Who will do the speaking?

The New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill has its First Reading in Parliament this afternoon. This of course is the Bill that will empower the building of SkyCity's new convention centre in Auckland, which will produce hundreds of jobs both in the construction phase and once it is up and running.

And it's going to be very interesting to see who Labour puts up to speak in opposition to the First Reading of the Bill; check this out:

Yes, dear readers; nearly a quarter of Labour's caucus enjoyed the corporate hospitality of SkyCity during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. They must have known at that time that a convention centre was in the wings, because National campaigned on the issue at the 2011 General Election.

Can David Shearer lead the debate, having attended matches as a guest of the casino company in 2011, and having "dropped in" to the SkyCity box just a few weeks ago? Can Grant Robertson or Clayton Cosgrove? Can Annette King, Trevor Mallard, Phil Goff, Kris Faafoi or Moana Mackey?

We don't think that they can, which leaves the Labour speaking list looking pretty lightweight. Of front bench MP's untainted by SkyCity's corporate largesse, all you have is David Parker, Jacinda Ardern, Shane Jones, Phil Twyford and Maryan Street. That's hardly the kind of speaking line-up that is going to send shivers down Steven Joyce's spine.

Of course, the likes of Shearer, Robertson, Goff, Mallard and Cosgrove COULD speak out against the convention centre and against the jobs that it will produce (not to mention the future corporate junkets that might eventuate), but wouldn't that be rather hypocritical? 

So it's going to be an interesting couple of hours of theatre tomorrow. If one was to have a drinking contest where every time the phrases "dirty deal" or "crony capitalism" was mentioned you had to drink, things would get messy soon. They will be hyperbole to burn from Labour and the Greens, but the bottom line is this; Auckland and New Zealand will benefit from this deal, and poker machine numbers nationwide will continue to fall; you can bet on it.