Commenting on the news that upgrading Wellington’s ageing and leaking pipe network could cost a billion dollars a year, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:

“After years of financial mismanagement, Wellington City Council claims that it cannot afford to maintain core services such as water infrastructure. Why then if WCC can’t afford to do the basics it is still very happy to burn hundreds of millions on vanity projects like Let’s Get Wellington Moving?

“Mayor Whanau claimed that fixing the pipes was her top priority. Up to $329 million being wasted on the town hall restoration, let alone any Central Library and Michael Fowler Centre projects, shows the reality at WCC to be very different. The five councillors facing disciplinary proceedings shortly after opposing $32 million being wasted subsidising the multinational owners of the Reading Cinema can attest to that.

“The message from struggling ratepayers is clear; stop wasting hard-earned money on nice-to-haves whilst you let the need-to-haves fall apart.”

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