by Selwyn Manning

Legal action looms over Auckland City Council after it rejected demands from Britomart developer Jihong Lu for $15million for costs incurred due to delays.

At a meeting last night, Auckland City councillors voted 9-8 to reject Mr Lu’s demands for the money.

The Council went in committee for seven hours to discuss the payment. It was the third time the developers had demanded that the money be paid, and the third time it had been rejected.

Renewed negotiations are about to begin this morning between the City Council’s Peter Menzies, Mr Lu, financier Salmon Smith Braney, and building contractor representatives.

However, unless Auckland City performs a definite U-Turn on the matter, it will face High Court action.

Political pressure to minimise costs associated with the Britomart development has been intense within Auckland City Council. Many councillors were elected on an anti-Britomart ticket. However, on entering office these councillors were whipped into line after learning Auckland City would face paying millions of dollars to back out of the deal.

Mayor Christine Fletcher says Auckland City still favours the revised Britomart scheme and would continue negotiations with developers and financiers.

But the vote last night is a clear signal that Auckland City no longer is a willing funder on what politically could become a white elephant.

© 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>>