‘Junketrobillia’ auction

Act leader David Seymour is auctioning his piece of “junketrobillia” from a brief taxpayer-funded trip by two senior MPs to Japan when the All Blacks played there. Speaker Trevor Mallard and shadow leader of the House Gerry Brownlee flew to Japan business class and spent about 48 hours there between November 2 and 4, at a cost of $24,000. The trip included meetings with political and business leaders, promotion of academic links between the nations, and watching the All Blacks beat Japan’s Brave Blossoms. Seymour has been critical of what he called a junket that had more to do with watching sport than talking diplomacy. In a tongue-in-cheek post on the auction site Trade Me, Seymour is offering a Brave Blossoms scarf at a “buy now” price of $1000. “Trevor Mallard and Gerry Brownlee went on a $24k 24-hour diplomatic mission to Tokyo when the ABs just happened to be playing there and all I got was this scarf . . . Trev tried to buy my silence with the gift of an authentic Canterbury Brave Blossoms scarf from the trip. Since he’s the Speaker of Parliament it was kind of an offer I couldn’t refuse, but you can benefit as the owner of this unique piece of Kiwi junketrobillia, and raise money for a great cause.” Proceeds go to the Make A Wish Foundation.