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What is it about governments that drives them to find ever-more-inventive ways of wasting other peoples’ money? I’m not just talking about the $120 million the US government pays out every year in retirement benefits to dead employees. Nor am I talking about the $800 million budget allocated to a “Commissioner of Resilience” for New South Wales.
No, when it comes to government waste, it’s boondoggles, all the way down — with local councils perhaps the per capita biggest money-wasters of all. After all, that $120 million of payments to dead people is just 0.000000009% of the $7.3 trillion that the US government spends every year. By contrast, Auckland council wasted comparatively 300,000 times as much of its annual budget on “street improvements” that they ripped up just a few months later.
A council-led project aimed at making a West Auckland suburb safer, which led to community backlash, cost ratepayers and taxpayers more than $1.3 million.
The Henderson Streets for People trial was launched in May and included a traffic flow plan, which redirected traffic to Alderman Drive, artwork at the intersection of Great North Rd, Railside Ave and Ratanui St, a trial of bus-only lanes, and “safe shared paths” for people on bikes and scooters.
The trial was opposed by many locals and business owners, with two protests and an online petition of more than 5000 signatures.
At the time, residents labelled the trial a “nuisance” and said the changes had caused traffic “chaos”.
Huh. What would they know? They’re not town planning experts on a government payroll.
Meanwhile, people with actual skin in the game — residents, and especially business owners — are getting a harsh lesson in government planning outcomes.
Rob Norcross of Norcross Fishing World on Railside Ave, who was opposed to the trial at the time, said he “staggered” by the amount spent on the project.
“Myself and many other businesses lost a lot of revenue due to that trial – our business was down about 50 per cent during that time, on top of recovering from Covid lockdowns.
This is what happens when decisions are being made by a class who are totally protected from the consequences of their own brain-farts. Whether it’s covid lockdowns or council projects, none of the people making the decisions had to bear the costs.
New figures released under the Official Information Act from the council’s land management company, Panuku, which oversaw the trial, showed the trial cost $1.38 million.
Of that, $243,086 was spent on the design, monitoring and evaluation of the project, $182,402 was for project design and management, $59,409 was spent on communication and engagement.
So, we’re already up to half a mill. Where did the rest go?
$895,397 was paid for the construction – and removal – of the project.
So — nearly a million bucks to put it up and rip it down again, just a few months later.
By August, Panuku said the trial had been “completed”.
Stuff
By “completed”, they mean “got rid off”.
Yes, Auckland ratepayers, it took the brilliant minds at your council about three months to work out that blocking roads with concrete planter boxes is a complete waste of time and money. No matter how many pretty colours they splash on them.
