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Taxpayers need answers for City Rail Link overspend
Responding to revelations today that the ex-CEO of Auckland’s City Rail Link thinks the expected $5.5 billion final cost could have been halved, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Tory Relf, said “if even remotely accurate, such a waste of ratepayers’ and taxpayers’ money warrants a full inquiry into how public funds were used.”
“International statistics show that New Zealand has a high per capita infrastructure spend but delivers very poor results. The City Rail Link project exemplifies this problem. Over-specification, gold-plating and scope changes kill efficient procurement and construction of infrastructure assets and this appears to be exactly what has happened here. No wonder costs blew out and it took so long to build.”
“The Taxpayers’ Union believes the waste of public funds on this project is so great that a full inquiry and accounting of the excess costs must be undertaken. We have written to the Minister for Infrastructure, Chris Bishop, calling for a full ministerial inquiry into what is increasingly looking like a gross misuse of public funds."
Zero Chargers, Zero Sense: Bin the $170m EV Blunder
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Government to scrap its $170 million EV charger programme, after revelations that no chargers have been installed and the expected environmental benefits are minuscule.
Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf, said:
“The Government has allocated $170 million for EV chargers and has absolutely nothing to show for it. A year on, not a single charger has been installed. This is a masterclass in waste.”
“Even if it were delivered tomorrow the emissions savings don't even meet the Government’s own threshold for significance, not to mention that under the Emissions Trading Scheme this programme won’t reduce New Zealand’s net emissions by even a gram.”
“There is a fundamental misunderstanding of the ETS by the government. Because of the ETS, any reduction in transport emissions here simply frees up carbon credits for other emitters to emit more. So even if the scheme removed transport emissions entirely, it would still be a waste of money as net emissions would be identical.”
“In other words, the EV chargers are an expensive token gesture. Kiwis can’t afford to throw good money after bad, especially in a cost-of-living crisis.”
“When money is tight, every dollar needs to go towards things that actually make a difference. This programme clearly doesn’t.”
“The Government should cut its losses and scrap the EV charger scheme immediately.”
Still No Ticket to Ride: Time’s Up for Motu Move Money Pit
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling for the complete scrapping of the “Motu Move” National Ticketing Solution following confirmation that the project is ‘not on track’ and under external review.
“This scheme has gone from late and over budget to totally unworkable,” says Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf. “It’s costing $650 per Kiwi household for a system that still doesn’t exist and has no clear delivery date.”
“The Government admits the project is also plagued by governance dysfunction. Taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for bureaucratic power struggles between public transport agencies.”
“The Government should adopt a simpler, proven, lower-cost solution already used overseas: contactless payments with bank cards and smartphones.”
“We don’t need to spend over a billion dollars trying to reinvent the wheel. Just let people tap and go.”
“Enough is enough. Cut the losses and bin it.”
Third Strike You’re Out: Time to Scrap National Ticketing System
The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the NZTA for the third missed launch target in nine months for their “Motu Move” National Ticketing System.
Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:
“If taxpayers’ are on the hook for an unneeded program to the tune of $650 per household, the least they expect is for the program to be launched on time.”
“All around the world, you can pay public transport fare with contactless debit and credit cards. Creating a National Ticketing system is just another useless political vanity project.”
“If the government really wanted to make things easier, it should move towards the simpler and more cost-efficient option of having transport providers offer a contactless option.”
“Everyone knows: three strikes and you’re out. NZTA’s time with their National Ticketing System vanity project is up. The government needs to can this disastrous program before it ends up inevitably costing taxpayers more.”