Mr Joyce said it was not possible to structure the initial deal in such a way that made clear any cost over-runs would be met by SkyCity.

He said they were talking about a slightly more costly centre and the decision is whether they should all pay a bit extra.

But Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said SkyCity should be made to meet the full project costs, regardless of the blow out.

She said SkyCity was set to make a $70 million profit and did not need further cash and concessions from the New Zealand taxpayer.

The Government would not say when a decision would be made on what to do about the convention centre.

But if it pulled out, then under the contract, the Crown is liable to pay SkyCity up to $10 million.

Key wary of 'eyesore' in Auckland

Prime Minister John Key said yesterday that unless money can be found to cover the shortfall for building the convention centre, it could end up being an ''eyesore'' in downtown Auckland.

Mr Key was asked whether the Government was willing to consider a taxpayer funded top up to cover the cost of construction.

Prime Minister John Key (right) in a media scrum with RNZ Chief Parliamentary Reporter Jane Patterson.  Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

"Ah I can't rule that out today, what I can say is that we are working very closely with SkyCity ... to try and see if a deal can be completed but as I've always said the deal was never a done deal until ultimately everything was ticked off."

Labour leader Andrew Little yesterday said there was no way taxpayers should have to cover the shortfall and said the next port of call for the Government would be Auckland ratepayers.

 "Who we all know are flush with cash; they want them to pay for it if the taxpayers won't, well it's all rotten."

New Zealand First's Winston Peters said the Government had been backing a dud and should abandon the deal.

Another lie - 

The population speaks, but the PM doesn't listen.

From Campbell Live -

We received 10,000 text votes for tonight's poll question: Should public money be spent on SkyCity's Convention Centre?

We think the consensus is pretty clear: 3% YES - 97% NO

Sign Labour's petition HERE

Another one of Key's attempts to lure the population away from the real issues. Get them involved in a 'national discussion' about the flag.

His first suggestion had an uncanny resemblance to the Isis flag

TERRORIST? The silver fern has been compared to the flag of Islamic State militants.

Online poll reveals record percentage of NZers opposed to flag change

Here's something that matters.

One report, two very different headlines

Sallies question housing, child poverty policies

Newstalk ZB,

11 February, 2015

UPDATED 9.55am: The Salvation Army's criticising the Government's approach to the Auckland housing crisis, in its latest state of the nation report.

The organisation is still considering whether to get involved if the state sells off state housing, with Major Campbell Roberts saying such a move poses major challenges.

He told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking whether the Sallies end up playing a part, will largely depend on what price they can obtain the houses for.

"We keep talking about the market value of those sorts of houses, but they're not houses you can sell on the market in any way.

"They're only worth as much as it's going to take you to run them and operate them properly."

Roberts says there are major challenges for his organisation to consider as the current state housing system needs to operate a lot better than it is now.

Housing at core of issues

The Salvation Army says New Zealand has taken its eye off the ball when it comes to vulnerable children.

It's released its annual State of the Nation report, which says better efforts are needed to tackle serious crime, educational achievement and child poverty.

The Prime Minister says child poverty is a priority for his Government this term.

Report author Alan Johnson thinks John Key is attempting to narrow the issue, to those he calls in "material poverty".

"But if Mr Key is - and his government are - talking about addressing material poverty, which we think would be quite useful, then you really do get back to the question of housing."

The Government's acknowledging violence remains a major problem in our homes.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says it's an area she - and others in government - have focused on.

"I know the police are doing a lot of work and the police minister can update you on that.

"But I think we can all agree that it's too high in New Zealand."

Tolley concedes there's no easy solution.

"We've had a campaign running to try and change community attitudes. I think we're getting more reported, but that isn't stopping it necessarily."

Meanwhile, the Government's social housing plans are being labelled a "distraction" by the Salvation Army.

Rising migration is causing major problems around supply and affordability.

Johnson is frustrated, saying we've spent at least two years debating how state housing will be owned, and all the while, nothing has been built.

"The population is growing and housing needs are changing, particularly for older people, and we're not seeing any response to that.

"We're simply worried about whether it's owned by a state, or by a church or by a community group, and that's a distraction."

He adds there's been little progress with social housing since the introduction of Special Housing Units and the Housing Accords.

He says regulation is clearly not the answer.

"Sure it's going to take time, but it's not promising.

"We're not seeing progress anywhere near as much as we'd expect. In fact we're seeing sometimes that things don't happen at all."

Johnson says his wish list for the Government is simple - revisit accommodation subsidies, sort out regulatory reform and set targets for the number of social houses it will build.

"I think the government needs to commit some money to the problem instead of simply just trying to rearrange the deck chairs and set targets with that, and say 'we're going to build 500 or 1000 social housing units in the next year'."

Remember Jon Oliver's item about Eminem and John Key?

If you haven't watched it - see it HERE

Eminem taking National Party to court next week

The publisher of United States' rap star Eminem is taking the National Party to court, with a hearing set down for next week.

Last year it was revealed that Eight Mile Style LLC and Martin Affiliated LLC, the Detroit-based publishers of Eminem's copyrights, intended to sue the The National Party.

They allege the National Party breached copyright by using a song that sounded similar to Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' in its campaign advertisements throughout the 2014 election.

Eight Mile Style will be taking a civil case against the New Zealand National Party, with a hearing scheduled for next Friday at the High Court in Wellington....[ }