Hijacked
Family First NZ is labelling a decision by Auckland Council’s events group (ATEED) to “defund” Auckland’s Santa Parade as “Scroogey” and a politically correct hijack of one of the city’s most iconic annual events. “Despite being a major event that has attracted hundreds of thousands of children for years, and which should automatically qualify for funding consideration, the agency is thumbing their nose at this family event in favour of other events such as the Chinese Lantern Festival, Diwali and the Pride Parade,” national director Bob McCoskrie said. “It seems that an event to celebrate Christmas is no longer deemed acceptable and worthy of recognition.”