Great that Govt has backed down on SkyCity handout but it still has questions to answer

There are still questions that need to be answered in the SkyCity deal after the Government's back down on its plans to give SkyCity more taxpayer money, said the Green Party today.

“This is a victory for everyone who has let the Government know that its plan to give SkyCity casino millions of dollars of taxpayers money for their building costs overruns was irresponsible, said Green Party Spokesperson Denise Roche.

“No tax payer money should be going to SkyCity casino, just as no laws should have been changed to allow the casino to build more pokies that will inevitably cause more gambling harm.

“Steven Joyce also needs to come clean on how much of a gift to SkyCity it is, that the Government is letting them use ex-TVNZ land to build a hotel when they were given this land to build the convention centre on.

“It’s been over a year since officials told him that lifting the restricted covenant on how SkyCity could use the land was effectively giving them more money. It beggars belief that the Government has decided not to find out how much that gift is worth as was claimed by Joyce in Parliament this week.

“If they have not found out how much this gift was worth, then the question is why not out? It seems negligent not to find out, and surely the taxpayers have a right to know. It is their money after all.

“This deal that was cooked up over dinner by John Key and SkyCity with no proper tendering process is still a bad deal and the Government should walk away from it, before we end up with their proposed eyesore that is built on the misery of problem gambling.

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