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List of Las Vegas casinos that never opened
Over the years there have been several casinos and resorts planned for the Las Vegas Valley that never opened. The stages of planning may have been just an announcement or groundbreaking.[1][2][3]
Asia Resort and Casino
Where the Palazzo Casino and Resort currently stands (adjacent to the Venetian Hotel and Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center), an Asian themed casino was proposed but was rejected for the present Palazzo project.[4]
Alon Las Vegas
A proposed luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip on the former site of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, announced in 2015.[5] The project was put in doubt after Crown Resorts announced in late 2016 it was suspending its involvement in the development.[6] Crown announced in December 2016 that it was halting the project and seeking to sell its investment. The remaining partner Andrew Pascal announced he was seeking other partners to proceed with the project. However in May 2017, the land went up for sale.[7] The land was later purchased by Steve Wynn.
Beau Rivage
Steve Wynn, who had purchased and demolished the Dunes hotel-casino, had originally planned to build a modern hotel in the middle of a man-made lake. He later built the Bellagio with a man-made lake in the front of the hotel.[citation needed] The name was later used by Wynn for a resort built in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Caribbean Casino
In 1988, a sign for a proposed casino was erected on a fenced vacant lot on Flamingo Road. Standing near the sign was a scale model galleon. For several years, that was all that stood on the property. The empty lot was the source of many jokes by the locals until the ship, which was later damaged by a fire started by a homeless person, was torn down in the 1990s and the lot became the site of the Tuscany Suites and Casino co-owned by Charles Heers, who has owned the property since the 1960s.[8]
Carnival
In 1990, the Radisson group proposed a 3,376-room hotel next to the Dunes, with a casino shaped like a Hershey's Kiss.[9]
Cascada
A proposed resort that was to have been built on the site of El Rancho Vegas. The parcel is now partially taken by the Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Las Vegas Festival Grounds.[4]
City by the Bay Resort and Casino
A San Francisco-themed resort was proposed for the site of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino. The project was rejected in favor of the Swiss-themed Montreux, which was also eventually cancelled.[4]
Countryland USA
A country music-themed resort was planned for construction of the site of the former El Rancho Hotel and Casino. For some years, the El Rancho sign stood with the words "Coming Soon - Future Home of Countryland USA."[10][11]
Craig Ranch Station
Main article: Craig Ranch Station A Mediterranean-themed hotel-casino for North Las Vegas, proposed by Station Casinos in March 2000.[12] The project faced opposition from nearby residents,[13][14][15] which led to the proposed location being changed to a vacant property on the nearby Craig Ranch Golf Course.[16] Residential opposition to the new location led to the project being rejected by the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee in March 2001. Station Casinos still had the option to develop the project on the initial site,[17][18] but the project was cancelled entirely in July 2001, following a weak financial quarter for the company.[19]
Crown Las Vegas
Main article: Crown Las Vegas Formerly known as Las Vegas Tower, the Crown Las Vegas was to have been a supertall skyscraper built on the former site of a Wet 'n Wild water park. In March 2008, the project was canceled and the property was put up for sale.[20]
Desert Kingdom
In 1993, ITT Sheraton purchased the Desert Inn casino, and had announced plans to develop the large parking lot into a Balinese themed resort to complement the Desert Inn. The project was never developed and the site is now the location of Wynn Las Vegas.[4]
DeVille Casino
After building the Landmark Hotel and Casino on Convention Center Drive and selling it to Howard Hughes, developer Frank Carroll built the DeVille Casino across the street from the Landmark at 900 Convention Center Drive in 1969. Chips were made for the casino (and are sought-after collectibles), but the casino never opened.[21] The building was renovated in 1992 as a race book parlor named Sport of Kings which closed after nine months.[22] It became the location of The Beach nightclub, which was demolished in 2007 to make room for a planned 600-unit tower[23] that was never built.[24] The land sits currently empty.
Echelon Place
Main article: Echelon Place An announced project by Boyd Gaming planned to have a hotel built on the property of the former Stardust Resort & Casino. Construction was suspended on August 1, 2008 due to the Great Recession. In March 2013, Boyd Gaming sold the proposed site for $350 million to the Genting Group, which is redeveloping the project as the Asian-themed Resorts World Las Vegas.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas
Main article: The Drew Las Vegas Located on the Las Vegas Strip and originally known as Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Construction began in 2007, and the resort was to include a casino, 2,871 hotel rooms, and 1,018 condominium units.[25] Construction on the $2.9 billion project ceased in 2009, the year of its planned opening. Investment firms Witkoff Group and New Valley LLC purchased the unfinished resort in 2017.[26] In 2018, Witkoff and Marriott International announced a partnership to open the renamed project as The Drew Las Vegas in 2020. The resort will include a casino and three hotels totaling nearly 4,000 rooms, with the condominium aspect removed from the project.[27]
Harley-Davidson Hotel and Casino
A resort themed after the motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson was proposed, complete with hotel towers shaped like gigantic exhaust pipes, but was never built.[4]
Jockey Club Casino
The Jockey Club is a condominium and timeshare resort at 3700 Las Vegas Boulevard South. It was planned to have a casino, and chips were made for its use, but the casino was never opened.[28]
Kactus Kate's
By April 1994, Gold Coast Hotel and Casino owner Michael Gaughan was interested in building a hotel-casino in North Las Vegas,[29] at the northeast corner of North Rancho Drive and Carey Avenue. In January 1995, the city planning commission approved the rezoning of the land for use as a hotel-casino. The resort, to be named Kactus Kate's, would be built by Gold Coast Hotel/Casino Limited. The hotel would include 450 rooms, and the casino would be 105,000 sq ft (9,800 m2),[30] later decreased to 102,000 sq ft (9,500 m2).[31] The resort would be located directly north of the nearby Fiesta and Texas Station resorts.[31]
In December 1998, Coast Resorts, Inc. received approval from the planning commission for a use-permit relating to the undeveloped property. In November 2000, the planning commission unanimously approved a two-year extension on the permit, giving the company more time to decide whether it would build Kactus Kate's. Because of a 1999 Senate bill that placed restrictions on casinos in neighborhoods, Coast Resorts had a deadline of 2002 to build the casino. The hotel would measure over 100 feet (30 m) high, and Coast Resorts was required to notify the Federal Aviation Administration of its final plans, due to the site being located less than 1,000 feet (300 m) from a runway at the North Las Vegas Airport.[32] In January 2001, Station Casinos purchased the 29-acre (12 ha) site for $9 million. Coast Resorts president Harlan Braaten said, "As we saw the competitive nature of that area intensify, in terms of the size of competing facilities, we just felt we would have to build something much bigger than we had intended to compete with Texas Station and Santa Fe Station. It was just going to be a very expensive project, and we didn't feel the returns would be that good." Station Casinos planned to sell the property as a non-gaming site.[31]
Las Vegas Plaza
Main article: Las Vegas Plaza Not to be confused with the Plaza Hotel & Casino.
This was to have been modeled after the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The project was announced shortly before the demolition of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, where the new hotel would be built. Las Vegas Plaza was cancelled in 2011 due to the Great Recession.
London Resort and Casino
This announced project was to have been themed around the city of London, and featuring replicas of the city's landmarks. The project was to be built on land across from the Luxor Hotel and Casino. A second London-themed resort was to be built on the former land of the El Rancho Hotel and Casino. Neither project ever began construction.[4]
London, Las Vegas
