Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
19 February 2013

PM Not Exonerated Over Sleazy SkyCity Deal

New Zealand First says the Deputy Auditor General’s report into the SkyCity Convention Centre fiasco is only as good as the information supplied during the inquiry.

Rt Hon Winston Peters says it was in the best interests of many people to clam up and say nothing so the report wasn’t overly critical of Prime Minister John Key and the Government.

“This was a preferential deal offered to only one business. All the rest were shut out of the highly advantageous pokie deal, and that’s why it’s so sleazy.

“The reality is Mr Key went overboard during private meetings with SkyCity by offering to change the law so they could get hundreds of extra pokie machines in exchange for a convention centre.

“Mr Key’s secretive manipulation has opened the way for a foreign-owned company to make massive profits from a convention centre that isn’t even needed.

“In return, more New Zealander’s have the opportunity to feed their gambling addictions on the extra pokie machines personally authorised by Mr Key.”

Mr Peters says the Prime Minister did a similar backroom law-change deal with Hollywood so those working on The Hobbit lost benefits – such as holiday and sick leave entitlements – by being made to work as contractors.

“Having a Prime Minister who randomly cracks secret deals which help foreign companies instead of New Zealanders is a disgrace.

“Voters at the next election are unlikely to forget Mr Key’s treachery,” says Mr Peters.

ENDS

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