Dear Supporter,

Adrian Orr begs for more taxpayer money

Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr wants a funding increase of up to 30 percent to cover exploding staff costs at his department. In one financial year, he has increased staff numbers by 19, and he wants more.

If Orr is wondering why he's short of resources, he should look in the mirror.

This is the man who commissioned a report explaining why the Reserve Bank is like Tāne Mahuta, the Māori tree god. Here's a snapshot:

Since then, instead of focusing on core business, the Governor has been busy lashing out at academics and think tanks.

Oh, and he's paid more than $800,000 a year.

According to research by the NZ Initiative, the Bank is ranked the worst performing regulator. It’s difficult to imagine more money will force Adrian Orr to focus on what is important.

Electric vehicle handouts go straight to big business

The latest list of taxpayer-funded grants for electric vehicle projects were revealed this week. As usual, the biggest beneficiaries are large businesses like The Warehouse, Pak'n'Save, and rental car companies.

As I told the NZ Herald:

This is corporate welfare. Businesses already have incentives to install electric vehicle chargers, in the same way they voluntarily provide parking and other perks to customers. There's also a marketing benefit as they gain green cred. Why is it fair for a lucky few to receive taxpayer help for these commercial activities?

Even more egregious are the grants given to privately-run car-sharing and rental businesses. Providing vehicles is their core commercial purpose. This is like giving BP money to buy petrol.

The "Low Emissions Vehicle Fund" was started under the previous Government, and costs taxpayers around $7 million a year.

And it's not just cars...

Callaghan Innovation has given a $440,000 grant to a company designing an electric ferry.

If EV Maritime’s ferries are such good value, then why didn’t the company attract private investors to fund its R&D? Callaghan Innovation has pre-empted this possibility by volunteering a taxpayer handout. The grant won't even be paid back, regardless of how much profit EV Maritime makes off the taxpayer’s investment.

There’s no reason for New Zealand to be a world leader in electric ferries. Why not wait for the technology to mature, see what works in other countries, and eventually use ferries proven to be good value?

First taxpayers fund astrology, now it's homeopathy

A few weeks ago we discovered the Ministry of Health was funding treatments based on herbal remedies, prayer, and astrology.

Now, North & South reveals that taxpayers are funding NZQA-approved homeopathy courses.

The College of Natural Health and Homeopathy received $205,000 from the Tertiary Education Commission in 2019 in aid of its courses, as well as an additional $49,000 for animal homeopathy. Further taxpayer funding is provided under the First-Year-Free initiative.

In other words, the Government is making taxpayers complicit in teaching young people to be snake oil salesmen. This harms New Zealanders seeking effective treatments for their ailments, and it threatens the reputation of our public education system.

Tax and spending simplified

Sometimes the media does a bad job of educating the public on the basics of our tax system, so we're doing it for them. Click any of the images below to share on Facebook.

Memes of the week

Our Facebook page isn't all serious. Sometimes it's a bit silly, to be honest. But if you enjoy this kind of thing, click the memes below to share.

Have a great weekend,

Louis Houlbrooke Communications Officer New Zealand Taxpayers' Union