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Finance

Waterfront Stadium: Corrupt and Wasteful

¨When I look at proposals for Auckland´s waterfront stadium," says Libertarianz Finance Spokesman Greg Balle, ¨I am filled with a deep sense of dread for the New Zealand taxpayer. Trevor Mallard and Helen Clark would never fund the billion dollar stadium from their personal purses, yet they are rushing to pass the favour onto Auckland and New Zealand´s long-suffering tax victims.¨

Asked about the motives for the sudden stadium proposal, Balle speculates: ¨Labour´s insistence on a waterfront stadium could be seen as a cynical attempt to divert attention from their struggle with the illegal election spending case. The other party to benefit from stadium contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars will be Labour´s cronies at Fletcher Building, who have perfected the art of the ´public-private partnership´. They will be given huge contracts without tendering.¨

¨Hidden behind all the smoke and noise are very real maneuverings to circumvent the Local Government Act and the RMA. While ordinary citizens and businesses must abide by all the rules of petty local officials, the stadium will get special legislative attention to ease it past these regulatory hurdles. The fundamental folly of the stadium is that government employees will know better than the private sector how to build, finance and run projects like the stadium. With the RMA the state has slanted the playing field so much that only bureaucrats and their cronies can contemplate such legally fraught schemes, all to be paid for by taxes on productive New Zealanders.¨

¨A Libertarian government would abolish the RMA and encourage the private sector to proceed apace with privately-owned and financed plans." Balle concludes. ¨Without unnecessary red tape hurdles, low tax and an enterprise-friendly government, New Zealand could truly showcase the best of its architecture, engineering, building and most importantly its rugby.¨

ENDS

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