Questions about tourism infrastructure and the granting of a casino licence in Rotorua put Steven Joyce on the spot at a meeting in Rotorua today.
The Finance Minister and Infrastructure Minister was in town as part of a nationwide pre-budget tour of the country's regions and gave a talk to members of the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce about his priorities for his first budget to be announced in May.
About 40 people attended the lunch meeting at Rydges hotel, including Pukeroa Oruawhata Group Holdings deputy chairman Alec Wilson who wanted to know if the Government would approve a casino licence for the group that wants to build a 5-star hotel on the shores of Lake Rotorua.
"We are a tourist town and what we need is a casino so the gambling situation here can be controlled. At the moment it's all over the place," Mr Wilson said.
Mr Joyce said it was an interesting idea, but he could not provide an answer as it was the first time he had been asked the question, "but we'd want to know if there would be strong community support for the idea".