It’s a challenging time for anyone trying to run a business. Most businesses have cut their costs down to the bone, and decisions about how and where to spend money need to be made with great care.

To remain successful, businesses need to know with some certainty that the money they spend will go to good use.

The National Party understands this. When businesses buy the loyalty and goodwill of its MPs, those MPs generally stay bought.

The most offensive thing about the four Labour Party MPs who wined and dined in Sky City’s corporate box is not the hypocrisy of those MPs, but the fact that Sky City’s genuine efforts to purchase their support and loyalty have so spectacularly failed. Labour remains firmly opposed to the government’s pokies deal with Sky City.

That is why National Party MPs have been so upset at this week’s revelations. Those four Labour MPs effectively got a freebie.