$10 million to America's Cup:

[ynot slow]

Wasn't the Rally of New Zealand in similar situation,multi country coverage and all Morry Chandler and co wanted was approx $250000,potential return worldwide from tv rights was in the tens of millions.

Also if the All Blacks loose world cup semi-final or final to Aussie or Sth Africa or shit England will we all be happy to say to Ritchie and co- oh well you played fine up till now,shame about the outcome.

Hell no we want captain,coaching staff sacked,then some.We lost a major sporting event which all of us contributed too,all the news seem to want to do is say well done for coming second.I don't have a problem with that personally,but it pisses me off when the same sports journos give the league or rugby guys shit for coming second.
Damn sure the hockey team and under 20 soccer teams could do with a few bucks even from the interest out of $10million.

[smoky]

OK. I'm pissed off. Yachting is not elitist

I'm not saying yachting is an elitist sport - or everyone who sails is privilleged - but you try to get into the clubs that can enter the big races, you'll find out what snobbery is then.
the America's cup is an elitist sport.

sounds like a lot especially when it is followed by another 10M. Maybe the King brothers would get similar funding if we had a massive and highly lucrative motorcycle building business in Auckland. Try looking up Cookson, McMullen and Wing, Marten Spars, Southern Spars, Alloy Yachts, Salthouse Marine etc etc to name but a few of the businesses that are going flat out exporting (despite the position of the kiwi dollar). NZ's boat building business is as big as the wine industry so stop bleating about a measly 45 Mill.

Yea - whats wrong with using our money to fund their businesses - to make them wealthy, after all they live in Auckland, have wealthy busnisess in Auckland that employ more Aucklanders - attracting more people into Auckland - whats wrong with the rest of the country having to subsidise Auckland arse even more, build them more roads, have power pyllons running accross our farms to keep their lights on.
At the end of the day the boat building industry is important - but it should stand up on it's own merit, the money could've been used better.

[xwhatsit]

This is not about Auckland. If Auckland makes 5% more money next year, that's a hell of a lot more money going back through taxes so we can pay for the dole bludgers in New Plymouth, money back into the health system, everything. A job created in Auckland means one less dole bludger leaching money from your taxes.

Like people are saying, this is a return on the investment. Even if yachting was an elitist sport -- which it most certainly is not -- it's not about that. It's good business sense, whether we lose or not, to put a strong team out there in this competition. The contracts that are possibly gained by this are worth seriously large amounts of money. It can stand up on it's own merit -- but why shouldn't we invest some money now to boost profits overall?

Don't start up an inferiority thing about Auckland, Smoky, it disguises the more valid points you're trying to make.

Who saw the poll on one of the current affairs shows tonight that said 74% of people were in favour of the funding? Not that current affair show polls are particularly representative, but still, interesting.

[oldrider]

Team New Zealand, was not a national representative team, it was an international franchise.

They entered to win the Americas Cup and failed, that makes them losers!

They ended up being, the best of the rest!

That was Ok, they did better than any of the other losers.

They said they gave it their "best shot", so why are the government giving them our tax money to give it their "best shot" again next time?

Let us keep our tax money and decide for ourselves where "WE" would like it spent.

I would probably like to support some one else, those of you who want to support Team New Zealand, can give them your own money!

We don't need the government to decide for us, how to spend our own money!

They obviously took the tax under false pretenses, tax is only required to run the country not to speculate and gamble on their own flights of fancy, while public works remain undone at home. Bloody thieves and extortionists.(IMHO) John.

[denill]

Cool - You can be successful and moral - not always mutually exclusive.


When the Sydney olympics were on they shipped all the Aboriginal people in the government housing in redfern north to toronto, near newcastle - where I was running the gym. Initially ran it so I didn't have to drive my kids into Newy for a game of hoops. Later because I got into it.

Some of the biggest laughs ever, came when their elders and my mate Paul & I conspired to get these f*****' angry street kids a game.
They turned up in white singlets. All these black kids v Toronto High and I'm refereeing.

'Black Ball' and nobody knew what the hell was going on - everyone wanted it. White kids in black singlets and black kids in white singlets.

'Not you, you idiot - you're white' says his captain.
Kid looks at his arm and says - bugger me - 'I hate you bastards already'.
I couldn't blow the whistle I was laughing that hard.

We turned a few of them around. They basically just needed somewhere to hang out. I used to keep the Y open a bit longer, and if they had something to do - there was less trouble in the town and sooner or later they stopped being as angry. If they wanted to fight I'd let them, in gloves and head gear.

Some were beyond it. Some still email me. The one Stevie sent me about 'showing a black man the way forward' may have choked me up - but I will deny it.

Hey, you'll be gettin a Garden Makover from Jim Mora any time soon!

[-df-]

OK. I'm pissed off. The vast majority of yachts that go out on weekends are kept for years and end up costing a damn site less than most peoples motor cycle habits. Yachting is not elitist - try it once and you might find out. Most skippers are over the moon to get regular crew.

For the price of a Rocket III or a new Duke I could have a very pleasant yacht that I could race competitively against a great deal of others.

