Responding to Wellington City Council pausing the Golden Mile revamp after warnings the cost could blow out from $139m to $220m, Wellington Ratepayers’ Alliance Spokesman James Ross said:

“It’s not normal for projects to regularly overshoot their budgets by 60 percent anywhere except local government. Every idea Wellington City Council touches blows out because its capital budgeting process is unfit for purpose. What’s being done to fix this underlying failure at council?”

“Years of disruption will shutter Wellington’s CBD. Residents don’t want that or the $2,750-per-household price tag they’ll have to pay for the privilege, and it doesn’t take a six-figure review to tell you that.”

“The new council were half-right to pause the Golden Mile. Now’s the time to can the project entirely, alongside other failed money sinks like the $4,000-per-household Town Hall fiasco.”