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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Sky High Sports Rorts By Clayton Mitchell MP

By Clayton Mitchell, New Zealand First MP
Bay of Plenty Times·
11 May, 2017 03:48 AM2 mins to read

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New Zealand First MP Clayton Mitchell. Photo/Andrew Warner

New Zealand First MP Clayton Mitchell. Photo/Andrew Warner

How interesting... On 12 April the Broadcasting (Games of National Significance) Amendment Bill - the Bill which would allow Kiwis to watch their sporting heroes live and free-to-air - was voted down, and then on 5 May Sky TV announces a price rise for sports broadcasting.

We had the big boys worried for a bit, but the red and blue parties (with lackey cling-on support) abused their power and sold Kiwi sports fans out once again.

Feeling emboldened by their political invincibility, Sky TV has come out, less than a month later, and raised their monthly sports ransom demands from $59.99 per month to $99.99 per month. If you are the kind of person who believes the devil is in the detail, that's an increase of 66.666%.

This blue government, with a complicit red party - who has completely lost its way - have basically given Sky a licence to print money.

Blue, red, yellow, and bow-tie parties all voted for Sky, and against New Zealand. It's as simple as that. They clearly believe that the voices of the shareholders of Sky are more important than the votes of the citizens of New Zealand who entrusted them with the baubles of office.

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Baubels obviously go to their heads, and we have to pay more in our taxes and rates to support sports and recreation on the way up, and then pay additional ransom to Sky, for access to sports at the top level.

New Zealand First called for change, but the money talked louder. But September is coming. New Zealand voters will remember at the ballot box.

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