Council wasting more of our money

Elaine from Bayview

Hi Neighbours
I've just received an email from the Ratepayers Assn. and thought you might be interested.  It's about an "art" installation in Auckland - a huge round mirror hanging between buildings.


Dear Elaine
You will recall my last email was about the ridiculous quarter of a million dollar mirror Auckland Council erected on Thursday above O'Connel Street.

I am sorry to report that, over the weekend, the mirror cracked.

This is the same mirror that was supposed to cost $80,000, but blew out to $260,000. It's already broken.

Yes it’s cracked.

You can read the NZ Herald coverage (including our comments) here: Auckland's controversial new $260,000 mirror sculpture has cracked open less than a week after it was officially unveiled.

But a Council official says there’s nothing to see here…

Auckland Council’s Arts and Culture Manager Richard McWha said the cracks were "not unexpected and typical of many such art installations".

Mr McWha told the Herald that "After installation, there has been some minor separation between the brass and the substrate, most likely due to some expansion after initial exposure to the elements, resulting in what appears to be cracks."

What claptrap. Who erects a mirror 30 feet in the air expecting it to need repairing a week later? Did no one think it would be exposed to the elements?!

We’re encouraging our supporters to email Mr McWha and the Mayor.

Tell them what you think about your money being used for the mirror.

How do you feel paying higher rates and Phil Goff's new Regional Fuel Tax so the Council has money to waste on this sort of project? Email Mr McWha and the Mayor here.