Thursday, 5 August 2004

Copeland slams $3.6m forestry 'donation'

The recklessness of the Government's latest $3.6 million "donation" to the embattled Taitokerau Forest Ltd is best illustrated by the fact that commercial lenders wouldn't go near it with a barge pole, United Future revenue spokesman Gordon Copeland said today.

The company already owed the taxpayer $50 million, and under questioning from Mr Copeland, Finance Minister Michael Cullen revealed in Parliament that the Government has now stumped up a further $3.6 million.

"Every sign around this latest deal looks bad. The banks won't touch it, and the Government is throwing more and more public money into a huge hole," Mr Copeland said.

"The Government is effectively making itself the banker of last resort to a mismanaged company.

"Since the $53.6 million secured by mortgage, the Government should exercise its rights, sack the board and management and take the show over," he said.

ENDS

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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>>