Public Toilet? More Like Public Rip-Off
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union can reveal, through a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request to the Far North District Council the total cost of the construction of a single public toilet at Rangitāne Reserve in Kerikeri.
The final location had to be signed off by both local hapū and Heritage New Zealand, with excavation carried out under the watchful eye of both a cultural monitor and Heritage NZ representatives.
The project ended up costing ratepayers $157,821.43—with more than $30,000 eaten up by compliance and red tape alone. This includes:
$5,000 paid to local Hapū for a Cultural Impact Assessment,
$5,198.90 to Northern Archaeological Research for survey and assessment work, and
$19,732.21 for consents, charges, project management, and monitoring.
Taxpayers' Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:
'We've now got to the point where even a single toilet needs a army of consultants, cultural monitors, and bureaucratic sign-offs.'
'This is a textbook case of red tape strangling local infrastructure. It's not just motorways and housing being held up anymore—it's reached the public loos. '
'Councils are sinking more money into ticking boxes than delivering outcomes. Cultural impact assessments, archaeological surveys, live monitoring—none of it comes cheap, and most of it is wildly disproportionate to the size of the job. This toilet block ended up costing more than a house deposit. That's not just absurd—it's indefensible.'
'Slashing the project cost a bit lower isn't good enough when Far North ratepayers are staring down the barrel of a 11.43 percentage rate hike. If councils are going to keep hiking rates year after year, the least they can do is deliver infrastructure without blowing the budget on red tape.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Far North District Council ordered to pay former CEO Blair King $210,000
The Far North District Council has been ordered to pay more than $210,000 to former chief executive Blair King. Photo: RNZ/Peter de Graaf The Far North District Council has been ordered to pay more than $210,000 to former chief executive Blair King, who resigned in 2023 less than a year into the role. The council's legal costs relating to King's departure case are even higher, adding up to just over $220,000. The figures were revealed to RNZ this week via a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request. They do not include other costs, such as staff time or expenses incurred recruiting King's replacement. The six-figure payout continues an unfortunate tradition at the council, where only one of the past four chief executives has left without an employment dispute and a hefty settlement. Some occurred when a new chief executive was hired, or had their contract renewed, shortly before a local election then fell foul of incoming councillors. Clive Manley, who was dismissed by then Far North Mayor Wayne Brown, received a severance payment in 2008 of $248,000. The reason for his departure was never disclosed. His successor, Dave Edmunds, who was rehired by Brown's council just four days before the 2013 council elections, went on "temporary leave" a few months after John Carter was voted in as mayor. In January 2014 it emerged Edmunds had left the council but the reason for his departure, or whether he had received a payout, were not revealed. However, the council's annual report, released in November that year, showed a severance payment of $193,846. Councillors then employed Colin Dale, the former head of Manukau City Council, as acting chief executive until a permanent replacement could be found. In 2017 the council hired ex-Air Force Group Captain Shaun Clarke. While councillors opted not to renew his contract for another two years from 2022, there was no employment dispute around Clarke's departure and no payout. King, the former head of Tararua District Council, was hired at the end of 2021 and started work in March 2022. According to an Employment Relations Authority ruling released late last year, King formally resigned in February 2023, alleging a "toxic" environment and being "ghosted" by councillors. Moko Tepania. Photo: Peter de Graaf/RNZ The authority found the relationship breakdown between King and then newly elected Mayor Moko Tepania started at a meeting in Kaikohe in November 2022, though accounts differed as to exactly what happened at that meeting. King argued he had been constructively dismissed and the council's behaviour had created a "toxic work environment", while the council filed a counter-claim alleging he had breached good faith obligations by failing to engage properly. The authority found fault on both sides, dismissing the council's counter-claim and some of King's complaints. However, the authority sided with King by finding he was subjected to "an unjustified disadvantage" during the Kaikohe meeting. The authority also found the council had failed to engage with King after a confidential follow-up meeting called to discuss his future with the organisation. The exact figure for the settlement paid to King, according to the council, is $212,750.00. The total legal costs were $220,115.21. Tepania said both parties had come to a settlement, and no further comment could be provided. The council's current chief executive Guy Holroyd, who previously headed Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust, said it was not appropriate to comment on an employment matter. King was contacted for comment but had not responded by publication time. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
13 hours ago
- Scoop
Revealed: Invercargill Consultant Bill Tops $7.3 Million
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union can reveal under Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request that Invercargill City Council spent $7,334,394 on consultants and legal services in just three years. The spending includes fees for everything from strategy consultants and cultural engagement advisers to legal firms and planning experts. Taxpayers' Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, says: 'Ratepayers are forking out over $7 million to consultants while basic council services remain under pressure. When you need a consultant to tell you how to build a playground or put up signage, something has gone very wrong.' 'This is exactly the sort of out-of-control spending that's driving up rates and leaving residents worse off. Too often, councils hide this under the vague label of 'expert advice' but the rates bill ends up in the letterbox of every ratepayer.' 'Consultants don't come cheap but Invercargill ratepayers shouldn't be treated like an ATM every time council wants to outsource its thinking. The Council needs to be forced to focus on core services through rates capping now."