This was a proposed three-phase project using London as its design inspiration. When completed, the 38.5-acre (15.5 ha) property would have featured 1,300 hotel rooms, a casino, a 500-foot-tall (152.4 m) observation wheel named Skyvue (partially constructed), and 550,000 square feet (51,097 square meters) of restaurants and shops — all of which would be architectural replicas of various British landmarks and neighborhoods.[33] The project was to be constructed on land across from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, where — as of November 2019 — the partially-constructed Skyvue still stands. The wheel was to be "Phase I of London, Las Vegas".
Montreux Resort
This Swiss-themed resort was to have been built on the property of the former New Frontier Hotel and Casino, but was ultimately cancelled.[34]
Moon Resort and Casino
Proposed by Canadian developer Michael Henderson, this is a planned 10,000-room, 250-acre (1.0 km2) lunar-themed casino resort.[35] Gaming experts doubt it will ever be built in Las Vegas, simply because the space planned for it is too large for the Las Vegas Strip.[4]
NevStar 2000
Further information: Craig Ranch Station § NevStar 2000 Proposed by NevStar Gaming in 1998, the NevStar 2000 entertainment complex in North Las Vegas would have included a hotel and casino,[36] but the project faced opposition from nearby residents who did not want a casino in the area.[37][38] The project was cancelled when NevStar Gaming filed for bankruptcy in December 1999.[12]
North Coast/Boyd Gaming project
In May 2003, Coast Casinos had plans for the North Coast hotel-casino, to be built at the southwest corner of Centennial Parkway and Lamb Boulevard in North Las Vegas. The project would be built on approximately 40 acres (16 ha) of vacant land, surrounded by other land that was also undeveloped. At the time, the North Las Vegas Planning Commission was scheduled to review requests for zoning changes and approvals for the project. The project was not scheduled to be built for at least another four years, after completion of a highway interchange at Lamb Boulevard and the nearby Interstate 15, as well as the completion of an overpass over nearby railroad tracks. Bill Curran, an attorney for the land owner, said, "We're going through the zoning changes now so everybody knows what's going to be out there." The North Coast would include a casino, a 10-story hotel with 398 rooms, a bowling alley, movie theaters, and a parking garage.[39] In June 2003, the Planning Commission voted 6 to 1 to approve preliminary applications necessary to begin work on the North Coast.[40][41]
Boyd Gaming, the owner of Coast Casinos, announced in February 2006 that it would purchase the 40-acre site for $35 million.[42] Jackie Gaughan and Kenny Epstein were the owners at the time.[43] Boyd Gaming had not decided on whether the new project would be a Coast property or if it would be similar to the company's Sam's Town hotel-casino. At the time, no timetable was set for building the project.[42] In March 2007, the project was put on hold. At the time, Boyd Gaming had been securing construction permits for the project but decided to first review growth in the area. Construction had been scheduled to begin in mid-2007.[44] In August 2013, Boyd Gaming sold the undeveloped property for $5.15 million.[43]
Palace of the Sea Resort and Casino
This was to have been built on the former Wet 'n Wild waterpark site. Conceptual drawings included yacht-shaped towers that housed suites, a casino resembling the Sydney Opera House and a 600-foot (180 m) tall Ferris wheel-type attraction dubbed a "Sky Wheel". It never left the planning stages.[4]
Paramount Las Vegas
A casino and hotel and condo resort with more than 1,800 units that was planned by Royal Palms Las Vegas, a subsidiary of Royal Palms Communities.[45][46] The project was to replace the Klondike Hotel and Casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip,[47][45] beside the Las Vegas welcome sign.[48] The resort was approved in October 2006,[45] but an investor pulled out of the project in August 2007, and the land was put up for sale in May 2008.[46]
Pharoah's Kingdom
Pharoah's Kingdom was planned as a $1.2 billion gaming, hotel and theme park complex to be built on 710 acres (290 ha) at Pebble Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, five miles south of the Las Vegas Strip.[49][1] Construction was approved in October 1988,[49] with Silano Development Group as the developer.[50]
The project would have an Egyptian theme, including two 12-story pyramids made of crystal, with each containing 300 suites. The hotel would have a total of 5,000 rooms,[50] making it the largest in the world.[51] The 230,000 sq ft (21,000 m2) casino would include 100 table games and 3,000 slot machines, while an RV park, mini-golf, a bowling alley, and a video game arcade would be located beside the casino area.[52] Three of the project's various pyramid structures would house the 50-acre (20 ha) family theme park. Other features would include sphinxes, man-made beaches, waterways resembling the Nile river, an underwater restaurant, a 24-hour child-care facility, a 100-tenant shopping promenade, and a repertory-style theater that would be overseen by actor Jack Klugman.[52] Additionally, the resort would feature an 18-hole PGA Championship golf course,[52] and a monorail located within the theme park.[50] The project would have one mile of frontage along Las Vegas Boulevard.[52]
Frank Gambella, president of the project, stated that financing was in place, with groundbreaking planned for March or April 1989. Gambella said the project would be financed by several entities, with the money coming from a Nevada corporation, suggesting the entities would be grouped together as an umbrella corporation. Gambella stated that the project could be opened by Labor Day 1990. The resort was expected to employ 8,000 people. Following the completion of the resort, Gambella said a complex of 750 condominiums would be built on the land along with 900 retirement-care apartments.[52]
The project was cancelled shortly after it was announced, as authorities became suspicious of developer Anthony Silano's fundraising efforts for the project. It was discovered that Silano and his associates hacked into the Switzerland bank accounts of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos following his death in 1989. Silano pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges. Another Egyptian-themed resort, Luxor Las Vegas, would open on the south Las Vegas Strip in 1993.[1]
Planet Hollywood Resort (original plans)
Not to be confused with the current Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
Originally planned to open in the late 1990s on the site of the Desert Inn, it was to be one of the largest hotels in Las Vegas. Because of the bankruptcy of Planet Hollywood Restaurants, the hotel was never built. However, in the 2000s, a group of investors bought the new Aladdin Hotel and Casino and remodeled it with a modern Hollywood theme.[4]
Playboy Hotel and Casino
A proposed casino resort themed after Playboy magazine was rejected in favor of a nightclub and suites built at the top two floors of the new Palms tower.[4] The planned location for the Playboy Hotel and Casino, on the Las Vegas Strip, was later used for the Cosmopolitan resort.[53]
Santa Fe Valley
Main article: Santa Fe Valley Santa Fe Gaming, which owned the Santa Fe hotel-casino in northwest Las Vegas, had plans for a second Santa Fe property in 1996.[54] The Santa Fe Valley would be built on a 40-acre (16 ha) lot[55] in Henderson, Nevada, adjacent to the Galleria at Sunset mall. The start of construction was delayed several times because of poor financial quarters for Santa Fe Gaming,[54] and because of the company not yet receiving financing for the project.[56] Site preparation started in July 1998, with an opening date scheduled for December 1999,[57] but construction never began. In 1999, the property was sold to Station Casinos,[58][59] which sold the land a year later for use as a shopping center.[60]
Shenandoah Hotel and Casino
A project by Wayne Newton. Although the hotel operated for a short time at 120 E. Flamingo Road, the management was unable to get a gaming license. After years of floundering it was sold to a Canadian company and became Bourbon Street Hotel and Casino.
Silver City proposals
By January 2000, Luke Brugnara was planning to build a San Francisco-themed resort on the site of the closed Silver City Casino.[61] Brugnara intended to give Silver City a multimillion-dollar renovation, with plans to have a fully operational hotel-casino by 2002.[62] In March 2001, Brugnara's request for a gaming license was rejected.[63] In May 2002, it was announced that Brugnara had sold the casino while retaining six acres located behind the building.[64] In 2003, Brugnara was planning to build a 24-story, 304-room hotel and casino resort on a portion of the Silver City property. The resort, to be named "Tycoon", was to be designed by Lee Linton, with an expected cost of approximately $100 million.[65]
Starship Orion
