At least $15.8 million has been spent on iwi and hapū
resourcing, cultural monitoring, advisory roles and artwork
across just three major transport projects, information
obtained by the Taxpayers’ Union reveals.
The
figures come as ACT today announced a transport policy aimed
at stripping ethnicity-based requirements from
infrastructure procurement.
Official information
responses show:
- Ōtaki to North of Levin: $7.98
million (GST inclusive) on iwi and hapū resourcing,
including $2.01 million on iwi advisor
roles. - Transport Rebuild East Coast: $3.54 million
paid to iwi and hapū groups for cultural oversight and
monitoring. - Te Ara Tupua: $4.26 million (GST
inclusive) for mana whenua sculptures and
artwork.
Taxpayers’ Union Investigative Lead
Rhys Hurley said:
“ACT’s policy is exactly the
kind of reform taxpayers need on our transport projects.
Infrastructure funding should be about who can deliver the
best project at the best price, not who can tick the right
cultural box.”
“These OIAs suggest around one
percent of major transport project budgets is being set
aside for ethnicity-based requirements. Consultation with
iwi where projects affect sites of genuine cultural
significance is entirely appropriate, but that is very
different from millions being spent on ongoing advisory
roles, monitoring and artwork.”
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“This is one
reason New Zealand ranks among the top 10 percent of OECD
countries for infrastructure spending, yet sits in the
bottom 10 percent for efficiency of that
spending.”
“Road users are already paying through
fuel taxes, road user charges, rates and tolls. They should
not be paying for millions on layers of unnecessary cultural
procurement and reporting that do not make a road safer,
faster or more
reliable.”
NOTES:
The New
Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is an independent and
membership-driven activist group, dedicated to being the
voice for Kiwi taxpayers in the corridors of power. Its
mission, lower taxes, less waste, more transparency,
is supported by 200,000 subscribed members and
supporters.
