Mon, 20 Sep 2004

Quax will open books on Pacific Events Centre

Opening the books on the Council’s involvement with the Counties Manukau Pacific Trust, the Trust responsible for the Pacific Events Centre will be a priority, Mayoral candidate Dick Quax stated today.

“The current mayor who is also a Trustee stated that the PEC would not cost the ratepayer one cent. To date the Council has contributed $40 million in cash, land, legal and property fees,” said Quax.

“On top of that we do not know how much of Council officer’s time has been committed to the Trust.”

“I will move quickly to minimise the risk to our ratepayers.”

Dick Quax added that he will also set firm limits on any future funding and advise the Trust that it must operate within financial parameters set by the in coming mayor and Council.

“I will also institute and arms length relationship with the Trust and in particular it is my view that the mayor should not be a Trustee.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>