International Thoroughbred Breeders (ITB) announced plans to demolish the El Rancho and construct Starship Orion, a $1 billion hotel, casino, entertainment and retail complex with an outer space theme, covering 5.4 million square feet (501,676 square meters). The resort was to include seven separately owned casinos, each approximately 30,000 square feet (2,787 square meters).[66][67] Each potential casino owner was to contribute up to $100 million to own and operate a casino within the complex.[68] The complex would have included 300,000 square feet (27,871 square meters) of retail space, as well as 2,400 hotel rooms and a 65-story hotel tower. ITB hoped to begin construction later in 1996, with a planned opening date of April 1998.[67]
Sunrise
This was to have been located at 4575 Boulder Highway. Property developer Michael Mona Jr. built the hotel-casino and stated that he was going to break tradition by starting a "casino without a theme". He failed to get an unrestricted gaming license when suspicions arose concerning his associations with alleged organized crime figures. Chips were made for the casino, but were never used.[69] The building was opened as Arizona Charlie's Boulder.
Titanic
In 1999, Bob Stupak was planning a 400-foot-high (122 m) resort themed after the RMS Titanic, to be built on a 10-acre (4 hectares) property he owned near downtown Las Vegas. The resort would have included 1,200 rooms, 800 of which were to be used for timeshares to help finance the project. That year, planning commissioners rejected Stupak's request to change the zoning to allow for a hotel.[70] The project was later planned for the former site of the El Rancho Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip, but was rejected by the Las Vegas City Council.[4]
W Las Vegas
Main article: W Las Vegas W Las Vegas was proposed in August 2005, as a $1.7 billion joint project between Starwood and Edge Resorts, with a scheduled opening in 2008. The project would include a 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) casino and approximately 3,000 hotel, condo hotel, and residential units.[71][72] The project was cancelled in May 2007, after Starwood pulled out of the deal.[73]
Wally's Wagon Wheel
Wally's Wagon Wheel was to be developed by Walter Weiss through his company, Magna Leisure Partnership.[74][75] The project was proposed for 2200 South Boulder Highway in Henderson,[76][77] between Wagon Wheel Drive and Roberts Road,[78] near Henderson's Old Vegas western theme park. Manga Leisure Partnership purchased the 15.5-acre property in late February 1988. Weiss, at that time, had tentative plans for a western-themed, 112-room property known then as the Wagon Wheel Hotel and Casino. The Wagon Wheel was expected to cost $15 million, and financing had yet to be obtained for the project, which Weiss expected to open in early 1990.[74] The project, which would include a 55,000 sq ft (5,100 m2) casino, was to be built in two phases.[79]
By October 1991, Wally's Wagon Wheel remained unbuilt due to difficulty obtaining financing.[80][76] That month, the Henderson Planning Commission voted to give Weiss more time to make progress on the project. At that time, the project was to include 204 hotel rooms and would be built on 13.30 acres (5.38 ha). Weiss noted that the nearby successful Sam's Town hotel-casino opened with 204 rooms, and he believed his project would be successful if he opened with the same amount of rooms for good luck.[76] By the end of 1992, Weiss had still not acquired financing for Wally's Wagon Wheel. At the time, the project was the largest of five casinos being planned for Henderson. The three-story project was to include 200 rooms, two restaurants, a theater lounge for country and western entertainment, and a large bingo room. Weiss stated that groundbreaking was scheduled for May 1993, with an expected opening in June 1994. The hotel-casino would employ approximately 600 people upon opening.[81]
Weiss met with nearby residents to discuss the project, and he had the original design changed to include a larger buffer zone between homes and the hotel-casino. In November 1994, the Henderson Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of Weiss' requested zone change as part of the redesign. The project, at that time, was to include a one-story casino and a four-story hotel with 400 rooms.[82][83] In December 1994, the Henderson City Council rejected Weiss' plans for a 200-foot (61 m) buffer.[84]
In July 1997, the unbuilt project received its sixth extension from the Henderson Planning Commission for a use permit and architectural review.[85] In August 1997, the Henderson City Council approved the sixth extension, but denied Weiss' appeal for a one-year extension, instead giving him six months to make progress on the project.[77] Up to that time, $1.7 million had been invested in the project by Magna Leisure Partnership.[86] As of 1998, the project was expected to cost $80 million and employ at least 1,200 people, and the proposed site had increased to 19 acres (7 ha). At that time, Weiss stated that he was close to obtaining financing for the project from a casino operator.[87] The project was never built.
Wild Wild West
Not to be confused with Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel. As of 1993, Station Casinos owned a 27-acre (11 ha) site on Boulder Highway with the potential to be developed as a casino. The site was located across the street from Sam's Town hotel-casino.[88] In January 1998, Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. announced plans to purchase Station Casinos, which had intended to sell the land prior to the announcement.[89] By March 1998, Station Casinos was planning to develop a hotel-casino complex on the land, which was occupied by a vacant strip mall. The complex would be known as Wild Wild West, with local residents as the target clientele.[90][89]
Crescent's purchase of Station Casinos failed in August 1998, and Station Casinos subsequently slowed its plans to build the project.[91] By the end of the year, the project had received approval from the Clark County Planning Commission for a 273,000 sq ft (25,400 m2) casino and a 504-room hotel.[92] No timetable for construction was announced,[92][93] and Station Casinos had already decided by that point not to start any new projects prior to 2000.[92] Station Casinos sold the undeveloped land for $11.2 million to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in April 2004.[94]
World Port
In 2000, Howard Bulloch, David Gaffin, and their partner Tom Gonzales transferred ownership of the Glass Pool Inn property to their group, known as New World, with plans for a megaresort.[95] New World purchased several other nearby motels to accumulate a 77-acre (31 ha) parcel located on the Las Vegas Strip and east of the Mandalay Bay.[96] In January 2001, plans were announced for World Port Resorts, a megaresort consisting of hotel-casinos, a convention center and a fine arts facility. The project was to be built on the 77-acre (31 ha property, a portion of which was occupied by the Glass Pool Inn.[96]
World Trade Center
To have been located at 925 East Desert Inn Road. Leonard Shoen, co-founder of U-Haul truck rental, purchased the property of what had been the Chaparral Hotel & Casino in 1996, renovating it into the World Trade Center Hotel. A gaming license was applied for, but when it was discovered that two of Shoen's closest partners were convicted felons, the application was denied in 1998. He withdrew his application, and died in a car crash in 1999 that was ruled a suicide. Cards and gaming chips were produced for the World Trade Center Casino, but were never used.[97] The property has since been demolished and is now a parking lot, part of the Las Vegas Convention Center Annex.
World Wrestling Federation
A casino resort themed after the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was proposed for a property near the Interstate 15 freeway across from Mandalay Bay. The project never went past the proposal stage.[4] The land where it would have stood is now Allegiant Stadium.
WWF also proposed to open the project on the property once used by the Clarion Hotel and Casino, which was demolished in 2015 to become a parking lot.
Xanadu
In February 1976, the Clark County Commission approved the 23-story Xanadu resort, to be built on the Las Vegas Strip at the corner of South Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. The resort would include approximately 1,700 hotel rooms and a casino, as well as convention facilities, a showroom, dining, and indoor tennis courts. The resort was to be developed by Tandy McGinnis – of Bowling Green, Kentucky – and his Xanadu Corporation, and would be built on 48.6 acres (19.7 ha) owned by Howard Downes, a resident of Coral Gables, Florida.[98][99][100] The Xanadu would feature a pyramid design, and was expected to cost $150 million.[100] It would have been the first themed mega-resort. Much information and many artifacts of the project are housed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas library. The Excalibur Hotel and Casino ultimately opened on the property in 1990.[101]
See also
Category:Defunct casinos in the Las Vegas Valley List of Atlantic City casinos that never opened

