What did all the investors have in common?

The Herald reports:

A 10-year, $6.7m Rotorua council investment into a sewage sludge technology that provided no return reinforces councils should not try to act as businesses, a local government expert says.

A ratepayer representative says, in her opinion, the venture was “hugely ill-advised” and raises questions about how the project continued so long, cost so much and had “no benefit at all”.

However, others say councillors were doing their best by ratepayers with the information they had at the time, and they can’t be judged in hindsight.

Of course they can and should be judged. They cost Rotorua ratepayers almost $7 million.

On top of the council’s $6.7m, the previous National government contributed about $3m and Crown Research Institute Scion contributed about $1.85m.

What do they all have in common? None of them were spending their own money. Not a single investor had skin in the game. Its easy to be convinced that something should be invested in, when there is no consequence to you for getting it wrong.