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Happy Monday Friend, Tax 'relief' this week (if you can call it that)No doubt the big story the Government will want the media focus on this week is their tax reductions finally coming into force. But sadly, it's not really tax relief when New Zealanders are still paying a higher average rate of tax than under the early years of Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson. Thanks to the failure to adjust tax brackets for inflation since 2010, Kiwis have been forced into higher and higher tax brackets – even when earnings haven't changed in "real" (inflation-adjusted) terms. This is called "bracket creep" or "fiscal drag".
$49 is what Nicola Willis needed to deliver for the average worker. Unfortunately she is shortchanging New Zealanders giving them less than half of what is needed to make up for 14 years of stealth tax hikes. So while this week's changes are welcome, the Government must go a lot further and faster to cut wasteful spending and deliver more meaningful tax relief. Yet another failed mega-merger 🏥💸
Remember when the Labour Government decided to centralise the health system into a bureaucratic monolith in the middle of a pandemic? Well it won't come as a surprise to anyone after seeing the boondoggles with the centralisation of our polytechnics and the attempted Three Waters power grab that the new health mega-bureaucracy is burning money at a rate of knots. Overspending by $130 million every month, Health NZ was on track for a $1.4 billion deficit – $700 for every household in the country. Despite the billions spent, and 3000 extra backroom paper pushers hired, health outcomes continued to decline and report after report slammed the bureaucratic mess the Government had created. Rather than sitting on his hands, credit must be given to Health Minister Shane Reti for sacking the Board and putting in a commissioner to sort out the agency's finances and turn its performance around. And it's not just central government bleeding cash... Ratepayers fork out for 'Rebel Business School' rort 🕴️
If you're wondering what your council is spending money on that necessitates a double digit rates hike, you may want to check if they're funding the 'Rebel Business School'. What sounds like a formidable educational institution to teach people how to run a business is drenched in controversy. Their 10-day unaccredited course has optional attendance for "graduates" and has consistently failed to meet delivery and attendance targets. Taking money from productive businesses through higher rates, only to give it to (and this is a generous description in the circumstances) a "pop-up business creche" is not how you create a vibrant local economy. Even Christchurch City Council's economic development wing is questioning the group's value, and has withdrawn funding "due to delivery targets not being met." Other councils should follow suit. Auckland Council spent $280,000 on this grift, Napier City Council spent $29,000 and taxpayers have stumped up more than $1.35 million! Rather than pay for "optional attendance" qualifications certificate printing, councils and government would have been better off slashing red tape that makes just getting a business off the ground such a bureaucratic nightmare in the first place. Check if your council is funding these grifters here. With councils seemingly desperate to spend ratepayer money on anything except core business, one MP has decided to do something about it. MP wants to stop councils from considering emissions in consenting 💰🔥
Sick of seeing councils waste millions of dollars on unsuccessfully trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ACT MP and farmer Mark Cameron has told councils to 'get in behind'. The Taxpayers' Union support the Bill as it rightly recognises that reducing emissions is the role of central government and, due to how our Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) works, almost anything councils do in the climate change space is completely pointless (see below). The ETS sets a fixed cap on the amount of emissions that can occur each year. This cap is based on the total amount of emissions (from things like car exhausts) minus any removals (such as from forestry). If one council decides to block the consent on a new factory because it would be powered using a coal boiler, that simply means someone else can emit more instead. I explain this in more detail here.
Speaking of getting councils back under control... No, 1News, referendums are not a 'legal loophole' 🤯🔦
In some sad news following the Tauranga election that one of the newly elected councillors was undergoing medical treatment at the hospital, one reporter decided to insert anti-democracy propaganda into the story. The reporter stated that the ability for local residents to petition against and hold a referendum on the introduction of a Māori Ward was a 'legal loophole'. This implies that a technicality in the law allowed this to happen and that it wasn't intended – that's simply not the case. In fact, it was explicitly written in the law before Nanaia Mahuta hijacked local decision-making and removed the ability for local communities to decide their own electoral arrangements. This biased and misleading reporting is exactly why people are losing trust in the media. To top things off, here's what was written in small text at the very bottom of the story: "LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air" Seriously, taxpayers are the ones paying for this drivel. Fortunately, the new Government is in the process of restoring local democracy – watch my tussle with Willie Jackson on the matter here.
Taxpayer Talk – MPs in Depth with Dana Kirkpatrick🎙️🎧
This week on Taxpayer Talk, Connor sat down with National Party MP for the East Coast, Dana Kirkpatrick. Dana defines herself as staunchly East Coast, having been born and raised in Gisborne. She comes from a farming family, has worked in journalism, local government, and the health sector, and has previously been involved with a number of community organisations. Dana shares what drove her to become an MP, what she hopes to achieve during her time in Parliament, and gives an insight into what she enjoys doing outside of politics, namely gardening. Listen to the episode on our website | Apple Podcasts, | Spotify | iHeart Radio That's it for this week. Thank you for your continued support.
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Democracy prevails in Tauranga 🗳️🌟
More than three years after Nanaia Mahout shamefully stripped Tauranga residents of their right to a democratically elected council, and then doubled down and denied that right again in 2022, the city has finally returned to democracy. Hallelujah.
Our local government spokesman, Sam, congratulated former olympic rower and mayor-elect Mahé Drysdale on his victory and welcomed the return of democracy – even if it had to be pried out of the iron grasp of the unelected commissioners who had taken a liking to power without accountability.
We reminded Mahé that every dollar his council spends must first be taken from a hardworking ratepayer and that he should spend it as carefully as he would his own money.
Mahé and his team must focus on getting the basics right, not continuing the attitude of the power-hungry commissioners who were more concerned with ideological pet projects than doing the basics well.
But rather than celebrating the return of democracy, one taxpayer-funded journalist was busy trashing the sacred idea that it's people, not politicians who should set the rules of the game.