35M sounds like a lot especially when it is followed by another 10M. Maybe the King brothers would get similar funding if we had a massive and highly lucrative motorcycle building business in Auckland. Try looking up Cookson, McMullen and Wing, Marten Spars, Southern Spars, Alloy Yachts, Salthouse Marine etc etc to name but a few of the businesses that are going flat out exporting (despite the position of the kiwi dollar). NZ's boat building business is as big as the wine industry so stop bleating about a measly 45 Mill.

Finally, someone that knows what they are talking about.

Well said that man

[denill]

Lol. So really you just want money from the government for your own pet sport. Who really cares about anything else other than bikes, anyway?

I'm just saying - I wouldn't be there. But I said before, all sports should be treated equitably.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Let us keep our tax money and decide for ourselves where "WE" would like it spent.

10,000,000 / 4,000,000 = 2.5 that be your share...

[denill]

OK. I'm pissed off. The vast majority of yachts that go out on weekends are kept for years and end up costing a damn site less than most peoples motor cycle habits. Yachting is not elitist - try it once and you might find out. Most skippers are over the moon to get regular crew.

For the price of a Rocket III or a new Duke I could have a very pleasant yacht that I could race competitively against a great deal of others.

35M sounds like a lot especially when it is followed by another 10M. Maybe the King brothers would get similar funding if we had a massive and highly lucrative motorcycle building business in Auckland. Try looking up Cookson, McMullen and Wing, Marten Spars, Southern Spars, Alloy Yachts, Salthouse Marine etc etc to name but a few of the businesses that are going flat out exporting (despite the position of the kiwi dollar). NZ's boat building business is as big as the wine industry so stop bleating about a measly 45 Mill.

So on your rationale, you would subsidise all NZ businesses and Farmers? So what handout do Winemakers get. Quite the opposite - they are taxed to the hilt. Your reasoning is muddled and is a paper tiger - to try and prove a point. Just glad you are not the Minister of Finance

[denill]

Now the losers get a parade. I almost wrote victory Parade. Bizzare. We are being propaganded big time. And a lot of the population has swallowed it. C'mon NZ was the call. Well Kiwis won - didn't they?

[Big Dave]

Now the losers get a parade.

I think they deserve congrats for doing what they did. Good show - well played.

From an Aussie's perspective - A parade? - for winning the semi-final?

[Skyryder]

Well they did win a cup so perhaps the parade is for that. But let's face it, you gota be pretty hard nosed not to have some sympathy for them. I'd like to put the torn spinnaker down to bad luck but I suspect it was hast in getting it up on deck. If I'm right that's a crewing thing. But that penalty on the last leg that was just a bad call. Butterworth was heard saying something about heading for Team NZ's bow. Seems to me that that call was a deliberate act of bad sportsmanship. As I once said in another thread the only thing that the America's Cup has in common with sport is that there is a winner and a loser............there is nothing else. Them's the rules and that's what the game is played by. The boys did themselves proud and a parade is no big deal one way or the other. As for the ten mill. Yep I can think of better things but it's no big deal to me. Bring on the next one.

Skyyrder

[k14]

They said they gave it their "best shot", so why are the government giving them our tax money to give it their "best shot" again next time?

Ahh, thats the exact problem with all of NZ. In the words of Sean Connery "Losers always whine about their best, winners go home and fuck the prom queen". Obviously Brad nailed the prom Queen, Dean didn't.

I think they deserve congrats for doing what they did. Good show - well played.

From an Aussie's perspective - A parade? - for winning the semi-final?

Roflamo, yeah just like the poms doing a victory lap when they drew with the AB's.

[jester67]

So on your rationale, you would subsidise all NZ businesses and Farmers? So what handout do Winemakers get. Quite the opposite - they are taxed to the hilt. Your reasoning is muddled and is a paper tiger - to try and prove a point. Just glad you are not the Minister of Finance

TRADENZ (heard of it?) is a very large entity set up to do just that...

No muddle, just the country getting piggy back marketing from a very high profile bill board that is trumpetting and continues to trumpet the (relatively) hugely successful boating and boating technology businesses we have in NZ. Don't forget that these highly profitable businesses pay 33c in the dollar on their profits straight back into the same bucket that all of our beloved beneficiaries drink from.

Trying for one second to forget the fact that I love sailing...

If the government stumble across another $45M investment opportunity that returns $500M of direct benefit and this lessens the burden placed on the contributors to this society then I am all for it.

[B0000M]

id agree that $30 million isnt really a lot to the government, i can suggest many ways of saving money to be spent on other things

or however the thriving boat industry could perhaps pay a levi associated with thier booming business

ways of saving i can think of

1: roading contracts according to all the signs seem to be very expensive - for example how does it cost $200,000 to build a simple 4 way roundabout?
a suggestion for cost cutting there would be: less smoko, more working

2: cut off long term dole bludgers / send those people to work on the roads to earn their dole therefore cutting costs to #1 further.

3: less sleeping politicians

just some ideas, i mean if they fired one politician that sleeps in the beehive most days, that would be $200k they could spend of motorcycling events