Media Release

13 February 2015

Blowout Makes Bozos of Local Government Commission

A cost blowout for the proposed Wellington supercity amalgamation shows the Local Government Commission can't be trusted to get its facts right, says Hands Off The Hutt.

LGC chairman Basil Morrison announced yesterday that the original estimated transition cost for the proposed amalgamated council had jumped from $184 million to $210 million.

“It seems the LGC was advised of potential cost ‘errors’ by the external consultants who contributed to the proposal,” said Hands Off The Hutt co-leader Chris MacKay.

“Basil’s brushed these errors off, but the reality is they’ve added an extra $16 million to the bill for something no one wants. It also means the payback period would increase by another year to nine years.

“That’s nine years to pay back a debt on a total cost even the LGC can’t be sure of. The $210 million is still a best-case figure and doesn't include interest costs or contingency. We’d bank on a figure of $300 million being much closer to the mark.”

The LGC blamed its external consultants for getting the numbers wrong, adding it had received an “apology” for the botch-up.

“And it’s the LGC we’re supposed to trust to get the facts it’s putting to the public right,” said Mr MacKay. “What this shows is the LGC has no idea what it’s doing. Not only is it getting its facts wrong, it doesn’t know when it’s time to bin a monumentally bad idea.”

ENDS

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