Outside shit

• Badu Gili, Water Light (lighting of Opera House sail) - Sydney Opera House, Sydney
• Royal Botanic Garden guided walks - The Royal Botanic Garde, Sydney - Book
• Container - Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney
• Living Colour floral displays - Sydney CBD, Sydney
• American Express Openair Cinemas: Bondi Beach - Bondi Beach, Bondi - $20 - Book
• The Rocks scavenger hunt - The Rocks - $25/team - Book
• Sunset Cinema - North Sydney Oval, North Sydney - Kid - $19 - Book
• Newtown scavenger hunt - Cuckoo Callay, Newtown - $25 team - Book
• Secret Streets of Sydney - Customs House Square, Sydney - $20 Team - Book
• Cryptic Cities - Sydney CBD, Sydney - Kid - $50/team - Book
• City Walls #3: Boundary Road (mural) - Alberta St, Sydney
• Moonlight Cinema: Centennial Parklands - Belvedere Amphitheatre, Centennial Park - Pet - $19 - Book
• Tall ship James Craig sail: Half day - 58 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont - Kid 12-16 - $120 - Book - Sat
• Sydney Tsunami Dragon Boat club - Pyrmont - book - Sat
• Wheelchair tennis coaching (open to non-wheeled people) - Alexandria Park, Alexandria - $18 - Book - Sat
• Soapbox orators in The Domain - The Domain, Sydney - Sun
• Tall ship James Craig sail: Full day - 58 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont - Kid 12-16 - $150 - Book - Sun
• Sydney Harbour Skipper's Challenge - Lyne Park, Rose Bay - $194 - Book - Sun
• Achilles Running Club Sydney (disability running group) - Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney - Sun

Market shit

• Rozelle Markets - Rozelle Public School - Pet
• Kings Cross Market - Fitzroy Gardens, Potts Point - Pet
• The Grounds Markets - The Grounds of Alexandria, Alexandria
• Street Food Markets - Addison Road Community Centre, Marrickville - Sat
• Crows Nest Market - Ernest Place, Crows nest - Sat
• Northside Produce Market - Civic Park & Community Centre, North Sydney - Sat
• Carriageworks Farmers' Market - Carriageworks, Eveleigh - Pet - Sat
• Newtown Market - Newtown Square, Newtown - Sat
• Ramsgate Organic Foodies Markets - Ramsgate Public School, Ramsgate Beach - Sat
• Paddington Markets - 395 Oxford St, Paddington - Pet - Sat
• Glebe Markets - Glebe Public School, Glebe - Sat
• Brewery Yard Markets - Central Park Sydney - Sun
• That Great Market - East Lindfield Community Hall, East Lindfield - Sun
• Frenchs Forest Market - 5 Frenchs Forest Road East, Frenchs Forest - Sun
• Marrickville Market - Addison Rd Centre, Marrickville - Pet - Sun
• Bondi Markets - Bondi Beach Public School, Bondi Beach - Sun
• North rocks market - Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, North Rocks - Pet - Sun
• Potts Point Market - Fitzroy Gardens, Potts Point - Pet - Sun

Tasty shit

• Summer of Gin - Grain Bar, Sydney
• Le Goûter afternoon tea - Soirée Bar, Sydney - $25 - Book
• Valentine's high tea au chocolat - Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, Sydney - Kid - $69 - Book
• High tea at The Calyx - The Calyx, Sydney - Kid - $65 - Book
• A Taste of Chinatown - Meet at La Mesa, Haymarket - Kid - $99 - Sat
• Ferris wheel dining - Luna Park, Milsons Point - $399 - Book - Sun SOLD OUT this weekend
• Cruise Bar's Month of Love - Cruise Bar, Sydney - $69 - Book - Sun

Art shit

• A Fraglie State - 107 Projects, Redfern
• Black Eye: 5 Years A Gallery - Black Eye Gallery, Darlinghurst
• Materialists - The Shop Gallery, Glebe
• Carl Milton: The Human Element - Surry Hills Library, Surry Hills
• The lady and the unicorn (tapestry) - Art Gallery Of NSW, Sydney - $18 - Book
• Anthony Bennett: In Sanity We Trust – Piermarq, Paddington - Book
• It's Only Words - East Sydney Community and Arts Centre, Darlinghurst
• Chasing the Line Drawing (drawing) - Lavender Bay Gallery, Lavender Bay
• Fragmented Spectres - The Rocks Discovery Museum, The Rock
• Artexpress - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney
• Colours of Venice – ArtSHINE, Glebe
• Katharina Grosse - Carriageworks, Eveleigh
• Beach - Brett Whiteley Studio, Surry Hills
• Intrepid Women - S. H. Ervin Gallery, Millers Point - Kid - $10
• Jon Campbell - MCA, The Rocks
• Pieces of Us (various) - Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick
• Underworld (photography) - Museum Of Sydney, Sydney - $12 (museum entry) - Book
• Culture Under Attack - Customs House, Sydney
• Robert Mapplethorpe: the perfect medium (photography) - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney - $18 - Book
• Isaac Julien: Looking for Langston - Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Paddington
• Glorious : earthly pleasures and heavenly realms (Asian) - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney
• Unpainting (contemporary) - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney
• Play Up - Australian Design Centre, Darlinghurst
• Something Else is Alive (various)- Customs House
• Waves & Water (photography) - Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney
• Tom Blachford: Midnight Modern IV (photography) - Michel Reid Contemporary Art Gallery, Surry Hills - Sat
• On-site (various) – May Space, Waterloo - Sat
• Caroline Garcia (performance) – May Space, Waterloo - Sat
• Tannya Harricks: Shifting (landscape) – Art2Muse Gallery, Double Bay - Sat
• Colour Whisper – Thinny Lee Gallery, Edgecliff - Sat
• Obsessed: Compelled to make – Australian Design Centre, Darlinghurst - Sat
• Future Artefacts- Australian Design Centre, Darlinghurst - Sat
• Documents, Alternatives #2 - Verge Gallery, Darlington
• A studio-based practice - Verge Gallery, Darlington

Performance shit

• Metamorphoses - The Old Fitzroy Theatre, Woolloomooloo - $45 - Book
• David Williamson's Sorting Out Rachel - Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli - $73 - Book
• Limbo Unhinged - Sydney Opera House, Sydney - $65.90 - Book
• Voyage of Love - King Street Wharf, Sydney - $135 - Book
• Top Girls by Caryl Churchill - Sydney Opera House, Sydney - Kid 16+ - $103 - Book - Sat
• Strangers in Between - Seymour Centre, Chippendale - $48 - Book - Sat
• Carmen - Sydney Opera House, Sydney - Kid 8+ - $46 - Book - Sat
• El Circo - Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst - $119 - Book - Sat
• Lethal Indifference by Anna Barnes - Sydney Theatre Company, Millers Point - $60 - Book - Sat
• Opera Bites - Stamford, Sydney - $129 - Book - Sat
• BonkerZ Comedy Clubs 16+ - Star Bar Theatre, Sydney - $37.85 - Sat
• Mamma Mia! – Capitol Theatre, Haymarket - $59.95 - Book - Sun

Gig Shit

• Live music at Sofitel Piano Bar - Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, Sydney
• Baby et Lulu - Camelot Lounge, Marrickville - $44.90 - Book - Sat feb - Defected Afterparty - Marquee Sydney, Pyrmont - $36.90 - Book - Sat
• Big Merino - Coogee Diggers, Coogee - Sat
• The Grand Union plays The Townie - The Townie, Newtown - Sat
• Beauty at the ABC - ABC Centre, Ultimo - Kid - $58 - Book - Sat
• SaxBeatz & Friends - Metropolitan Hotel, Sydney - $10 - Book - Sat
• Craig Caloun's Brothers of Oz - Street Market Asian Tapas, Crows Nest - $5 - Book - Sat
• Soul Messengers at The Merton, Rozelle - The Merton Hotel, Rozelle - Sat
• Summer Jazz: Keller-Wilson-Hale + Laurence Pike) - Foundry616, Ultimo - 25 - Book - Sat
• Omega Ensemble - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney - $85 - Book - Sun
• Great Opera Hits - Sydney Opera House Sydney - $69 - Book - Sun
• Frank & Ella with The Regent Street Big Band - Camelot Lounge - $27.90 - Book - SunSOLD OUT
• Concert for Kristin - The Newsagency, Annandale - $45 - Book - Sun
• Fuchsia - Camelot Lounge, Marrickville - $17.90 - Book - Sun
• Orava Quartet - Sydney Opera House, Sydney - $99 - Book - SunSOLD OUT
• London Klezmer Quartet - Sydney Jewish Museum, Darlinghurst - $30 - Book - Sun
• Colour Fields: Sunday Sets - Museum of Contemporary Art, The Rocks - Book - Sun
• Sunday Jazz - The East Sydney Hotel, Woolloomooloo - Sun

