Super city costs now reach $266 million…and rising

The cost of setting up the Auckland super city has now hit $266 million, with the revelation that the Government has postponed $66 million of work on integrating computer systems until after the new Council is elected in November.

Labour spokesperson on Auckland Issues Phil Twyford said the costs were spiralling out of control.

"A month ago all that Aucklanders knew was the Government was spending $34 million on the transition. Then we learned from the Budget that costs had blown out to $112 million. Local Government Minister Rodney Hide told the House last week that costs were up to $160 million. Now we know that the real costs are at least $266 million. Where will it end?

"The Minister appeared at select committee this morning but he appeared to be incapable of giving Aucklanders a straight answer.

"He tried to argue the $26.5 million being spent on setting up the new water organisation, and the $14 million spent by Councils on work done at the request of the Government, were not transition costs.

"He also said he did not consider the $66 million of IT costs the new Council will incur next year was a transition cost.

"Who knows what other costs the Minister is hiding?

"The self-styled Minister of Ratepayers is trying to define away more than $100 million worth of transition costs.

"It is odd behaviour for a Minister who claims to be champion of transparency and accountability."

Twyford predicted redundancy costs were another likely bombshell.

"Dozens of senior council executives are going to be made redundant. That is a fact. I'm told by well placed sources involved in the transition that the cost of redundancy pay outs could be as high as $47 million, which is on top of the $266 million unearthed today.

"The Minister denied the Government has done any cost modelling on the cost of redundancies but that beggars belief.

"The Government has been running its Auckland changes for more than a year, and we are less than five months from the new Council being established. But the Minister was unable or unwilling to say what impact the super city would have on Aucklanders' rates and water charges."

ENDS

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