Ever since Prime Minister John Key announced the terms of the SkyCity convention centre deal, New Zealand residents have been fighting it. At the moment, there is little that can be done to reverse the deal, but it has just been revealed that future governments may be able to revoke it. The Greens, who have long been opposed to the SkyCity deal, have asked for legal advice from constitutional lawyer Stephen Franks.

He states that future governments are not bound by the deal, so there is the possibility that it could be revoked before SkyCity has the chance to fully reap the benefits. He advises that the current government cannot prevent any future government from repealing the deal.

"The advice highlights the Government's disregard for our constitutional law and the highly dangerous public precedent in the Sky City deal," says Green's co-leader Russel Norman. "In government, the Green Party will take all reasonable steps to overturn the Sky City law and return our country to normal democratic law making where everyone is treated fair and equally”.

If you’ve missed it, the terms of the deal are as follows: SkyCity will spend $402 million on the construction of Auckland’s new convention centre, and the casino will be allowed to install 230 new pokies and 40 new table games. In addition, the casino’s license has been extended from 2012 to 2042. The terms of the deal seem to be incredibly generous to SkyCity, and local residents and politicians do not believe that this is entirely fair.

At a time when the community is attempting to reduce the harm of poker machines and other forms of gambling, the deal seems to set everything back. So, it comes as positive news that a future government may be able to repeal the deal.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.