MEDIA RELEASE

MYERS PARK TANIWHA NEARLY HALF A MILLION DOLLARS (AND COUNTING)

30 MAY 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance is slamming Auckland Council's cancelling of suburban art projects, as a result of a $110,000 cost blow-out of the Council's moving taniwha sculpture in the CBD. The project is set to now cost ratepayers $460,000.

Jo Holmes, Spokesperson for the Ratepayers' Alliance, says:

"Auckland Council can't even build a sculpture on time and on budget. This cost blow-out means that communities in Mt Albert and Pukekohe will go without."

"The whole way Auckland Council funds public art needs an overhaul. In Wellington, the Council works with a private sculpture trust to co-fund work people will actually enjoy, without breaking the bank. That's the model we need here."

Notes:

• The sculpture, which will be located in Myers Park in the CBD, will cost ratepayers $460,000, which is $110,000 over its initial budget.

• As a result of the funding blow-out, two projects of $70,000 and $50,000 will be cancelled in Mt Albert and Pukekohe.

• A briefing paper prepared by our sister organisation, the Taxpayers' Union, shows that Auckland Council and its CCO's have the most valuable collection of art in the country, at $276,981,903.

ENDS