Our fundraising team gave 100 plus attendees to its Celebrity Debate a night to remember as a team of politicians battled a media team on the topic – FAKE NEWS IS ALIVE AND WELL IN NZ.

Dame Annette King was in full witty mode moderating the debate. A true professional, she fielded a barrage of comments from both sides, and of course, not showing any Labour bias.

The politicians – Justin Lester, Maryan Street and Paul Eagle all gave as much as they received from the media line up of Dave Armstrong, Brent Edwards and Simon “Swampy” Marsh.

Did you know that Matariki the Whale was in fact Justin Lester out for a swim? He challenged us by asking were there any photographs taken of him and the whale together? No. He rested his case.

The audience voted by noise volume and decided the win went to the politician team. While everyone was having a great time, $3,400.00 was raised toward the upkeep of the Hataitai Bowling Club. Special thanks to all the sponsors who provided items for the silent auction held on the night and all the supporters.