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Drivers entering Rotorua from State Highway 5 will see a new sign in front of what is believed to be the world’s largest 3D-printed sculpture, and it’s not a compliment.
Installed by the Taxpayers Union and Rotorua district taxpayer and resident groups, the sign warns approaching drivers: “A monumental waste ahead. It costs $ 743,000 and counting ”.
The sign was posted Sunday in protest of the Hemo Gorge sculpture and is priced at $ 743,029, paid for by the Rotorua Lakes Council, the NZTA and other local sponsors.
Benn Bathgate / Stuff
Taxpayers Union Executive Director Jordan Williams and Rotorua Councilor Reynold Macpherson at their ‘monumental waste ahead’ sign in Rotorua.
The sculpture, which originally cost $ 500,000, had been plagued by time delays and design issues and was finally placed by helicopter in September, more than three years after its original installation date.
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Rotorua Councilor and RDRR spokesperson Reynold Macpherson said the idea for the sign initially came from the Taxpayers Union and was intended to highlight what he called “a monument that shows how that money is wasted.”
Benn Bathgate / Stuff
The Hemo Gorge sculpture was placed by helicopter in September this year, more than three years after its original installation date.
He also said that he believed the final cost of the sculpture could be as high as $ 1.5 million.
“A terrible amount of waste and we haven’t heard the end of this,” he said.
“The Council cannot seriously expect taxpayers to tolerate rate increases year after year when we now literally have a monument showing how that money is wasted. This reckless public art project runs the risk of putting our city on the map for all the wrong reasons. “
Taxpayers Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke said they were “dismayed by the cost explosion” and, like Macpherson, believed the final bill would be greater than the $ 743,029 listed.
He also said that he believed his signage would not be against the NZTA or council bylaws.
“We have not heard from the NZTA or the council, so we are proceeding on the basis that it is kosher.”
The Executive Director of the Taxpayers Union, Jordan Williams, said he believed the best antidote to wasteful government and council spending was sunlight.
Benn Bathgate / Stuff
The Hemo Gorge sculpture was airlifted to its place in September.
“We are pleased to expose to holiday travelers how the Rotorua Lakes Council and the New Zealand Transport Authority have wasted public money as so many households struggle to make ends meet and roads need basic maintenance.” , said.
Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick was unable to speak directly to Stuff But in a statement, the council’s acting chief executive officer, Craig Tiriana, said the sculpture was “a complex project, something that had never been done before and required a high level of innovation on the part of Kilwell. [the sculpture makers] to overcome the challenges along the way, so it took longer than originally planned. “
He said the sign was on private property and did not violate council bylaws, but “staff will need to consider whether there are violations of the District Plan and what action, if any, should be taken.”
