Wainuiomata banned from motel

The Dom Post reports:

A Palmerston North motel with its own “Basil Fawlty” has banished an entire town from its doorstep.

The 16,000 residents of the Lower Hutt suburb of Wainuiomata were slapped with a blanket ban by Palmerston North’s Supreme Motor Lodge this week, after a series of misdemeanours by visiting sports teams.

Supreme’s owner, Steve Donnelly-an Australian- said guests from Wainuiomata were more trouble than they were worth.

“Having had about a hundred people from there over the last couple of years and maybe one that we liked … it is not worth it and we would do the same to anyone who causes us that level of stress.”

Heh.

Accommodation providers are subject to anti-discrimination laws under the Human Rights Act, but geographical area is not a prohibited ground of discrimination.

As it should be. Otherwise my jokes about Palmerston North may become illegal.

Labour MP Trevor Mallard, born and bred in Wainuiomata, said the move was absolutely outrageou”It’s stupid and very, very unfair. It shows the sort of blind prejudice I thought we didn’t have in New Zealand anymore. I’m not surprised the [owner’s] Australian.”

The famous Mallard diplomacy 🙂

Wainuiomata rugby league stalwart and sports commentator Ken Laban said the whole thing was a joke but the hotel owners were cutting themselves out of a market of 16,000 persons.

“Give me their number and I’ll go and book myself in for a week. I’ll be recommending to all my friends that they go and stay there.

“There are some people I know in Wainuiomata I wouldn’t have over to stay, but there are more in Khandallah and Ngaio. Wainui is just the tip of the iceberg, you’ve got dodgy types like Bill English in Karori.”

Oh dear – a battle of the suburbs.