I agree auckland should pay for it. as an aucklander it is infuriating to see the short-sightedness of the circus that makes up the auckland mayoralty. First they didn't want the waterfront stadium, instead preferring to sink a pile of money into making the traffic-clogged eden park eyesore marginally better, now they don't want to do up the wharf to give rugby fans somewhere to go to watch the games. Clearly they, and the complaining auckland bar owners, have no idea about how to host an event this size. As an example (but on a much bigger scale), at the last football world cup in germany, roads were blocked off for supporters, with no less than 26 big screens scattered across berlin alone. Even when the Lions toured in 05 they opened the Alighi base to thousands of fans to watch the games there. Luckily this government is prepared to step in, otherwise this event will be a failure.

Party central - it even sounds super lame, like something a nerdy 14-year-old boy would call his tree fort. What do you tell visiting guests 'oh, we're heading down to party central' - 'yeah, it's all going down at party central' - you'll sound like a right plonker. you can guarentee party central will be the lamest place in the country to be, unless you like wealthy drunken doush bags doing the haka.

Having experienced cruise ship terminals throughout the world it is very rare to find one that is memorable or any better than that available in Auckland at present. Don't waste our money on an edifice that will only be used for limited periods of the year, instead shift the funds to improving the rail system which will provide tangible benefits for many Aucklanders.

Why do the rest of New Zealand continue to fund everything for Auckland?

Yes it is our biggest city, and has 1 million people living there.

BUT there are 3 million of us in the rest of the country!

If Aucklanders want to spend 100 million dollars on redeveloping Queens Wharf, let THEM pay for it!

How come when Auckland needs something, the Government will always finds money to pay for it? How long has Wellington been waiting for Transmission Gully? (and no, I am not a Wellingtonian)

You can;t lead a rugby fan to party central.... even the name is like something Nana would come up with.

Its like people who dont know how to party, telling people where they will party, and that they will have fun.

This is a fantastic opportunity for Auckland to have a new area upgraded and paid whilst the rest of the country pays HOWEVER if the bulk of the tourist market is going through or via Auckland this will greatly effect the rest of the country and the way the country is portrayed from the rest of the world. It would be alot worse if you were watching on TV how boring we were percieved by the rest of the world and loose the tourism market.

Phil #8 don't think tourists will be that interested in listening to Radio NZ while they are here somehow Phil. Rugby WC 2011 will bring in huge amounts of money (way more then it will cost) so its simple really. Pay for it but get alot back in Tourist revenue. People forget the financial benefits for NZ of holding such an event.

My experience in catering for this type of event is that the visitors do everything BUT patronise such a venue.They prefer to do their own thing and experience the fabric of the community they're visiting.The proposed venue will prove to be a costly "white elephant" just like similar structures in every other world centre thats attempted similar

Right on, Duncan! This is what I've been saying for ages but people just shrug it off. Hypocrisy at the core, man!

a small price to pay for quality rugby. and as for building wellington a cruise terminal! seriously, who'd want to go a cruise to wellington. probably better weather in the arctic.