New Zealand First Policy Announcement.

• New Zealand First is announcing a policy to prepare a bid to hold the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch.
• Last week Victoria pulled out of the commonwealth games in 2026, as did Alberta for the 2030 games.
• The Commonwealth is comprised of 56 countries - far more than half of a majority in the UN.
• Using the fiscal planning of the 1988 Los Angeles Olympic Games, which ran at a profit, we could rightly ask the Commonwealth for financial help, and have the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch - as we once did in 1974.
• It is an opportunity to showcase Christchurch and the South Island to the Commonwealth and the rest of the world.
• Organised properly, along the lines of the Los Angeles Olympic Games, it won’t be a cost, but a benefit, with the infrastructure lasting for decades.