MEDIA RELEASE
Corporate welfare takes flight in Kapiti
14 JUNE 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Responding to Kāpiti Coast District Council’s decision to subsidise a private airline, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Louis Houlbrooke says:
“This is a classic case of corporate welfare. The Council has turned Air Chathams, a private, profitable business, into
a charity case.”
“Regular flyers like Councillors and Chamber of Commerce members will benefit, but it will be at the expense of the
general Kāpiti ratepayer, who is far less likely to get their money’s worth from these flights.”
“Air New Zealand clearly decided the airline was too expensive to maintain, but apparently good business sense goes out
the window when it’s the council spending ratepayer money.”
ENDS