REVEALED: South Taranaki’s $1.43 Million Walkway Makeover While Council Runs a Deficit

The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal South Taranaki District Council is spending $1.43 million (GST inclusive) upgrading Stark Park in Eltham, despite ending the 2025/26 financial year with a $440,000 deficit while neighbouring Stratford District Council recorded a net operating surplus of $3.4 million.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigative Lead, Rhys Hurley, said:

“South Taranaki is running a deficit, being forced to dip into its investment fund, yet somehow still has $1.43 million to give a perfectly acceptable footpath a facelift. Perhaps the Council should take a few pointers from its neighbours on balancing the books before beautifying its walkways.”

“New landscaping, public art and logo rebrands might be nice to have, but they can hardly be called essential when ratepayers have been slapped with a rates rise almost twice the rate of inflation.”

“Multiply this across the country and you see exactly why, whatever the result on Saturday, the incoming government must Cap Rates Now. It will force councils to spend on roads, pipes and the essentials over another million-dollar makeover funded by ever-increasing rates.”