Hundertwasser gift still on offer in Whangarei

Over 160 Hundertwasser supporters crowded into Whangarei District Council to watch the council debate a motion remove the Hundertwasser Wairau Maori Art Centre proposal from those to be considered for the redevelopment of the old Northland Regional Council Building.

The Hundertwasser designed overhaul of the NRC building was first offered to Whangarei over twenty years ago and in 2012 WDC signed a contract to proceed with it. However earlier this year the council voted to reject the HAC and invite new proposals for the location. After reviewing the submitted proposals against a matrix the two highest ranked proposals were a proposal by Prosper Northland Trust to build the the Hundertwasser designed building but with a much reduced ratepayer cost and a project named `Harbourside` encompassing a martime museum and digital displays, somewhat like the Museum of City and Sea in Wellington.

Those in favour of the motion argued that the Hundertwasser project had an unfair start on the Harbourside project and that the previous HAC proposal had already been rejected by the council. Those against argued that the proposal had been accepted into the assessment process in good faith and the additional $5million in external funding and 10 year underwriting of costs made it a substantively different proposal. The motion was rejected by 8 votes to 5 after an often-heated debate.

Mayor Sheryl Mai followed up with a motion to proceed with both the HMWAC proposal and the Harbourside proposal. She said the city had a great opportunity and should accept the $10 million gift represented by the HMWAC proposal and also gain the benefit of the Harbourside proposal. This was rejected 8 votes to 5.

Finally Councillor McLachlan moved to put the proposals to a referendum in March. This motion was passed

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