Earlier this year, Radio New Zealand revealed that NZ First had received tens of thousands of dollars in secret donations from the racing industry. Secret donations are bad enough, but it was particularly stinky because Winston Peters is Minister of Racing. And yesterday, he paid them back, with $72.5 million in industry pork:
Racing Minister Winston Peters has announced the Budget will include $72.5 million in emergency support for the racing industry.
The package includes $50m for the Racing Industry Transition Agency, with $26m of that to pay its outstanding supplier bill, which Peters said it had not been able to do because of strangled revenue.
Another $20m - from the Provincial Growth Fund - would go towards building two new all-weather synthetic racing tracks, initially planned for Awapuni in Manawatū and Riccarton Park in Christchurch.
The remaining $2.5m would go to the Department of Internal Affairs to fast-track work on online gambling.
That's one hell of a return on investment.
