As reported in the Otago Daily Times Friday 5th Dec, tentative support for the stadium has come from a very unlikely quarter, that of the new National MP Michael Woodhouse.
Mr Woodhouse has also already made representations to the minister in charge of infrastructure development, Bill English. Quoted in the ODT “Mr Woodhouse said while he personally supported the stadium in principle, “it’s another matter altogether whether that extends to government funding for such an asset and I honestly don’t have a view on that at the moment.”
Of course that mad bull Rodney Hide (you know the guy who doesn’t get global warming), the ACT minister in charge of Local Government, has already had approaches from dear old Syd Ade of the Dunedin Ratepayers Association. Given that ideologically Mr Hide doesn’t think that governments have a legitimate claim to tax and rates, it’s no wonder that Mr Hide made his feelings known on the subject, stating “the stadium was a decision for the Dunedin City Council but that he “would have thought” councillors would be mindful of the survey showing more than 70% of residents were against ratepayer funding for the project”.
There was a very nice footnote to this article illustrating the Australian Governments measures recently, “The Australian Government recently announced it would provide its councils and shires with $350 million for spending on infrastructure, with up to $2 million available for stadiums”. Clearly the Australian government sees stadium development as part of the infrastructure umbrella.
So thank you Mr Woodhouse, I just hope that your words don’t fall on deaf ears, as there are those that are against Council money carrying the greatest burden of this development, while not being exclusively against the development. Perhaps a little more of the money coming from Government and some may start to be swayed from their stance.
What if? Dunedin... 
To be fair Michael Woodhouse’s comments aren’t particularly surprising. As CEO of Mercy Hospital he wrote a letter of support for the stadium, which was posted on the Our Stadium website; I believe there are also personal ties with Malcolm Farry through the Catholic Church.
I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if National does provide some direct support for the stadium project or greater NZTA funding for SH88. It will also be interesting to see if the proposed amendments to the RMA might come in time to limit appeals against the stadium. I wouldn’t read too much into Rodney Hide.
Cheers for that Peter, being a good Union boy, I’ve not really followed the National fledglings, but if the govt can stump up money for the stadium, it will go some way to ease the fears of many locals.
Mind you, I have always thought that govts should have been involved more in stadiums and theatres etc. They are both the same place, a stage where community and drama comes together.
Cheers for that Peter.