The Spinoff
17 hours ago
- The Spinoff
Golf Wars 2: The golf course strikes back
Auckland Council thought it could get rid of one of its 14 golf courses. It's learning a harsh lesson in the power of the putt. Richard Hills seemed cautiously optimistic as he talked last month about the council's plans to pull off the hardest task in local government, and get rid of a single golf course. The North Shore councillor and Tom Mansell, the council's head of sustainable partnerships, made a robust case for change. They needed to transform much of the park occupied by Takapuna golf course into a wetland if we wanted to avoid a repeat of the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods, where two people died and homes and businesses were washed out in the adjacent Wairau Valley. Political support was swinging in behind their plan. Hills pointed to positive noises from local National MPs Dan Bidois and Simon Watts. Local boards seemed to be backing the idea too. But there were flickers of doubt. Laughs that betrayed hints of nervousness. Small asides about Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act requests to respond to; letters being sent by golf advocates. Deep down they knew even a bipartisan effort to save lives, homes and businesses from nature's fury wasn't enough to overcome the intoxicating lure of drives, chips and, indeed, putts. Over the last month, golf has mounted a fierce rearguard action against the council's flagrant efforts to protect the local community. Its campaign has been bolstered by local media, which has devoted several hundred words to the perspective of a woman who thinks her dog will immediately start mainlining duck droppings if the council creates a wetland on the golf course. The golf course's operators have been pushing an alternative plan, which they claim will retain an 18-hole course while still providing enough drainage for 500 million litres of water. Officials have questions about that plan's buildability, but the course operators possess an ally in Wayne Walker, an Albany councillor who's made a career of opposing council proposals. He's attended several public meetings, where he's shockingly aligned himself with people saying no to the council's plans. The list of people saying no keeps growing. It's not just Walker and the golf course. Golf NZ is saying no. Harbour Sport is saying no. The dog is saying no. It's got to the point where even people who used to be saying yes are starting to say no. Earlier this week, Bidois and Watts released a statement noting the 'considerable public opposition to the original proposal and the alternative plan put forward by the golf course'. The Kaipātiki Local Board, which covers the area where the course is located and was once seemingly onside with the council's flood mitigation efforts, now appears to be reconsidering its position. On current trajectory, soon only Hills, Mansell and the ducks will be saying yes. If this sounds familiar, it's because it happens any time any council anywhere tries to remove a single fairway, green or, indeed, rough. There are 43 golf courses in Auckland. The council owns 13 of those. Most are big enough to fit a small town's worth of houses. Many are rented at peppercorn rates. But when the council even started looking funny at the Remuera Golf Course, the Ōrākei Local Board extended its lease until 2091. In 2019, the Albert-Eden Local Board tried to turn nine holes of Chamberlain Park into needed sports facilities. Half of the board members got voted out a few months later. In a just world, things would be different this time. Taking away nine holes of Takapuna Golf Course wouldn't just give people a place to play cricket; it might actually save their lives. But the council is learning the hard way there's no power in local government stronger than a local retiree's will to spend eight hours haphazardly smacking small white balls in roughly the direction of a hole. Last time I gave the council's redevelopment plans a 50-50 chance of success. Those chances are now 25%, and dropping like a drive upon a perfectly manicured Takapuna green.
