14 November 2006

Locke, Hide to host public meeting on Stadium

In an extension of their combined opposition to the waterfront stadium, Auckland based Green Party MP Keith Locke and Act New Zealand Rodney Hide will jointly host a public meeting in Auckland on Sunday 19 November to enable Aucklanders to express their broad opposition to the waterfront proposal.

"Rodney and I are very concerned about the way the stadium proposal is being pushed through without the necessary information on the various options being available to Parliamentarians, or to the public at large," Mr Locke says.

"The need to consult and to canvass all the options properly is one of the reasons why Rodney and I decided to hold this public meeting. The fact that we share so many of the same concerns is a reflection of the unity evident in the wider community against the destruction of our waterfront vistas," Mr Locke says.

"I am very pleased to be joining Keith in a public meeting. The stadium proposal has united Aucklanders against putting this monstrosity on our waterfront," Mr Hide says.

"We aren't'pretending to have all the answers, but agree that if the waterfront stadium can be built at all, it will cost much more than the $500 million we've been told about," Mr Hide says.

"The money that Government is willing to splurge on this proposal would be so much better spent on creating a quality public transport system in Auckland, especially by upgrading and completing the rail network. That is also one of the messages that I hope will emerge from the public meeting," Mr Locke says.

"Taxpayers need to be convinced that they should fund a waterfront stadium, when the alternative is one of the world's hallowed rugby grounds, and Aucklanders will take a lot of persuading that this is the best way to spend a billion dollars on the city's infrastructure," Mr Hide says.

Public meeting : Sunday, November 19, 2pm, Lower NZI Room, Aotea Centre

ENDS

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