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Hi Friend,

EXPOSED: New Zealand's best and worst Mayor. How does your local Mayor rank? 🥇

With media thinner and thinner, and community newspapers often reliant on their largest advertisers (i.e. councils) accountability in local government is at an all time low. But your humble Taxpayers' Union is here to help...

To kick-off local body election year, we've published Mayoral rankings – based on the responses of random samples of voters as part of our regular political polling.

The Sunday Star Times splashed the headline results (read the coverage over on Stuff.co.nz <[link removed]>)

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Friend, the verdict was not good. Barely half of the country's Mayors have a positive 'net approval' among their voters.

The country's most loved is the Far North Mayor, Moko Tepania with a 39 percent net approval score.



Coincidently... the Far North District Council / Mayor Moko Tepaia, delivered the lowest rates rise of anywhere in the country this year <[link removed]>. Perhaps a lesson there for those local body politicians who we know read Taxpayer Update 😉

Incredibly the research suggests that there are Mayors even worse than Wellington's "Night Mayor", Tory Whanau. 😲  



>>> See how your Mayor compares <<< <[link removed]>

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Good news for Brown, bad news for Whanau 🗳️

Because a higher proportion of New Zealanders live in the three big cities, the larger sample sizes for the mayors of Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington allow for statistically meaningful trend data. As you might expect, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is growing his support, while it seems Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau is turning voters off the more they get to know her. Ouch.



🚨🚨🚨 Disinformation Alert 🚨🚨🚨

Public Sector Union promote myth about 'cuts to health spending'

Imagine if the Taxpayers' Union did a survey that asserted false information in the question, and then took the media results to justify complaining about the false information. We'd never get away with it (and rightly so!).

But the Public Service Commission – the self-interested union for Wellington's back-office bureaucrats – run by a former Labour Party candidate, Fleur Fitzsimons, did just that! And Stuff lapped it up! 🤦

This was splashed on Monday's front page of Wellington's The Post (owned by Stuff): <[link removed]>

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A couple of problems with that headline and the quote highlighted.

Contrary to what the bureaucrats want you to think, health funding has actually increased under the current government.

In fact, according to the Treasury's most recent fiscal update, even when adjusted for inflation and population changes, the Government is spending more on health than ever before.

They've also committed an extra $16 billion over the next three years, on top of what the previous Government was spending on health.

The only 'cuts' are cuts to back office spending that affect (you guessed it!) the back-office pen-pushers the PSA represent.

We say, the PSA are entitled to their own opinions, but they're not entitled to their own facts. Stuff / The Post should be ashamed.

And one more thing: a 'survey' is not a poll. Polls are based on a random selection of a population. A survey participants are self selected.

If the standards applied to the PSA applied to us, we could just survey Taxpayers' Union members and get front page coverage about how everyone is supporting our campaigns! But we have too much integrity to do a PSA-style campaign to mislead the public.

Yesterday, Jordan was on The Platform to discuss the PSA's false claims. <[link removed]>

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DANGER: Chris Bishop wants to give Councils a new way to tax your home! 🏠💰



Last week, Housing Minister Chris Bishop unveiled changes to how councils fund infrastructure for new housing, hoping to speed up building homes across the country <[link removed]>.

In short, the Government wants to allow councils to 'value capture' from homes that benefit from new public infrastructure. In principle, it makes sense. In fact, value capture levies were how most of the New Zealand's infrastructure (such as rural roads) were funded in the early 20th century (they were commonly termed 'betterment levies').

Say a new road and pipeline opens up the potential for a big new housing development. It's only fair that those houses/properties pay for the infrastructure as their properties (and property values) directly benefit.

But there's a danger. Do you trust your local mayor council to decide what's good for you? 

Say your council wants to build a new cycle lane or bus way to be built near your home or something else where the council may assert there's an increased value. See the problem?

