Worth his weight in pizzas

Apparently, pizza is a highly sought after currency in Australia. A prison gaurd was held hostage by inmates and was released in exchange for 20 pizzas. One line in the article that really concerned me, and my faith in the Australian corrections people, is that "...authorities caved in to demands for pizza."

That they "caved in to demands for pizza" when a fellow guard was being held hostage kind of worries me. Think about it from the point of view of the hostage.

Inmates: "We have a few demands, mate."

Negotiators: "We hear you, what do you want. Money, a getaway car, political freedom, whatever you want, just don't harm the hostage, mate."

Inmates: "Ok, write this down...we want five pepperoni, five cheese, five supremes, four veggies, and one with soy cheese, mate."

Negotiators: "Whoa, if we're talking pizzas, forget it, mate."

Hostage: "What the fuck! Here's my credit card, order in, mate!"

Once it was agreed that pizzas would be delivered, negotiators pushed for only 10 pizzas. But after the finger of the hostage was sent out as a warning, they "caved in" for the entire 20. The finger was later recovered from a bowl of Wendy's chili.

Unfortunately, one hostage was lost when the pizzas didn't arrive in 30 minutes or less.

After the hostage was released, and in subsequent interviews with the head negotiator, it was later revealed that the guard who was held hostage owed the negotiator money.