Taxpayers Milked For $1.07m Cowshed Loan Creating Just 1.8 Jobs

The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that a taxpayer-funded $1.07 million cowshed upgrade in Taranaki is expected to sustain just 1.8 ongoing jobs.

Documents released under the Official Information Act request show the project received $900,000 in loan funding through the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund, despite only $120,000 in co-funding from Omuturangi 6E & 7A Ahu Whenua Trust. Large parts of the application, financial analysis, loan terms, risk assessment, and decision-making material of the loan have also been withheld.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Rhys Hurley said:

"The Government sold this as a productivity story, yet taxpayers are being used as the bank for a private cowshed upgrade that creates fewer than two ongoing jobs.”

“If this project stacks up commercially, why couldn’t the trust get a loan from a bank like they have before? And if it doesn’t stack up, why are taxpayers being asked to carry the risk?”

“Farmers across Taranaki would love help upgrading their cowsheds, but they are stuck paying rates, taxes, interest, and compliance costs. They don’t get to send the bill to Wellington.”

“The Government needs to explain why this loan was approved, what risks taxpayers are exposed to, and how many more low-value projects are hiding behind blacked-out OIA documents. Otherwise, this simply looks like another case of pork barrel politics.”

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