Ryan Bridge: Is funding major events a priority?

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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3d ago 1:38

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There's no doubt punters will like this new major events fund.

$70-million of new and old money.

Some for infrastructure like the cycleway network which needs an upgrade.

$10-million for regional tourism.

And the showstopper is this $40 for "significant, high-impact events for New Zealand from 2026".

The PM and Minister Upston came out yesterday and said these big major events are money-makers.

Hospotality does well. Tourism operators do well. Retail does well.

They called it a bonanza.

But if you're a fan of ailing. If you like the America's, you might scratching your head.

It was only five months ago the PM say nah to backing the America's Cup.

Why? We're in a fiscal mess, we need to invest in "proper infrastructure" like hospitals and roads.

He said we need to be more responsible with taxpayers money.

And now we have new money for a pearl jam concert.

To be fair, the sums involved here are important. The Cup would have cost somewhere between 40 and 70 million on its own.

This entire fund, the bit for major events, is $40 million total.

But if you follow the reasoning and ask yourself the basic question, is there less demand for hospital or roading infrastructure now than there was then, you'd be right to feel a bit confused by all this.

Either the cup was a crap investment, or these investments, more generally are simply not a priority.

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