Wellington City Council is set to decide in secret whether to use $32 million of ratepayers’ money to buy the land under the Reading cinema from its current owners - a multinational firm with real estate holdings valued at over half a billion dollars worldwide - and lease it back to them.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“The Reading cinema’s owners are doing just fine all over the globe, so why in Wellington are residents being forced to fork out for a $32 million corporate handout whilst their city’s pipes crumble, rates are hiked and community centres are shut down?

“Whether meetings are in the Council chamber or over a $1,400 luxury meal paid for by hardworking ratepayers, secrecy is always the name of the game when it comes to this dodgy deal.

“Wellington City Council’s culture of secrecy isn’t hiding this rort from anyone, and Councillors need to front up to the public over how they’re wasting Wellingtonians’ hard-earned money.”

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