The Government needs to come clean with Cantabrians, and provide a detailed financial breakdown of the true cost of the proposed Christchurch convention centre, the Green Party said today.
The Government needs to come clean with Cantabrians, and provide a detailed financial breakdown of the true cost of the proposed Christchurch convention centre, the Green Party said today.
An indicative design for the convention centre was released today, despite the fact a business case for the project has yet to be put forward to Christchurch taxpayers.
“The Government is deliberately keeping Christchurch residents in the dark over the proposed convention centre,” said Green Party Christchurch issues spokesperson Eugenie Sage.
“We still don’t know whether there are sound financial grounds to build this kind of convention centre, or whether it’s going to be a white elephant.
“What we do know is that there are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake here, and the Government hasn’t let Cantabrians have a say over whether they think it’s worth it.
“Cantabrians should be offered the opportunity to say whether they actually want an extravagant convention centre or not, but that offer has yet to be made by the Government.
“Unfortunately, people who live in Christchurch have become used to this Government stepping on their democratic rights, and making major decisions without proper community consultation,” said Ms Sage.
