We deserve answers

I have publicly supported the Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) application for shovel-ready Government funding for the repairs and enhancements necessary to make Yarrow Stadium fully operational again.

Such funding would relieve or reduce the financial cost currently imposed on all Taranaki ratepayers.

This has raised questions that deserve answers for a wider audience.

Who was responsible for the shoddy engineering and signoff on the original

2002-built grandstands and why has no party been held legally, financially or morally responsible?

Have our three district mayors and councils worked collaboratively with local MPs to lobby Government to ensure this project is supported and placed ahead of individual council wishlist projects?

If the application for Government funding is unsuccessful will the TRC hand Yarrow Stadium and the financial burden back to the New Plymouth District Council and its ratepayers?

Why is it impossible for the TRC to fund a $50 million multi-purpose stadium at Pukekura Raceway instead of repairing Yarrow Stadium?

Given Yarrow Stadium was used as a political soapbox during the lead-up to the

2019 local body elections, surely some insightful investigative journalism could provide some answers for Taranaki ratepayers.

They certainly deserve them. Disclosure of interest: I am the outgoing chairman of the Taranaki Rugby Football Union.

Lindsay Thomson,

New Plymouth