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Hi Friend,
Friend, you may have seen we took a little trip
to the Local Government NZ conference this week…
RATEPAYER VICTORY on Rates
Capping 🥳
Our Big Beautiful Cap Rates Now truck certainly got
heads turning at the LGNZ conference, and outside we had Local
Government Minister Simon Watts confirm that yes, rates capping would
be sorted “by Christmas”.
That means, Friend, the
legislation will be in before councils can pre-emptively increase
rates to give themselves a higher starting position. We’d call that a resounding
victory.
But the fight isn’t over yet
😤
The work isn’t done. New Zealand First said they
wouldn’t get involved in local government matters (interestingly, this
came after Shane Jones threatened to dissolve all regional
councils…), and ACT have said that spending needs to be under control
before we can think about rates caps.
That’s all well and good but there’s simply no incentive to
get spending under control if you don’t have the limit on revenue to
force councils to cut their cloth to fit the economic reality of
ratepayers.
Deputy PM comes out against councils
having "general competence" 😘
David Seymour is on
our wavelength on most local government-related issues though,
including the removal of the power of general competence from
councils.
The
power of general competence means local councils can do
pretty much anything a person can do — as long as it’s not against the
law.
Prior to
2002 (before the change) councils could only do things if a law
specifically said councils were empowered to. By definition, removing
the power of general competence would legally limited councils to
'core services' and not, say giving
$128,352 to a Māori circus school (classic Auckland
Council...).
Right now,
Christopher Luxon and Simon Watts are talking the talk about councils
needing to 'focus on core services' but the jury is out on whether
they're just jawboning, or will actually make this change to force
it.
So what comes next?
🤨
We’ll continue keeping the pressure on the
government to improve and pass this legislation. And we’ll be
monitoring the local elections closely, launching our ratepayer pledge
and voting guides (contingent
on funding! 😬) in the next few weeks – so you can see exactly
which candidates are on your side.
And if you want to show that we have support
right across the country, we
still have Cap Rates Now banners available for our
supporters.
Woke banking regulatory taxes are bck on
the menu 💳🤢
Hot on the heels of yet
more food price inflation, the Ministry for the Environment is
cooking up a new recipe to harpoon rural finance.
Enter the so-called Sustainable Finance Taxonomy,
a soon-to-be-mandatory framework so disconnected from the realities of
farming that it could see banks slap higher interest rates on every
commercial farmer in New Zealand. Incredibly, the group designing it
didn’t include a single farmer.
If it comes into force, farmers wanting a bank
loan will have to choose either hitting impossible environmental
targets (like cutting emissions-per-hectare by 86 percent for dairy
farms) to stay financially viable. It’s just not going to work
- unless their goal is solely to drive up prices.
Worse still, this is landing right as Parliament
is debating whether to scrap previous ideological banking rules —
through both the Banking Inquiry and not one, but two Members’
Bills.
Where’s the democratic accountability if
bureaucrats can just sneak in new rules behind Parliament’s back? We
say: scrap the taxonomy, and let farmers farm. Read
James’ submission here.
New Plymouth councillors caught skipping
work 🫵🐕
Our latest
investigation has uncovered a worrying trend in New Plymouth: several
district councillors are missing official meetings, sometimes without
even bothering to send their apologies.
We obtained the council’s
dismal attendance records, and the findings are clear: ratepayers
are footing the bill for representatives who often don't turn up and
in some cases, don’t even acknowledge their absence.
Try skipping work without notice in the
private sector – you wouldn’t last a week! We say Councillors should
be held to the same standard. If you’re being paid to represent your
community, you're paid to, well, show up.
Local government shouldn’t be treated as a part-time gig
with full-time perks. Ratepayers deserve accountability and
that starts with attendance. If a councillor can’t commit to the job,
they shouldn’t collect the pay.
It’s time to raise expectations.
Ratepayers need for recall elections, so communities aren’t stuck with
absentee councillors for three years. If you don’t do the job, you
should be replaceable.
Are the Public Service too ungrateful?
🥸
The latest Public Service Census is out and it
paints a pretty grim picture of who your taxpayer dollars are paying,
Friend.
On average, the Public Service is paid 30 percent more than
the private sector (the average salary is $101,700). But public
servants still aren’t happy.
Only 34
percent are satisfied with their pay. Just 30 percent think it
reflects their performance.
And
fewer than half – only 44 percent – believe jobs are handed out based
on merit.
It’s time for taxpayers to demand accountability.
And the solutions aren't hard: Tie performance to pay, cut the bloat,
and remind the public service who they’re here to serve.
Slimy
hide and seek: NZTA frog hunt costs $74,000 in
Brynderwyns 🐸🔍
Next
time you’re stuck in traffic near the Brynderwyns, spare a thought not
for the potholes, but for the frogs.
Yes, frogs.
NZTA
has confirmed it spent a whopping $74,000 paying ecologists to rummage
through the bushes looking for Hochstetter’s frogs.
The frog hunt included spotlighting,
morning patrols, and even machine-assisted "salvage" (aka digging for
frogs with an excavator!).
Tragically, two frogs were found dead, which
kicked off even more protocols and added $10,000 in costs to make
culverts more frog-friendly. Yes, really.
No word yet on whether the frogs were
grateful.
Meanwhile, you’re still dodging potholes and
waiting for roads to reopen.
Thanks for all of your support. It's been a
massive week with some great wins, and none of it would have happened
without you.
Have a great weekend.
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