There have been conflicting claims over the amount of community support for the building of the Hundertwasser Art Centre. Some claim the majority of citizens support the project while others dispute this.
Clearly Mark Twain had a point when he said: "There are lies, damned lies and statistics."
Of the large number of submissions to the District Plan, 62 per cent were in opposition and an unscientific telephone survey of 450 people found 68 per cent also opposed the idea.
In contrast, the mayor told us that the "silent majority" and his wife supported the building. Furthermore, one of the submissions was a petition with 891 signatures in support. It was argued that if each signature was treated as a separate submission, then the number supporting the plan would increase by 890 meaning that two-thirds of the submitters were actually for the Hundertwasser, not against it.
There is a fallacy in this argument. Those organising the petition may well have asked, for argument's sake, 2000 people to sign but only 891 did so. What of the 1109 people who did not sign? Were 1109 opposed, or indifferent, or simply don't like being accosted? We shall never know. Heated debate has centred around the question of democracy. To this end, there have been demands for a referendum. So is a referendum democratic? Maybe yes, maybe no, depending on your definition. The problem here is the number of people who don't vote, which often means a minority decide the issue and those with strong views hold sway.