Education Shit

• Mystery tour - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney
• Family Twilight Tours - Sydney Observatory, The Rocks - Kid - $22 - Book
• Pizza Plants - Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney - Kid - $20 - Book
• Lightbox flowers - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney
• Sydney Observatory Night Tours - Sydney Observatory, The Rocks - Kid - $27 - Book
• Bush Food Experience - WILD PLAY Discovery Centre, Centennial Parklands - $85 - Book - Sat
• Chindia: stories from the Artists - $15 - Book - 107 Projects, Redfern - Sat
• Traditional Chinese calligraphy demonstration - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney - Sat
• Absolute beginners Pencils and graphite - Art Gallery NSW - $65 - Book - Sat SOLD OUT
• Aboriginal art experience - The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney - $40 - Book - Sat
• Marketing your message - Sydney Boulevard Hotel, Woolloomooloo - Book - Sat
• Cycling in the City course: Sydney Park – Sydney Park Cycling Centre, Alexandria - $20 - Book - Sat
• Hands-on coding - Level 2, 7 Kelly Street, Ultimo - $300 two Saturday course - Book - Sat
• Warm water exercise classes - St Lukes Hospital, Potts Point - $20 - Book - Sat
• Life drawing - Brett Whiteley Studio, Surry Hills - $50 class, $270 term - Book - SatSOLD OUT till May
• Follow the curve - Brett Whiteley Studio, Surry Hills - $45 class, $240 term - Book - Sat
• Ikebana Floristry class workshop - Yuga Café & Gallery, Glebe - $75 - Book - Sat
• Guided tour: Robert Mapplethorpe- Art Gallery NSW, Sydney - $18 (exhibition entry) - Sat
• Balance bike clinics - Sydney Park Cycling Centre - Kid 3-8 - Sat
• Cantonese -language guided tour: Rembrandt and the Dutch golden age - Art Galley NSW, Sydney - $24 (exhibit entry) - Sat
• Japanese-language guided tour: Rembrandt and the Dutch golden age - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney - $24 (exhibit entry) - Sat
• Aboriginal heritage tours - The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney - $40 - Book - Sat
• Something Else is Alive tour - Customs House, Sydney - Book - Sat
• Garlic Galore with Alex Herbert - Civic Park & Community Centre, North Sydney - Book - Sat
• Discover Hawaiian spirituality - Awareness Institute, Crowsnest - $185 - Book - Sat
• Making meaning: A workshop for creating poetry by Sarah Rice - Australian Design Centre, Darlinghurst - $45.97 - Book - Sat
• Casual painting session - Haven Café, Surry Hills - $65 - Book - Sat
• Cupping: coffee workshop - Roastville Coffee, Marrickville - Book - Sat
• Drawing the collection: Make your mark - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney - $130 - Book - Sun
• Attack on Sydney Harbour: Historic cruise - Casino Wharf, Pyrmont - $85 - Book - SunSOLD OUT
• Cycling in the City course: Joynton Park - Joynton Park, Zetland - $20 - Book - Sun
• Hawaiian hula for beginners - 1/441 Pacific Hwy, Crows Nest - $150 - Book - Sun
• Satsang with Shakti Durga - 2 Crown St, Henley - $Donation - Book - Sun

Chinese New Year Shit

• Augmented reality experience - World Square, Sydney
• Lunar Lantern: The Dragon - Museum of Contemporary Art, The Rocks
• Lunar Lantern: The Ox - Circular Quay, Sydney
• Lunar Lantern: The Tiger - Circular Quay, Sydney
• Lunar Lantern: The Monkey - Circular Quay East Boardwalk, Sydney
• Lunar Lantern: The Rabbit - First Fleet Park, The Rocks
• Lunar Lantern: The Roosters Overseas Passengers Terminal, The Rocks
• Lunar Lantern: The Rat - East Circular Quay, Sydney
• Lunar Lantern: The Pig - Cadmans Cottage, The Rocks
• Lunar Lantern: The Horse - Circular Quay East Boardwalk, Sydney
• Lunar Lantern: The Snake - Circular Quay, Sydney
• Lunar Lantern: The Sheep Circular Quay, Sydney
• Lunar Lantern: The Dog - Sydney Opera House, Sydney
• Chinatown Dog Lanterns - Chinatown Dixon Street, Haymarket
• Powerhouse Museum: Chinese New Year tours - Powerhouse Museum, Ultimo - $15 - Book
• Chinese New Year at Sheraton on the Park - Sheraton on the Park - $108 - Book
• Chinese New Year high tea: Shangri-la Hotel - Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney - $55 - Book
• Chinese New Year at Hacienda Sydney - Hacienda, Sydney - Book
• Chinese New Year at Q Dining - Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour, Sydney - Book
• Chinese New Year: Luna Park - Luna Park, Milsons Point
• Lunar New Year buffet dinner at Atelier by Sofitel - Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, Sydney - Kid $118 - Book
• The Emperor's Quest - Chinese Garden Of Friendship, Sydney
• Chinese New Year dessert degustation - 12 micron, Barangaroo - $80 - Book
• Chinese New Year: Spice Temple - Spice Temple, Sydney - $99 - Book
• Chinese New Year: Jade Temple - Jade Temple, Sydney - $99 - Book
• Hopes and dreams for Chinese New Year - Chinese Garden of Friendship, Sydney
• Community performance program - First Fleet Park, The Rocks
• Frameshift - Customs House, Sydney
• Maritime Museum: Mandarin tours - Australian National Museum, Sydney - $32 - Book
• All-you-can-eat dumplings - Sydney Tower Eye, Sydney - $40 - Book
• Taking the Lead - Craft NSW, The Rocks
• Lunar New Year at Madame Tussauds - Madame Tussauds, Sydney - $42 - Book
• Lunar New Year at The Star - The Star, Pyrmont
• Breakfast With Koalas - WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo, Sydney - $55 - Book
• Jin Wu Koon performance - Market City, Haymarket
• Chinese Garden of Friendship - Chinese Garden of Friendship, Sydney - Kid - $6
• Free dog training - Ascot Ave, Zetland - Pet - BookSOLD OUT
• Single Asian Female - Belvoir Theatre, Surry Hills - $72 - Book
• Fortune Circle art installation - Market City, Haymarket
• Lunar New Year at The Galeries - The Galleries, Sydney - Kid
• Guide Dogs NSW/ACT art installation - Scout Place, Sydney
• The Star Fortune Mahjong Garden - Circular Quay, Sydney
• AYAM Zodiac Roulette and food truck - Customs House, Sydney
• Karaoke BridgeClimb (Mandarin) – Bridgeclimb, The Rocks - Kid - $383 - Book
• Lion dances and Chinese crackers - Chinatown, Haymarket
• Laduree Chinese New Year High Tea – Laduree Tea Room, Sydney - $48 - Book
• Harbourside Shopping Centre Lunar Feast on Films - Harbourside Shopping Centre, Sydney - Sat
• Lunar Feast on Films - Darling Harbour, Sydney - Kid - Sat
• KIIS1065 Take a Chance Wall - Customs House, Sydney - Sat
• Lunar New Year-inspired deluxe seafood buffet - InterContinental, Sydney - $93 - Book - Sat
• Guide Dog NSW/ACT graduation ceremony - Bligh & Barney Reserve, The Rocks - Sat
• The Star Chinese Festival of Racing -Royal Randwick Racecourse, Randwick - $10.20 - Book - Sat
• Robin Gibson Gallery: Year of the Dog - Robin Gibson Gallery, Darlinghurst - Sat
• Chinese Garden of Friendship opening ceremony - Chinese Garden of Friendship, Sydney - Sat
• Wang Lifeng: Archives of Longing - Vermillion Art, Walsh Bay - Sat
• Cuddle a Guide Dog Puppy - Pitt Street Mall, Sydney- $10 - Sat
• Chinese calligraphy: Green Square Library - Green Square Library, Zetland - Book - Sat
• Chindia - Gaffa Galllery, Sydney - Sat
• Auspicious symbols tour - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney - Sat
• Congee breakfast & Equal Area tour - 4a Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Haymarket - $20 - Book - Sat
• Dr Karyn Lai: Chinese tomb sculpture - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney - Sat
• Lunar New Year by award-winning 117 dining - InterContinental Sydney, Sydney - $99 - Book - Sat
• Something Else is Alive: Mandarin tour - Customs House, Sydney - Book - Sat
• Shifts in Japanese Materiality (various) - The Japan Foundation, Chippendale- Sat
• Grasshopper Bar Cocktail & Dumpling Class - Grasshopper Eating House and Bar, Sydney - $38.01 - Book - SatSOLD OUT this weekend
• Introducing: Jackson Farley, Shaun Hayes and Yixuan Geng - Stanley Street Gallery, Darlinghurst - Sat
• Art Gallery of NSW: Drop in and make paper pups - Art Gallery NSW, Sydney - Kid - Sun
• Dixon Street Chinese Committee lion dances – Chinatown, Haymarket - Sun
• here’s a list

