Jacinda backs Helen despite 91% of Aucklanders wanting the concert

The Herald reports:

LifePod incubator inventor Sir Ray Avery says planning delays could scuttle his planned charity concert at Eden Park because he has been given a “drop-dead” August deadline to confirm the headline star.

He said the unnamed international star’s promoter needs to confirm the venue by the end of August, but the Environment Court is not expected to rule until October on objections to a resource consent to allow the night-time event at Eden Park on Waitangi Day next year.

National MP Paul Goldsmith has urged the Government to “knock some heads together” to avoid the need to go to the Environment Court.

But a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern suggested Avery should look at other possible venues.

Which is what Helen wants.

Avery said he was inspired by a UMR poll for the Eden Park Trust today which found that 91 per cent of Aucklanders support the event going ahead at Eden Park.

The poll also sampled 350 people who live near Eden Park. Within that group support for the concert is at a massive 87%.  So the vast vast majority of locals support the concert being at Eden Park.

And the locals don’t just support this concert. Many it seems would like to be able to attend concerts locally. Of nearby residents:

• 75% support up to 15 concerts a year there
• 87% support up to six concerts a year there

If I was a local Labour MP, I’d be backing the concert strongly – it is overwhelmingly popular with not just Aucklanders but those who live near Eden Park.