Right-wing Auckland city councillor Scott Milne, has been accused of prejudice and ignorance for claiming the Council spent $20,000 on the recent anniversary celebrations for Homosexual Law Reform, hosted by Mayor Dick Hubbard in Auckland's Town Hall. In a letter to the New Zealand Herald, Milne, of the Auckland Citizens and Ratepayers Now (ACRN) faction, criticises the “Labour/City Vision council, with unswerving support from Action Hobson councillors and the Mayor,” for “ramming through” rates rises. “And they are in full spending swing this year, with more than $20,000 of newly collected ratepayer's money invested on celebrating the 20-year-old homosexual law reform legislation,” says Milne. Lindsey Rea, Chair of the Eden/Albert Community Board has hit back, saying Milne is “ignorant” of the facts. “If he or any of his ACRN colleagues had accepted their invitations and attended… they would have heard the extensive list of sponsors and known that his quote of ‘over $20,000' was not right.” Rea says Milne is “prejudiced” as “of all the groups which Auckland City partners and spends money on, such as the Pacific community and the faith-based community, Cr Milne decides he will have a go at the gay community.” Rea congratulates the Mayor for “recognising that the Auckland gay community are citizens and ratepayers and deserve the same treatment as other communities.” Rea labelled Milne's comments as a “quick trip to the cheap and nasty side of politics.” Ref: GayNZ.com (d)