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Hi Friend,
We had an
amazing week on the road with our mayoral debates. I loved getting to
meet so many supporters, from Hamilton to Dunedin, and visiting new
parts of the country that I've not seen before.
Voting is
Open: Who’s standing with ratepayers? 🗳️
Local body
voting is officially underway – ballots are out, and we have until 11
October to make our voices heard.
Still on
the fence? Our Ratepayer Voting Guide makes it simple.
We’ve pulled together every candidate who signed our Ratepayer
Protection Pledge (thanks to the many supporters who helped us get
answers from local contenders!) and laid it all out so you can see
exactly who stands with ratepayers on rates, transparency, and
accountability.
Check
whether your local candidates have signed the pledge.
Catch up
on our mayoral debates 📺📢
What a week
it’s been! As well as launching the Ratepayer Voting Guide, our team
travelled much of the country, hosting mayoral debates. We hit
the road with debates in Hastings, Dunedin, Queenstown, New Plymouth,
and Hamilton – as well as our debate last month in Wellington –
putting the tough questions to candidates on rates, spending, and
transparency in local government.
Jordan took
the moderator’s podium in Hastings, Peter Williams fronted Queenstown,
and James kept New Plymouth’s candidates honest. In Dunedin and
Hamilton, the next generation of taxpayer champions from our campus
movement, Generation Screwed, ran the show. Once again, I was like a
proud mum watching the Generation Screwed volunteers. They’re
fantastic.
Couldn’t
make it on the night? Every debate was filmed and is now up on
YouTube. We’ve also cut together shorter highlight reels so you
can get the best bits in just a few minutes.
👉 Watch the debates
here.
Rusty fire
trucks, while chief execs cash in🔥
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) raked in a
whopping $712 million from the fire levy last year. But, while frontline volunteers are
sent out in rust-bucket trucks, Wellington executives are laughing all
the way to the bank.
Under
the Official Information Act, our investigations team can reveal
the Chief Executive is paid $503,000 a year, with the seven deputy
Chief Executives splitting $2.37 million between them.
It
doesn't stop there, though, with more than 800 back office staff on
the payroll, yet across the country, over 1 in 4 fire trucks are more
than 25 years old.
So while
staff and unpaid volunteers risk their lives in vehicles older than
some of their crew, the suits at HQ are cashing
in.
Friend, if FENZ can afford more than $500,000 for its CEO and
millions more for his deputies, they can certainly afford safe trucks
for our communities. Instead, taxpayers are being fleeced while
frontline firefighters are left stranded.
Ratepayer
Heroes: Ruapehu Council balances the books without hiking rates
⛷️
Ruapehu District Council has just pulled off
something we rarely see in local government: fixing a $700,000 budget hole
without whacking ratepayers with higher
bills.
Faced
with a massive overspend in its Community and Recreational Services,
the Council didn’t go for the easy option of hiking rates or piling on
debt. Instead, it tightened its belt, trimming back on operations,
consultancy, maintenance, and finance costs until the gap was
closed.
It’s not glamorous, but it’s exactly what
responsible councils should do. When mistakes happen, you fix
them yourself - you don’t send the invoice to ratepayers. Ruapehu has
shown that fiscal discipline is possible, and other councils should
take note.
The $44K
taxpayer funded TikTok chopper ride 🚁
I was in
Queenstown last week for the debate, and the place is stunning. If I
ever get the chance, I’d jump at a helicopter ride over the mountains
too.
But, I wouldn’t be letting the taxpayer foot the
bill.
Last
week, Christopher Luxon thought it was a good idea to spend $44,000 of
taxpayer money on a helicopter joyride over Queenstown with Australia’s
Anthony Albanese. The excuse? To “show off New Zealand’s
scenery”.
I also
understand the argument for a bit of soft diplomacy. But in reality, it simply turned
into a slick TikTok and Instagram reel for the PM’s comms
team.
No media
were invited along, so the only real audience was Luxon’s social media
followers. That makes this less about promoting New Zealand
tourism and more about taxpayer-funded PR.
With
families struggling under the cost of living, it’s an insult to expect
taxpayers to foot the bill for a vanity flight.
NEW
Taxpayer Talk with Peter Williams and Nick Stewart 🎙️
This week
on Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams sits down with financial advisor and
Stewart Group founder Nick Stewart to tackle a question too many
councils would rather avoid: are skyrocketing rates making inflation
worse?
Nick
explains how council spending flows through to households and
businesses, pushing up the cost of living just as families are already
struggling. Rates might look like a local issue, but the ripple
effects are felt nationwide.
If
you’ve ever wondered why your bills feel higher every time the council
votes through another rates hike, this episode is a
must-listen.
Listen here or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Friend, I loved being out last week meeting supporters and
seeing the impact the Taxpayers’ Union can have on local and national
politics.
Have a
great week,
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Tory
Relf
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union
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Ps.
Thanks again to all of our generous supporters who contributed to our
Local Government Fighting Fund. We couldn’t have done our Ratepayer
Voting Guide or the mayoral debates without you. If
you haven’t chipped in yet, now’s the time – every dollar helps us
hold councils to account and keep rates under control. Thank
you.
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