So the devil is in the detail. There needs to be strong legal and economic oversight to ensure that councils don't just use a new ability to tax to continue to grow wasteful or unwanted spending. And, while this new funding mechanism could enable much needed infrastructure to be built, if it locks-in councils as inefficient monopoly providers in the actual building of the infrastructure (where other providers may be able to deliver the same for cheaper) there is also danger.

Make no mistake, this is a 'new tax'. So your humble Taxpayers' Union will be on watch.

FEEDBACK SOUGHT: Do you support a four-year term for Parliament?

The Government announced a Bill to extend New Zealand's Parliamentary term from three to four years. <[link removed]>

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Voting is about the only time Kiwis have any control of the Government. Reducing elections by a third could seriously damage accountability – something we take very seriously.

Unlike most democracies, New Zealand doesn't have an upper house or separately elect the executive government. That's why New Zealand's parliamentary term is just three years – to be the main 'restraint' on a wayward government.

On the other hand, politicians claim they are constantly in election-mode with our three year terms, and that it may damage long-term thinking. 

I'll be frank with you, Friend. I'm against a longer Parliamentary term because I don't think letting politicians further off the reins is worth the risk. But it's an issue which splits the team's opinions, and reasonable minds can differ.

So we want to hear your views as a Taxpayers' Union supporter.

>> Click here to give feedback << <[link removed]>



Julie Anne Genter's book review for the Taxpayers' Union! 🤣

Last week, the media approached us about an incident at Victoria University's "Clubs Day" involving Green Party MP Julie-Anne Genter.

You can read The Post's summary here. <[link removed]>

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Ms Genter approached the stall of our University movement, Generation Screwed, and started berating some of our interns and volunteers who were helping out. It was the usual nonsense you'd expect from a far-left activist ("foreign shills", "billionaire funded", "Atlas propaganda" nonsense), not the sort of conversation you'd expect from an MP.



Our Comms Officer, Alex, had the quick wit to get it on tape (unfortunately the sound failed to work), but the screenshots give you an idea of Ms Genter's, errr, animation...



Given Ms Genter's very strong views about the Taxpayers' Union and our book (pictured)we asked Chat GPT to tell us what Ms Genter would say if she were to formally review the book. It was too accurate not to share with you!

The Mission: the Taxpayers' Union at 10 – Book review by Julie-Anne Genter MP

Let me be clear: this so-called “book” is the worst thing to happen to New Zealand since the Atlas Network installed the Government. The Mission is a right-wing fever dream, dripping with pro-taxpayer propaganda, designed to undermine the noble efforts of hardworking politicians (like me) who only want to save the planet… one taxpayer dollar at a time. The sheer audacity!

The chapters on government waste nearly made me throw my reusable coffee cup across the room. If you enjoy fiction, conspiracy theories, and being wrong, this is the book for you. Otherwise, compost it immediately. ⭐☆☆☆☆

What a review we can be proud of! Grab yourself a copy before the Green Party snap them all up! <[link removed]>

Enjoy the rest of your week,


James Ross
Policy & Public Affairs Manager
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

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In the Media:

The Spinoff New Zealand trembles beneath barrage of wake-up calls <[link removed]>



Newstalk ZB The Huddle: Do we need to make changes to citizen's arrests? <[link removed]>



The Post, The Press Forget a tax cut, this is the change that businesses really need <[link removed]>



The Post, The Press Julie Anne Genter accused of ‘raising voice’ at Taxpayers’ Union volunteers <[link removed]>



Duncan Garner: Are Our MPs Spending Our Money for Travel? <[link removed]>



Newsroom: This week’s bestselling books <[link removed]>



Herald Local body elections <[link removed]>



Herald Call for Wellington Water chairman Nick Leggett to resign  <[link removed]>



Herald Bay of Plenty, Rotorua mayors ranked in nationwide poll <[link removed]>



Platform Taxpayers' Union’s Jordan Williams On Misleading Claims From The PSA <[link removed]>



NZCPR Low Watt-age <[link removed]>

New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Inc. · 117 Lambton Quay, Level 4, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
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