Gay shit

• An Act of God by David Javerbaum - Eternity Playhouse, Darlinghurst - $54 - Book
• The Story Of The Girls – STACKS Projects, Potts Point
• Mardi Gras Cocktails - Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, Sydney
• Equali-TEA at Sir Stamford - Sir Stamford, Sydney - $79 - Book
• What’s your piece in the puzzle? - Kid - Kings Cross Library, Potts Point
• According to Otto by Wayne Tunks - The Depot Theatre, Marrickville - $32 - Book - Sat
• Playlist - Seymour Centre, Chippendale - Book - Sat
• Trevor Ashley’s Mardi Gala - Sydney Opera House, Sydney - $69 - Book - Sat
• Mardi Gras Courtyard sessions - Seymour Centre, Chippendale - Kid - Pet
• Joan - Seymour Centre, Chippendale - $35 - Book
• Mardi Gras Film Festival - Event Cinemas, Sydney - $19 - Book
• Gerwyn Davies: Fur - Australian Centre for Photography - Sat
• Was the pain worth the gain? - East Sydney Community and Arts Centre, Darlinghurst - $gold coin - Book - Sat
• The View UpStairs – Hayes Theatre Co, Potts Point - $65 - Book - Sat
• Drag Brunch - Puntino Trattoria, Darlinghurst - $50 - Book - Sun
• Mardi Gras Fair Day -Victoria Park, Camperdown - Sun
• 78ers stall at Mardi Gras Fair Day - Victoria Park, Camperdown - Sun
• Here's a gay list

Other shit

• Alphabetical Sydney: Creative Lab - Museum of Sydney, Sydney - Kid - $12 (museum entry) - Book
• Museum of Sydney scavenger hunt - Museum of Sydney, Sydney - $12 museum Entry - Book
• Hyde Park Barracks scavenger hunt - Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Sydney - $12 Museum Entry - Book
• Botanic Garden scavenger hunt - Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney - $30/team - Book
• Fleet Discovery Day - ANMM, Sydney - Book - Sat
• Life Of Vice Scavenger Hunt- Sydney Town Hall, Sydney - 18+ - $30 - Book - Sat
• Drinking Holes & Industrious Souls Scavenger Hunt - Fortune of War, The Rocks - 18+ - $30 - Book
• Sunset20°North - Barangaroo Reserve, Sydney
• Table tennis at Ultimo - Ultimo Community Centre, Ultimo
• Sundays With Pipilotti - MCA, The Rocks
• Future Park - Powerhouse Museum, Ultimo - Kid - $28 - Book
• Arctic Voices - Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney - Kid - $32(includes special exhibitions, 3d cinema, kids on deck activities) - Book
• Maratime Moustaches - Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney
• Gapu-Monuk Saltwater: Journey to Sea Country - Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney
• Mammoths: Giants of the Ice Age - Australian Museum, Sydney - Kid - $20 (includes museum entry) - Book
• Harbour sunset cruise - Darling Harbour, Sydney - $45 - Book
• Sydney Opera House backstage tour - Sydney Opera House, Sydney -$165 includes breakfast - Book
• A Museum Of Magic - Magicians Cabaret Theatre, Darlinghurst - Kid - $19 - Book
• Sydney Harbour dinner cruise & Latino show - Darling Harbour, Sydney - $95 - Book - Sat
• Morning Hoops: Saturday - KGV Recreation Centre, The Rocks - $20 - Book - Sat
• The Jews of Greece: Οι Εβραίοι της Ελλάδας - Sydney Jewish Museum, Darlinghurst - Kid - $15 - Book - Sun
• Twilight sip & sail cruise - Lyne Park, Rose Bay - $109 - Book - Sun

How the Day Unfolded

12 Questions to Ministers were answered

• Transcript can be found here

1 Question to a member was answered

• 1. PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū) to the Member in charge of the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2): Why did he draft the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2)?
  ANDREW LITTLE (Labour - list)(Member in charge of the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2)): Because, in 2016, no child in New Zealand should be living in a hovel, and it is time that New Zealand accepted a standard that no child should be getting sick or die because they cannot live in a warm, safe, dry home. This bill sets standards to ensure that every rental property is livable and will keep kids out of hospital.
  Phil Twyford: How does this bill differ from the current law?
  ANDREW LITTLE: The current law, propagated by the present Government, applies a standard for insulation that is only at the 1978 standard and requires the installation of smoke alarms. My bill requires there to be a source of heating, requires weathertightness, requires the house to be able to be ventilated, and has a minimum standard on drainage. The Children's Commissioner described the Government's current law as shameful and said that it will do little for children living in cold, damp, mouldy homes. My bill will be a whole heap better.
  

The General Debate was Held
The general debate is held every week on Wednesday after Question Time. The formal procedure for the debate is that a member move a motion that the house take note of miscellaneous business. Members have 5 minutes to speak to whatever issue they wish. At the end of the hour the motion lapses and no question is put or vote taken.
The speakers were:

Call	Member	Party	Seat	Topic
1.	Andrew Little	Labour	List	Housing, The Budget, The State of the Govt
2.	Amy Adams	National	Selwyn	The Labour Greens MOU & Government announcements in the past 4 weeks
3.	Iain Lees-Galloway	Labour	Palmerston North	Immigration
4.	Anne Tolley	National	East Coast	Welfare Reforms & Regional Development
5.	Ron Mark	New Zealand First	List	Immigration & the rise of New Zealand First at the expense of Labour and National
6.	Craig Foss	National	Tukituki	Andrew Little v Stuart Nash and East Coast development
7.	Peter Dunne	United Future	Ohariu	Children in New Zealand
8.	Sarah Dowie	National	Invercargill	Economic Growth and Development in Southland
9.	Marama Davidson	Green	List	Housing
10.	Jono Naylor	National	List	Recent Government Announcements
11.	Louisa Wall	Labour	Manurewa	Social Development & homelessness
12.	Dr Shane Reti	National	Whangarei	Government achievements and announcements

A transcript of the debate can be found – here
Private and Local Orders of the Day

• The committee stage of the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind Act Repeal Bill was completed. The debate on this non controversial bill was very quick - only 3 members took a call before the bill was agreed to and reported without amendment. The bill is in the name of Nicky Wagner (National - Christchurch Central)

Member’s Orders of the Day

• The Minimum Wage (Contractor Remuneration) Amendment Bill was read a second time. This bill is in the name of Labour list MP David Parker. This Bill amends the Minimum Wage Act 1983 to extend its provisions to apply to payments under a contract for services that are remunerated at below the minimum wage. Act and National voted against the bill but the vote was won after United Future voted in favour of the bill.
  
