“No amount of communist-style economic planning will undo the damage of the oil and gas ban,” says Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke.

“The Government wants to shield Taranaki’s economy by appointing a $600,000-dollar ‘transitional economy manager’. If only it were that easy.”

“Appointing a bureaucrat to tell Taranaki businesses how to operate won’t do the region any good, even if the appointee is also doling out taxpayer money. If that’s the plan, the Government should warn us now.”

“The most sensible way to help Taranaki would simply be to reverse the ill-conceived ban on oil and gas exploration. That way the region can continue to thrive on its own feet as it does today.”

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