Christchurch Mayor Sideshow Bob Parker and his merry band of council supporters agreed to stump up some $2million for the Ellerslie International Garden Show back in November 2007.
Essentially Sideshow Bob bought the naming rights and some vague 'organisational services'.
But now the Christchurch City Council want to change the name! The council says it wants to 'rebrand' the event to 'clearly reflect Garden City values'.
So why waste $2 million buying the naming rights in the first place? Why not just develop a local garden show using the resources of the Christchurch City Council and the local community?
It's staggering that Sideshow Bob and his council mates appear to have got away with this ludicrous folly - certainly the local media are not asking any hard questions.
The Christchurch Press, which is keen to see the council sell off its housing stock to the private sector, has remained silent.
Meanwhile the Christchurch Star is actually calling for name suggestions!
The only winners out of this are the original owners of the Ellerslie Garden Show. The number of people attending the Auckland event was declining each year and the show was copping a lot of flak for simply becoming a commercial vehicle for the garden trade to promote its wares.
But then old Sideshow Bob came along with a cheque for $2 million and we're laughing all the way to the bank!
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