Gordon Campbell: On The Costs Of Regulating Cost, And Burkina Faso As A Role Model

Funny how “blow-out” gets so readily applied to cost escalation in the provision of public services (hospital rebuilds, the Cook Strait ferries) but when politicians get the figures wrong for their pet projects, its just a matter of opinion. Case in point : the original cost estimates for the Regulatory Standards Bill came to $18 million a year – but this week, MBIE calculations released under the Official Information Act indicate that the annual cost could be $50-60 million, or roughly three times the original figure.