While we a fuel tax, Council spends $260k of our money on a mirror

2 AUGUST 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff needs to front up and explain how he can justify introducing new taxes and levies when the Council has $260,000 to spend on a 2.4-metre-diameter mirror to hang above a CBD street.

Jo Holmes, an Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson, says “While Aucklanders are struggling to make ends meet and pay the Council's new regional fuel tax, the Council is mocking the poor with this sort of grand scale vanity project.”

“While public art has a place, blowing a quarter of a million dollars on a single installation is a total waste of money. There are far higher priorities than a giant mirror, especially for a Council that claims it needs new taxes to fund infrastructure.

According to the NZ Herald, even the mirror’s designer, Catherine Griffiths, was surprised the cost had escalated from $80,000 to $260,000. “This Council has more of our money than sense. Even on something as simple as a mirror it apparently cannot deliver on budget,” says Ms Holmes.

“It really would be a laugh if it wasn’t us ratepayers picking up the tab. If Mr Goff wonders why we can't afford better infrastructure, he should look in the mirror.”

ENDS

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