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Hi Friend,

This week, your humble Taxpayers' Union are exposing Waipā District Council, asking why Selwyn let the kids make decisions, and it's bad news for the Government in our latest Taxpayers' Union Curia poll.

Selwyn's childish consultation debacle 🎨

Last week, we uncovered that Selwyn District Council has been caught mixing feedback from children with real submissions from adults in its big "Future Selwyn" survey data that was presented to Councillors.

It turns out, kids as young as seven helped shape Council policy!

Our research team uncovered that submissions from schoolchildren weren't separated from the adult responses <[link removed]>, so Councillors had no way of knowing whether a submission came from a ratepayer or a Year 3 student fresh from the playground.



Sure, it’s great to get kids involved in local politics.

But this isn’t a colouring contest. It's about infrastructure, housing, and how ratepayers' money gets spent in the area.

Imagine little Liam’s dream of more playgrounds being considered with the same weight as your submission on road maintenance.

Unless they were looking for crayons and pictures, it seems hard for the councillors to know who the submissions came from! 

Selwyn Mayor Broughton is already in the naughty corner for planning a 42% rates hike over the next three years. Friend, maybe they all need to go back to school.

Selwyn residents deserve adult conversations about adult decisions. When ratepayers are footing the bill - they should be the ones being heard.

Waipā's $800K spin machine 🎭

Our research team have been poking around and uncovered something rather staggering: in the past nine months, Waipā’s Comms and Engagement team has racked up $799,750 in salary payments <[link removed]>.

Friend, that’s almost $800,000 spent on spin while the basics like rubbish and roads are ignored.

This is the same council currently hiking rates by an eye-watering 14.8 percent. And what do ratepayers get for this money? Branded tote bags? Heartfelt Facebook videos?

Here’s the kicker: according to their External Communication and Engagement Strategy, only 17 percent of respondents think the Council is acting in their best interest. 



Waipā Council isn’t listening to their community, spending money on more communications and engagement rather than focusing on core essential services. 

If Waipā truly wants to regain public trust, it can start by putting ratepayers first.

NEW POLL: Labour on more seats than National for the first time since January 📉📈

Bad news for National in the latestTaxpayers' Union-Curia Poll as Labour would now be the largest party in Parliament.

Labour gained 3 seats to take them to 44, while National remains unchanged on 42 seats - BUT the centre-right could still form a government with the support of New Zealand First. They would hold a predicted 62 seats (down 1 seat from last month) to the centre-left's 60 seats (up 2 seats from last month).



Labour is up 1.6 points to 34.8 percent while National is down 1.1 points to 33.5 percent. ACT is down 0.4 points to 9.1 percent, while the Greens are down 0.9 points to 8.2 percent. New Zealand First are down 1.3 percent to 6.1 percent, while Te Pāti Māori is down 0.6 points to 3.3 percent.



For the minor parties, TOP is on 1.8 percent (+1.3 points), Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.1 percent (+0.7 points), New Conservatives are on 0.7 percent (+0.7 points), and Vision NZ is on 0.6 percent (+0.2 points).

Luxon is still the preferred candidate for PM, although down from last month to 20.3 percent (-4.2 points). Chris Hipkins is down 1.5 points to 18.5 percent.

However, for the first time since October 2024, Cost of Living has been replaced as voters' top issue.



The Economy more generally is the most important issue to voters at 20.2 percent (+3.7 points), followed by the Cost of Living at 18.1 percent (-8.3 points), Health at 11.9 percent (-5.0 points) and Employment at 5.8 percent.

<< See the full poll results here >> <[link removed]>

Join us to tell Minister Watts to Cap Rates Now 🧢🏠

Earlier this week, we launched our new campaign at National Fieldays, calling on Local Government Minister Simon Watts to introduce Australian and UK-style rates caps to limit annual rate increases to inflation.

More than 10,000 people have already signed the petition, and we have an exciting update.

Thanks to a generous donor, everyone who signs the petition is in the draw to win their rates bill back 💸

<CapRatesNow.nz>

We've talked to thousands of people at Fieldays and hear the same story time and time again.

Across the country, double-digit rates hikes alongside growing Council staff numbers, daft vanity projects and fewer core services being delivered.

If you haven't already - Sign the petition ✍️ <CapRatesNow.nz>

Napier ratepayers are facing a hike of 20 percent, along with Gore, Upper Hutt, Hastings... The list goes on and on. 

Under our proposal, councils will still be able to fund genuinely important projects. They’ll just have to justify the cost and get community backing - ensuring accountability, transparency, and putting ratepayers first.

Taxpayer Talk: Sir Bill English on the future of Super 🦸‍♂️

Sir Bill English is retired, but don’t let that fool you. He’s still got strong opinions and zero chill when it comes to wasteful government and outdated Super rules. On Taxpayer Talk, he says keep the pension, but lift the age and the standards.

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You can listen to the episode on our website <[link removed]>, or on Apple Podcasts, <[link removed]>Spotify <[link removed]>, iHeart Radio <[link removed]> and all other good podcast apps.

<[link removed]>

As always, thanks for making the work possible, Friend.


James Ross
Head of Policy & Legislative Affairs
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union





























In the Media:

CambridgeNewsCouncil Defends Comms <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZBThe Huddle: Will the Paris Agreement hold up over the years? <[link removed]>

RNZThe Panel with Patrick Phelps and Georgie Stylianou <[link removed]>

StuffHow would farmers vote if an election were held today? <[link removed]>

The PressNational bus card delayed for third time <[link removed]>

The PostMotu Move delayed again as Snapper contract expiry date looms <[link removed]>

SchoolNewsSchool spending scrutinised <[link removed]>

The PlatformTory Relf on the $10,000 Taxpayer-Funded Farewell for a School Principal <[link removed]>

1NewsNationwide public transport card delayed again, minister ‘concerned’ <[link removed]>

MSNThe David Seymour ‘bots’ debate: Do online submission tools help or hurt democracy? <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZBJordan Williams: Polls are needed year-round <[link removed]>

Waikato TimesParties, Pilates, private cars: State-school spending busted by auditors <[link removed]>

NZ HeraldPolls show Government suffers minimal political damage from pay equity shock <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZBHeather du Plessis-Allan Drive: Full Show Podcast 06 June 2025 <[link removed]>



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