MEDIA RELEASE       19 June 2009

Statement from David Thornton.

Ratepayers should not be expected to pay for costs of Queen’s Wharf.

Test for Auckland Transition Agency.

The decision by Auckland City Council to fund the Queen’s Wharf development from ratepayers’ funds is totally unimaginative and totally unacceptable.

Harbourside property is the most valuable in the country and the opportunity exists for a variety of commercial activities to operate on Queen’s Wharf in conjunction with a passenger terminal and an events centre.

Commercial leases for such operations will produce regular income over time which could go a long way to paying off the capital costs that Auckland City want to put on to ratepayers.

Funding the capital cost could be from a bond issue with interest payments met largely from income from the leases.

Even if the whole cost could not be covered this way at least the residual cost to ratepayers would be significantly less than will be the case under the Auckland City decision.

This decision will in any case be subject to approval from the Auckland Transition Agency – and will be a test of its intentions in relation to levels of rates increases under the new Auckland Council supercity.

There can be no doubt that a ‘party central’ will be a great tourist attraction during RWC 2011, but all councils need to remember that ratepayers do not have bottomless pockets and that alternative funding ideas need to be explored to cover the cost of all new expenditure.

Ends.

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