• The first reading of the Oaths and Declarations (Endorsing the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi) Amendment Bill was not agreed to. The purpose of this bill is to ensure that a person taking any oath set out in statute may, in addition to the words of the oath, elect to state that they will perform their duties in accordance with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
  This bill saw spirited debate including the contribution of Treaty Affairs Minister and Attorney General Chris Finlayson (National – list). Arguments in favour contended that one could swear an oath on a bible to uphold the law according to their religious belief but not to uphold the principles of the Treaty that founded our nation. The counter argument was one based on the lack of need and that government agencies already uphold the principles of the treaty during their day to day activities and are required to consider them during decision making.
  The votes were:
  

  Party	Aye	Nay
  National	0	59
  Labour	32	0
  Green	14	0
  New Zealand First	0	12
  Maori	2	0
  Act	1	0
  United Future	1	0
  Total	50	71

• The Social Security (Stopping Benefit Payments for Offenders who Repeatedly Fail to Comply with Community Sentences) Amendment Bill was read a first time. The bill was passed 61 – 60. This bill is in the name of National MP for Rodney Mark Mitchell. This bill would give the Department of Corrections the power to issue warnings to persons who have not complied with community-based sentences, with the consequence of withholding benefit payments. It has been referred to the Social Services Select Committee.
  

Debate Interrupted

• The debate on the Customs and Excise (Prohibition of Imports Made by Slave Labour) Amendment Bill was interrupted when Mark Mitchell (National – Rodney) was speaking with 9 speeches remaining. The bill is in the name of Labour’s Tāmaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare and amends the Customs and Excise Act 1996 to make goods produced in whole or in part by slave labour a prohibited import. National have indicated they will be voting against the bill.

The Biscuit Tin of Democracy
It has been a while but the biscuit tin has been dusted off and there was space for 3 bills to be drawn today. 79 bills were entered into the ballot.
The winning bills were:

• Land Transfer (Foreign Ownership of Land Register) Amendment Bill - Mahesh Bindra from New Zealand First proposes a bill that would ensure that a comprehensive register of all foreign-owned New Zealand land is compiled and made available to the general public.
  
• Residential Tenancies (Safe and Secure Rentals) Amendment Bill in the name of Green Party Co Leader Metiria Turei. This bill amends the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to strengthen tenants’ rights and promote secure, long-term tenancies.
  
• Airport Authorities (Publicising Lost Property Sales) Amendment Bill in the name of Port Hills based National List MP Nuk Korako. This bill will amend the Airport Authorities Act 1966 to provide airport authorities with greater flexibility when publicising the disposal of lost property.
  

Psephology Spotlight
Elections Concluded

• In South Africa the ruling African National Congress suffered massive losses in their worst election performance since the end of Apartheid. The municipal council elections (which are conducted under MMP) saw the ANC lose majority control of many battleground cities including Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay and minor parties now are engaging in coalition talks between the ANC and opposition Democratic Alliance over who gets to control the council. In the last election the ANC garnered 62% of the popular vote whereas this year they mustered 54%. Corruption and economic woes are attributed to the swing away from the ANC. Famously President Zuma was found by the Constitutional Court to have benefited from $16 million worth of illegal expenditure to his personal home. In another example local corruption resulted in hundreds of toilets being built, row upon row, where houses should be instead.- see 1:20 in the video The ANC have promised to do a review in preparation for the next general election in 2019 and the position of President Zuma appears to be on shakey ground. However, many factions within the party are loyal to Zuma and it is thought that it is unlikely he could be brought down without a fight. Turnout was particularly key to the election results. Significant amounts of the population are still loyal to the ANC and so express their dissatisfaction by not turning up to vote, as they will not vote for any other party. Winning these groups back by 2019 is the new priority for the ANC and the opposition is hoping to win them over by bringing new leadership to local government.
  
• The small African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe has a new president after their August 7 vote. The first round was held on July 17 and provisional results suggested that challenger Evaristo Carvalho, a former Prime Minister, had won but the result was annulled due to irregularities. Incumbent president Pinto da Costa boycotted the second round after claiming Carvalho engaged in fraudulent activity in round 1 meaning Carvalho was elected unopposed. Costa served as the nation’s first president from 1975 – 1991 and was elected again in 2011. He will leave office in early September.
  

Upcoming Elections

• Presidential elections will be held in Gabon on 28 August 2016. The president serves a seven year term and is elected via first past the post. The issue for the opposition is that given the multitude of candidates standing (14 are approved to be on the ballot) vote splitting may result in incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba sneaking back into office much like how Ondimba was first elected in 2009. Former United Nations General Assembly President and Gabonese Foreign Minister Jean Ping is considered Ondimba’s toughest competition. Ping served under Ondimba’s father who was president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009 and was involved in demonstrations against Ondimba which were broken up by police.
  
• General elections and a constitutional referendum will be held in Zambia on 11 August. At stake are 150 members of the National Assembly, the five year term of president and an amendment to the Bill of Rights. The amendment would see Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental rights inserted alongside civil and political rights. Additionally the referendum if approved would see the rules for amendments to the constitution and bill of rights changed. In the race for president Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front is hoping to be elected to his first full term in office after winning the 2015 presidential by election. He is facing a rematch with Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development who missed out on victory by 27,757 votes last time in a race that still is disputed. The election method is two round first past the post. The Patriotic Front currently has a plurality of seats (60) in the multi party National Assembly who are elected via first past the post.
  

