KEY POINTS:
Ratepayers and taxpayers like to think their financial contributions are spent wisely and thriftily. Often, they are disappointed. Sometimes, however, they see frugality carried to extremes even they would not envisage. Such is the case with an Auckland Regional Council manager's order to staff not to take council cars on to the new Northern Gateway toll road except in emergencies, a policy also adopted by Work and Income.
At a first glance, their determination to get the absolute maximum benefit from the money they spend might seem very admirable, especially in straitened economic times when everyone is watching their pennies. But more than anything, preventing staff from using the toll road smacks of pettiness. Quite simply, the public does not expect local or central government executives, out of some sort of deference, to go to such extremes. Nor will it particularly appreciate the time and petrol wasted by using the toll-free road, all for the sake of saving $2.
Use of the Northern Gateway is to be monitored by the ARC during its first month of operation, so an analysis can be done on its benefit to the council. Presumably, this will include a detailed exploration of the likes of petrol expended and time lost in using the winding coastal route. Again, this is over the top. Staff time wasted in using the toll-free route will be multiplied by this exercise, and any money saved by not paying the toll will be more than spent on production of the analysis and the added fuel bill.
If the Northern Gateway ban is meant to be an example thriftiness, it is undone by the inherent inefficiencies. Some other areas of spending may warrant examination but this does not. The executives responsible for the toll-road edicts should lighten up.
