Responding to news that crown infrastructure delivery agency, Rau Paenga, is yet again opposing the release of documents concerning their legal battles over the money pit Metro sports centre project in Christchurch, Connor Molloy, Campaigns Manager at the Taxpayers’ Union, says:

“It’s bad enough that the Government is pursuing this white elephant that has seen hundreds of millions poured into it and continual cost overruns but the fact that it isn’t willing to be upfront with public projects and justify itself to taxpayers is utterly ridiculous.

“The Metro sports centre in Christchurch, the last remnant of infrastructure investment after the 2011 earthquakes, has run over budget and over deadline, reminding Christchurch residents of the lunacy of depending on the public sector for efficient, timely construction. Christchurch deserves to know why they should still support this increasingly burdensome pet project, but Rau Paenga has run roughshod over the public’s right to information and the truth, also denying access to documents concerning a request for an extra $212 million to finish the project earlier this year.

"Too often, projects of this magnitude surpass both timelines and budgets, leading politicians to succumb to the sunk-cost fallacy and pour additional funds into seemingly doomed endeavours. The new Government must prioritise transparency to ensure that major projects are not veiled in secrecy. Taxpayers deserve to know whether they are receiving value for money."

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Gordon Campbell: On The New Government’s Policies Of Yesteryear

Winston Peters is routinely described as the kingmaker who decides whether the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded, but equally important role as the scapegoat who can be blamed for killing taxes that his senior partners never much wanted in the first place. Neither Ardern nor Robertson for example, really wanted a capital gains tax, for fear of Labour copping the “tax and spend“ label they ended up being saddled with anyway. Usefully though, they could tell the party faithful it was wicked old Winston who killed the CGT. More