Another $2.6m for More Saudi Sheep “Barbaric”

THURSDAY 3 DECEMBER 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Taxpayers’ Union is labelling today’s disclosure by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that a further $2.6 million may be a spent on the Saudi Arabian ‘agri hub’ as barbaric. To date, the ‘agri hub’ has seen taxpayers build, kit-out and stock the privately owned farm at a cost of $11.5 million.

Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, says:

“Kiwi taxpayers chartered a 747 cargo plane to ship the last herd of sheep over. Every animal that survived the journey subsequently died in the desert or was slaughtered. What sort of government would want to repeat the exercise?"

"This all traces back to what the Minister of Foreign Affairs told the public was compensation for an apparent legal threat. The Taxpayers’ Union is still asking what the actual treat was. Our own legal advice, based on the facts which are in the public domain, is that any legal liability is fanciful. Maybe that’s why seven months later, we still don’t have answers."

"It's about time the Government drew a line under this fiasco and just walked away."

In May, it was exposed that despite the initial claim that the project was about demonstrating Kiwi know-how officials haven’t even negotiated rights of access to the privately owned farm.

ends

© Scoop Media