20th Nov 2007

Have the snake oil salesmen hit town and sold off to our newly appointed local politicians the proverbial set of Emperors clothes?

The Christchurch City Council have "purchased" lock stock and barrel the annual Ellerslie Flower Show for a rumoured sum of around a million bucks. Oh! the money is not coming from the ratepayers mayor Parker assures us... Yeah right as the beer ad says. Why do rates keep going up?..... because they need more money, so how many more sacks of the stuff have they got hidden under the bed? I'm sure the residents of Edgeware who fought to keep their swimming pool will be really impressed that the Council can whip out a million smackers magician-like for a posey that withers after four days.
I'm not against garden shows, but Auckland within 24 hours has vowed to run a rival to equal or better the old Ellerslie and there is no guarantee that the exhibitors many of which reside in the Auckland area will not defect to it, or the present adherents will make the journey to Christchurch. Parker and his crew may have bought a brand, but as many a bar owner on the Cashel Strip will tell you, the public is a fickle beast and todays customer will at the blink of an eye, up sticks to the one next door for no logical reason. Perhaps after the euphoria of Cup Week, the Council has got carried away and punted our money on a horse which only time will tell if it will turn into a winner or dog tucker.

But we're all gamblers aren't we, and we don't mind public money spent on a flutter or two?.............

TC