Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on the Government looking to bring more events to New Zealand

The Government's running its eyes over rules for big events at Eden Park - hoping to attract more money to Auckland. 

Prime Minister Chris Luxon says the Government will investigate changing the rules if they hinder economic growth.

Currently, only 12 music events and 25 night-time sports fixtures can be held each year, while conferences can't have more than 2000 people.  

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says it's likely the Government will move ahead with these changes.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Very sober senior political correspondence with us. Hey Barry, Good afternoon, Heather.
So the Eden Park thing is probably a predetermined outcome,
isn't it.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well, it's a foregone conclusion essentially because the new regulations
under the RMA, which is what they've now introduced to
speed up the process. Essentially it removes or modifies precision
provisions in the RMA which negatively impact economic growth and

(00:27):
development or employment. Now that means that if you open
up Eden Park to everything concerts, I mean they're having
a big motor show there very shortly, monster trucks there shortly,
yeah park, But that really is what the government wants

(00:48):
to see here. If you listen to the Prime Minister,
the result of that investigation it will be now carried
out by Chris Bishop, is a foregone conclusion.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
We formally launched what's very formal language and investstigation that
the report has generated. There is a consultation conversation obviously
with Auckland Council in this case and residents in the public.
But ultimately it gives us powers to say if this
is an event that's in the regional it's going to
advance regional economic growth and opportunity. It's going to advanced
national economic growth and opportunity. Those are things that we've

(01:18):
got to say yes to. As I keep saying, yeah, well.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
That's all in the act. And just in case you're
left in any doubt about that here about Eden Park
being open up, have listened to the Tourism Minister Louise Upstein.

Speaker 4 (01:30):
One of the big frustrations that I've heard from Eden
Park is not just about concerts, but about festivals, about
other shows, about kind of unusual expos that they could
potentially hold there. If you look at conferences, to have
a restriction of two thousand people is ridiculous when we
have the capacity to host more. We want to maximize
the flexibility that we have at eden Park. So it's

(01:53):
for concerts, it's for sporting events, it's for exposed festival shows,
all sorts of things to ensure that we're bringing more
visitors and more economic activity to Auckland and across the country.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Why have an investigation? Just go ahead? But then I
guess you've got to say that the public are having
their say. But I'll tell you what if those that
live in and around or not in but around Eden
Park are unhappy about this. They all would have known,
bar none, that they were living near a big stadium

(02:26):
because it was built in nineteen fourteen.

Speaker 5 (02:28):
Be fair to them, Be fair to them. They didn't
buy it with twelve concerts and monster trucks.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well, you know, you buy next to a stadium. I mean,
you know, unless you brought thirty years ago. You know, honestly,
I think you can complain there will be more noise.
But sorry, it's like buying a house next to a
railway station. You know you've got yourself to blame.

Speaker 5 (02:50):
Okay, what did you make of the priests and various
other clergy chaining themselves to the electrocals?

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Wow? Quite incredible. Really, I was always brought up saying
were being told religion and politics don't mix. They certainly
don't mix here. But you know you've Nikola Willis's electorate
office in Wellington. They say they're going to occupy it
all night and the chain to the place at the moment.
Some have been trespassed in Simeon Brown's office in Auckland,

(03:17):
but Wellington they're there for the night and.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Why haven't they been trespassed in Nicola Willis's office.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Well, I'm not sure they're outside her office. I see,
so I guess it's a bit more difficult. So they're
going to be sitting out the night in their clerical collus,
no doubt, preaching the good word.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
Wow, okay, listen, what are the concerns around the citizens arrests.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Well, the police have given their view of it, and
it's a view that I in fact raised right at
the time that people that afford a citizens' arrest, that's retailers,
they could put themselves in harm's way. And that was
the thing that concerned me. If you give the citizen

(03:58):
too much power to withhold somebody, to lock them in
a storage room or something like that, you really are
buying something of a fight. The police are concerned about that,
and I think they've got every reason to be concerned.
But nevertheless it's going ahead and there seems to be
little they can do about it.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
Hold on, I'm very cynical about this.

Speaker 5 (04:20):
I think the cops are only concerned because the minute
that you start citizens arresting all way over there here's
looking your stuff, they have to come. Well, whereas if
old mate was just nicking leaving it, they wouldn't have
to come. And they're so thin stretched.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah, but the thing is, as the police say that
when they go and they know, when they arrest somebody,
they've got the backup information and the evidence to make
a charge stick. If you're a citizen saying holding somebody,
you know, whether the police have to arrive is a
great difficulty for them, then I think, you know it
really is that there are a lot of flaws in

(04:51):
this and we've always had citizens arrest, but not to this.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
Extent or not uncertain hours vary, well.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
Not between nine pm and six am.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
Bear, thank you very much for so for seeing your
political correspondence.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
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