Sculpture a ‘monumental waste’
Drivers entering Rotorua on State Highway 5 will see a new sign ahead 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 the Rotorua District Residents and Ratepayers’ groups, the sign warns approaching drivers: ‘‘Monumental waste ahead. Cost $743,000 and counting’’.
The sign was put in place on Sunday in protest at the Hemo Gorge sculpture and its $743,029 cost, paid for by Rotorua Lakes Council, the NZTA and other local funders.
The sculpture, originally set to cost $500,000, had been dogged by delays and design problems and was finally helicoptered into place in September, more than three years after its original installation date.
Rotorua councillor and RDRR spokesman Reynold Macpherson said the idea for the sign came initially from the Taxpayers’ Union and was intended to highlight what he called ‘‘a monument showing how that money is wasted’’.
He believed the sculpture’s final cost could be up to $1.5 million.
‘‘A horrendous amount of waste and we’ve not heard the end of this,’’ he said.
‘‘The council can’t seriously expect ratepayers to tolerate year after year of rate hikes when we’ve now literally got a monument showing how that money is wasted. This ill-advised public art project risks putting our town on the map for all the wrong reasons.’’
Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke said they were ‘‘appalled at the cost blowout’’ and, like Macpherson, believed the final bill would be higher than the stated $743,029.
He also said he believed their signage would not fall foul of either NZTA or council bylaws.
‘‘We haven’t heard from NZTA or council, so we’re proceeding on the basis it’s kosher.’’
Taxpayers’ Union executive director Jordan Williams said he believed the best antidote to wasteful government and council spending was sunlight.
‘‘We’re glad to expose to holiday period travellers how Rotorua Lakes Council and the New Zealand Transport Authority have squandered public money while so many households struggle to make ends meet, and the roads need basic maintenance,’’ he said.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick was unable to speak directly to Stuff but acting council chief executive Craig Tiriana said the sculpture was ‘‘a complex project, something never done before, and required a high level of innovation by Kilwell [the sculpture makers] to overcome challenges on the way, so it took longer than originally anticipated’’.
He said the sign was on private property and did not breach council bylaws, but ‘‘staff will need to consider whether there are any breaches to the District Plan and what, if any, action should be taken’’.