TV One Agenda Stories

Government Didn’t Know Cost When It Bid For World Cup.

No one knew how much it would cost to upgrade Eden Park when the successful bid for the World Cup was made last year.

Speaking on TVOne’s Agenda programme, Eden Park Redevelopment Committee Chairman, Rob Fisher, said upgrade plans were only considered after the bid was successful, and the estimated $150m price tag that was part of the bid didn’t come from them.

“We didn’t do the costing, the bid was put in by the Government and the rugby union, so they’d done their costing.”

This was news, however, to Rugby World Cup Minister, Trevor Mallard.

“My understanding was the $150m figure [as a total upgrade cost]. I actually thought it was done on the advice of Eden Park – I stand to be corrected there.

“We wouldn’t have been having this discussion if the costs were around the level we thought they were earlier on.”

SADDAM HUSSEIN TRIAL NOT FAIR

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed says former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s trial was not fair.

Speaking on TVNZ’s TVOne programme, “Agenda” Dr Mahathir said a trial that was conducted by your enemy was not likely to be fair.

“A judge almost a hanging judge was appointed and I felt that certainly he's going to be found guilty and sentenced to death.

That doesn’t reflect well on the system of justice that the US promotes.”

Dr Mahathir said Hussein’s followers who were quite substantial would continue to hate the west; particularly the Americans and whenever they could would try to seek revenge.

FORMER MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER SAYS GEORGE BUSH IS A TERRORIST

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Muhamed says George W Bush is a terrorist.

In an exclusive interview with TVOne’s Agenda, former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed said: ““If you consider a person who terrorises, a terrorist, then the people of Iraq, they are being terrorised by the prospect of being killed, being bombed, being rocketed. And to me, anybody who terrorises is a terrorist.”

He said the problems of the Middle East were all rooted in the creation of the Israeli state, and would continue until Palestinians were granted their own territory.

Despite his criticism of Western intervention in the Middle East, Dr Mahathir approved of New Zealand’s foreign policy.

“I think your view is quite different from that of Australia. Before we used to identify New Zealand and Australia together as having the same viewpoint, but today New Zealand is far more concerned about peace and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and things like that.”

Ends

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