Fact of the Day – Housing the Prime Minister
All over the world Prime Ministers and leaders receive as a perk of their office a home that they can reside in throughout their tenure. In the United Kingdom it is 10 Downing Street, The French Prime Minister calls Hôtel Matignon home, The Prime Minister of Canada gets 24 Sussex Drive while the Prime Minister of India gets 7, Race Course Road (A.K.A Panchavati). In Australia the Prime Minister has The Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney. In New Zealand it is Premier House but this hasn't always been the case.
In the early days of the New Zealand Parliament, premiers were required to find their own accommodation. This changed in 1865 when the capital moved to Wellington and the government acquired a simple 22-year-old wooden cottage in Thorndon’s Tinakori Road. This was a damp, flood-prone gully, but it was close to Parliament. A Wellington newspaper, elated by the city’s new status, thought the £2900 price ‘cheap’. An Auckland paper called it a ‘monstrous waste of public money’.
New Zealands sixth Premier, Frederick Weld, didn’t get to spend long in the house. Weld made many enemies by overseeing the moving of the capital to Auckland from Wellington as well as seeing the confiscation of more than a million acres of land from Waikato Maori. The finances of his government were precarious at best and his relations with the Governor soured over the withdrawal of British Troops. In October 1865 his government resigned after less than a year in the position.
With the arrival of the Vogel family in 1872 the house adopted the name “the casino” and consisted of 8 bedrooms with conservatory and ballroom. The ballroom got a hammering. They made Premier House the social centre of Wellington. In July 1876 Lady Vogel sent out 250 invitations to a calico fancy dress ball, ‘the most brilliant of its kind yet seen in this city’. The Vogels also imported New Zealand’s first lawn tennis set, though Sir Julius was too unfit to chase the ball far.
In 1884 the Vogels returned for another three years. Sir Julius was obese and gouty, so Cabinet often met in an office built in the house. In 1886 he added a lift to take him from the dining room up to his bedroom.
After the Vogels moved out, the government tried to sell the property. But the press and public fought back. Wellington people valued its spacious grounds as a public amenity. Only the furniture was sold. Some suggested turning the site into an old men’s home or a university, but it stayed empty. MPs’ salaries had been cut, and the Liberal ministers of the 1890s had to live cheaply. Premier Richard John Seddon lived in a modest ministerial residence at 47 Molesworth Street. ‘This isn’t at all a nice house; it is surrounded, like a nunnery, with a high and close and ugly wooden fence, and presents a dismal appearance’, a voter complained. Seddon’s son remembered it fondly as ‘a political house. Politics was the sole subject day after day – at breakfast, dinner and tea.’
The Tinakori Street residence, vacant since 1893, was leased out from 1896 to 1900, when it became a ministerial residence again.
The house’s fortunes recovered when Seddon’s deputy, Joseph Ward, moved in. Ward, soon to be Sir Joseph, and prime minister from 1906, named it Awarua House. Like Vogel, he enjoyed the good life. The Wards threw ‘at homes’, garden parties, receptions, garden fetes, balls and wedding receptions. Sometimes over 1000 people gathered there. When Governor Ranfurly dropped in for a chat, they served him whisky in special large glasses. Sir Joseph liked to free office hours for talking or socialising. So he spent the early morning in his study in pyjamas and dressing gown, signing the documents delivered by his chief secretaries.
William Massey, the house’s next lengthy occupant, renamed it Ariki Toa, ‘home of the chief’. During the First World War the Masseys used it for patriotic activities.
In 1925, Gordon Coates called Ariki Toa ‘a happy home … a haven of rest’. That year he rebuilt the conservatory and added an enclosed veranda above it. Four years later Cabinet again tried to sell it. ‘Sunless and damp, and the gardening costly and unnecessary’, an official sniffed. But again, public protests prevented a sale.
Ariki Toa’s role as the prime minister’s official house ended in the 1930s when George Forbes moved out. In 1935 the new prime minister, Michael Joseph Savage, a frugal bachelor, made the break permanent by choosing a smaller ministerial home in Molesworth Street. Three years later, dying of cancer, he moved into Hill Haven, 66 Harbour View Road, in the suburb of Northland. Prime Minister Peter Fraser decided to remain in Hill Haven throughout the 1940’s preferring its scenic outlook.
Sidney Holland preferred a place with a guest bathroom. He renovated 41 Pipitea Street in Thorndon. This brick house is close to Parliament, but its surroundings were still industrial, ‘with a brewery chimney quite close, a paint factory next door, commercial offices (B.P. Ltd) on the eastern boundary.’ The section had a small lawn in front and room for a clothes line behind, but the house was too small to entertain official guests.
Holland’s National successor Keith Holyoake also lived there. In 1966 the air was still ‘sodden with the smell of hops and malt from the brewery up the street, and jackhammers are busy tearing down Victorian ruins all around.’ But the economy-minded Holyoake dismissed all suggestions of building a new official residence. The Holyoakes put buckets under the leaks in the kitchen roof whenever it rained. Today Pipitea Street is still an important part of New Zealand politics and serves as the home of the National Party offices
Holyoake was not as eccentric as he might seem. Ministerial houses were seldom very flash. Every time the government changed, prime ministers-elect trotted around these places, often still occupied by defeated ministers and their families. In November 1972, for example, Norman Kirk and his wife, Ruth, went house hunting. Because they knew Holyoake had let 41 Pipitea Street deteriorate, they did not even bother to look at it. They chose a Seatoun house recommended by their ministerial driver.
The Ministry of Works looked after ministers’ houses. As many had been bought only to be demolished for motorways and other development, it skimped on their maintenance and furnishing. Television came to New Zealand in 1960, but the Ministry waited until 1965 before providing TV aerials for ministers’ houses. Ministers paid for their own sets until 1973, when Cabinet made them free – provided the screens did not exceed 23 inches (58 cm).
In 1976 New Zealand regained an official home for its prime minister for the first time in 40 years. Ten years earlier, Jocelyn Vogel had given Vogel House in Lower Hutt to the Crown to mark 100 years of Parliament in Wellington. Designed in 1933 by Helmore and Cotterill, it was one of the Hutt Valley’s last large houses designed for a family and domestic staff.
Prime Minister Robert Muldoon rushed to refurbish Vogel House in time for a dinner for the visiting Queen Elizabeth II in February 1977. He was our first modern leader able to offer VIPs proper hospitality. David Lange, who succeeded Muldoon in 1984, never liked Vogel House and kept his family in Auckland. He ‘camped’ in a tiny first floor apartment in the house, moaning about the staff folding the edge of the toilet paper in neat triangles, hotel-style. Finding it too far from the Beehive, he saw out his term as prime minister in a flat near Parliament.
After Michael Joseph Savage rejected Tinakori Street, it became ‘the murder house’, a children’s dental clinic. The Public Works Department raised seedlings at the front of the grounds. In 1977 the dental nurses moved out, leaving the property empty. In the early to mid-1980s the Ministry of Works repiled the building and fitted sprinklers, but it remained underutilised. Some wanted to redevelop the site, but the Thorndon Society and the Historic Places Trust defended its heritage qualities. It is a Category I historic place on the Trust register. In the late 1980s, Minister of Internal Affairs Michael Bassett decided to restore 260 Tinakori Road as an official prime ministerial residence. The conservation of Premier House, as they renamed it, was a 1990 Sesquicentennial project. That year Geoffrey Palmerand his wife, Margaret, became its first official residents.
Premier House has housed every subsequent prime minister. Some made it a family home, but Helen Clark and John Key kept their families in Auckland, using Premier House as a workday squat. ‘There’s a little corner which has the bedroom and the bathroom, and … I go into the bedroom somewhere around midnight or later,’ Clark said in 2002. ‘The alarm goes in the morning, I wander along to the kitchen, I turn on the jug and make a cup of tea. Then I’m out of there.’
Nevertheless, Premier House hosts VIPs, such as Prince William, who attended a barbecue there in 2010. It is also used by politicians and officials for meetings and is the venue for events such as awards ceremonies. Premier House was one of the few Crown-owned ministerial houses retained by the government recently after it reformed ministerial expenses, terminated many leases and put ministers on to flat allowances to cover their Wellington expenses.
Information provided by NZhistory.net.nz
Previous facts of the day: Speaker's flat, Urgency, Jernigham Wakefield, Sidney Holland and the Suicide Squad, 1951 the last majority election, The Business Committee, New Zealand's First Parliament in Auckland, 1947 Greymouth beer boycott, So goes Hamilton so goes the nation, Australia and Compulsory Voting
Standing Order of the Day - SO311 - Recommittal
A motion to recommit a bill to a committee of the whole House may be moved after the order of the day for the third reading of the bill has been called. There is no amendment or debate on the question.
Local Elections are coming
Elections for Mayors, Councils, Community Boards, Regional Council and District Health Boards will be held on 8 October.
This election will be via Postal vote after a possible internet voting trial was scrapped. Only those correctly enrolled by Friday 12 August 2016 will get their voting papers for the 2016 local elections sent to them in the mail.
Voting papers will be sent out from 16 September and must be received by the electoral officer by noon on Election Day, 8 October 2016.
Enrolling or updating your details is easy - go online at elections.org.nz, freetext your name and address to 3676, call 0800 36 76 56 or go to any PostShop.
If you want to nominate as a candidate you have until 12 August to submit your papers. For more information visit your council website or consult Vote 2016
To see the nominations so far received for most councils and authorities click here
The next members day is expected to be on August 24
To see today's order paper click here
To see business currently before Select Committee Click Here
To see past Members Day Updates Click Here