The Ratepayers’ Alliance is labelling the decision to spend $38,000 on a ratepayer-funded junket a slap in the face to Aucklanders whose rates are set to rise 5%.

Spokesperson Monique Poirier says “Auckland Council’s decision to send 16 representatives to the LGNZ conference, instead of four, and at a cost of $2,410 per head, epitomises the culture of waste at the Council.”

“Sending a delegation four times the required size is a shining example of the Mayor’s total inability to cut wasteful spending. The fact that he thinks sending less people would be seen as an ‘arrogant statement of disregard’ shows his blatant disrespect for ratepayers. Since when did the opinion of conference attendees matter more than that of the ratepayers he is accountable to?”

“Councillor Desley Simpson is bang on when she says that the Council has ‘absolutely gone over the line’ in the context of its $1 billion hole.”

“The Council should be focused on slashing wasteful spending, not splashing out on a social event in Blenheim disguised as a conference.”

© Scoop Media