Dear Supporter,

He’s green, he’s hairy, and he’s coming for your kids

This week we introduced a new character to New Zealand politics – the Debt Monster.

The Debt Monster is stalking politicians of all stripes as they campaign across the country. He loves it when they spend big with borrowed money – and he knows perfectly well that it’s our kids and grandkids who will pay the price.

So far, according to the Government's own forecasts, public debt is forecast hit $109,000 per household by 2024. As if that wasn’t scary enough, we now face two months of electioneering, during which political parties will bribe voters with new spending promises, driving up debt even higher.

On Tuesday in Wellington, the Debt Monster was on the streets before sunrise to say hello to one of our most wasteful politicians:

Watch the short clip on Facebook here.

And here he is at a Green Party policy launch:

Hopefully, that new Green Party slogan refers to sorting out government debt!

The Debt Monster's presence on the campaign trail serves to remind politicians – and voters – that today’s promises are paid for by tomorrow’s taxpayers, with interest.

We'll keep you updated on any new sightings of the Debt Monster in the coming weeks (fans of Porky the Waste-hater needn't worry – he isn't going anywhere!).

Dodgy as hell: Tender quota for Māori business

Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta wants a quota of 16% of government spending on roading and construction tenders to be made exclusively available for Māori businesses.

If a Minister was found to be handing out government contracts on the basis of iwi connections, it would be considered corrupt. But Nanaia Mahuta seems to think she can avoid this accusation by enshrining the practice in government policy.

As we told media last year, when the Government issues a tender, its sole concern should be value for taxpayers – not using the procurement process as a chance to do favours for mates or politically-connected businesses.

The concept of ‘Māori business’ is ill-defined and creates opportunities for corporates to gain unfair commercial advantage over competitors based on loose affiliations with iwi. This policy will also result in lower-quality services as the Government abandons more reliable service providers in order to meet a quota.

Iwi like Ngāi Tahu and Tainui are multi-billion dollar enterprises, and already enjoy a discounted corporate tax rate. They don’t need any more special treatment.

Taniwha taxes adding 8% to cost of infrastructure builds

While trawling through council applications for "shovel-ready" funding, we came across a proposal from the Waipa District Council that allocates eight percent of the total build costs for iwi engagement. When compared to project management costs of just six percent of the budget, eight percent — or $2,000,000 — for iwi engagement is outrageous.

We even double-checked with the Council, and they confirmed the numbers.

​The Council explains the cost saying "mana whenua will be invited to be involved through co-design of some aspects in the proposal and the sharing of iwi narratives of the region." But there's a difference between inviting mana whenua to participate and handing them millions.

Greasing up local iwi so they agree to shoo away taniwha really isn't necessary, especially for a minor package of projects such as toilet facilities and playground upgrades.

We're auditing other councils' "shovel-ready" proposals to determine how widespread these fees are.

National MP caught electioneering with taxpayer funds

Taxpayer-funded billboards promoting National MP Lawrence Yule have now been deemed candidate advertisements by the Electoral Commission.

The Commission's decision was made in response to a complaint we made, on the basis that these large billboards were recently erected and therefore could not be considered an ongoing display of contact details.

As a result of the Commission's decision, money spent on these billboards will count towards Mr Yule's election spending limit.

Mr Yule claimed he had written approval to erect these billboards with taxpayer money, but now we see the Electoral Commission find against him. Either the Commission has made a remarkable u-turn, or Lawrence was telling porkies.

The question now is whether taxpayers will get their money back. That's a matter for Parliamentary Services, who, according to Yule, approved the billboard. However, now that the Electoral Commission has determined these billboards are candidate ads, Parliamentary Services needs to demand Yule repay costs for the portion of time the billboards have stood during the election period.

We've written to the Speaker of the House to ensure this action is taken.

Cabinet Office should investigate Peters’s Antarctic indiscretion

Amidst this week's scandals surrounding inappropriate behaviour from National and Labour MPs, one major story deserved more attention: Winston Peters used taxpayer funds to send two friends on a trip to Antarctica.

It’s clear that officials were uncomfortable with Peters’s abuse of Ministerial privileges, and they were worried about bumping off someone who actually had good reason to be on the expedition.

The Prime Minister must prevent this behaviour from setting a precedent. We have written to her office suggesting she immediately direct the Cabinet Office to investigate her Foreign Minister's abuse of power.

This taxpayer-funded ad campaign doesn't advertise anything

A collaboration between five – yes, five – different government agencies has resulted in an ad campaign so vague and unfocused that it is impossible to know what is being advertised.

The flagship video of the "Messages from New Zealand" ad campaign features actors and celebrities urging overseas audiences to "listen carefully to each other", "go to the library", "always be a good boy", and "seek the treasure of your heart".

Click here to watch it for yourself.

This untargeted marketing scheme is created by Tourism NZ, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, MPI, Education NZ and NZ Story (whoever they are). They justify the campaign on the basis of promoting Kiwi food, beverages and digital content overseas.

With borders closed for the foreseeable future, this campaign doesn't pass muster as a tourism initiative. It doesn't showcase any New Zealand products or educational providers. In fact, the only business we recognised in the video was the taxpayer-subsidised Rocket Lab!

Surely, in the midst of COVID-19, government agencies have better things to do than run ads for the sake of warm fuzzies. At best, this is taxpayer-funded government marketers and creatives trying to justify their own continued existence (i.e. safeguard their funding).

Government confirms plan to drastically increase landfill costs

Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage has confirmed her plan to increase waste levies by 500% between now and 2025. Like higher fuel taxes and road user charges, this tax will eat directly into family budgets via more expensive rubbish bags, higher rates, fees at the landfill, and costs passed on by businesses.

This tax hike — about $120 per year per household — will hit hardest larger families who produce more waste and tend to be poorer. It will see even more rubbish end up at riversides and illegal dumps.

The only real winners are councils, who will collect half the revenue at the expense of their residents.

The National Party are right to condemn this tax hike, but they need to go the extra step and commit to scrapping it, if elected.

Jordan chats with Leighton Smith re local councils

Jordan sat down with Newstalk ZB's Leighton Smith to discuss local councils – Auckland Council in particular – and their appalling plans to increase rates during a pandemic.

Listen to the interview here.

Have a great weekend,

Louis Houlbrooke Campaigns Manager New Zealand Taxpayers' Union