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Hi Friend,
Sorry to email you in the evening, but this couldn’t wait.
Tonight, on
Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive, it became
obvious Labour is walking back its earlier opposition to our campaign
calling on the Government to Cap Rates Now.
What’s happened is this: Labour MP Damien O'Connor has written to
the Minister of Local Government, Simon Watts, asking him to intervene
and prevent Waitaki District Council from hiking rates by an
eye-watering 17.0%.
This year, only Clutha is higher (hiking rates by 20.5%).
So tonight, Heather put to Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins the
obvious question: will Damien O'Connor be supporting the proposal
to cap rates?
Despite having earlier said publicly that Labour would vote against
any rates cap proposal, tonight Chris Hipkins hedged his bets!
Hipkins said:
Ah, I don’t think we’ve actually
formed a final view on [capping rates] as a Labour Party in terms of
what we’re doing actually. I’m not sure we’ve seen the details of what
they’re proposing in terms of rates caps.
Given Labour's clear ruling out of rates caps last year, this is a
very significant shift from Chris Hipkins.
He repeated the line that Labour “hasn’t made a final call”
when Heather followed up.
Hipkins even described capping rates as “good retail politics”.
Friend, after decades of council rates going up two to
three times the level of inflation, it’s not just “good retail
politics”, it’s bloody good policy!
Capping rates would finally force councils to cut waste, focus on
core services, and live within their means.
Getting Labour over the line to support rates capping would almost
certainly see National bring forward the implementation.
Right now, National have promised to cap rates, but have
pushed out the implementation. Councils are running amok, hiking rates
now to get ahead of a cap - as NZ First and ACT continue to sit
on the fence.
Labour are usually in lockstep with LGNZ (the sock-puppet lobby
group for council bosses) and have often played defence for even the
most profligate councils. The fact Labour is now feeling the heat over
runaway council rates speaks volumes.
2 minutes of your time please, Friend
🙏
Chris Hipkins is
leaving the door open to a U-turn. It’s clear Labour are weighing up
whether to support our campaign to Cap Rates Now.
So Friend, we need your voice to tell Chris Hipkins to go for it
and get on board.
Click
here to send Chris an email asking Labour to stand with ratepayers and
Cap Rates Now.
With your support, we can get Parliament to Cap Rates
Now.
Friend, 12 months ago, when we launched our ‘Cap Rates Now’
campaign at National Fieldays, the establishment mocked us for being
“unrealistic” and even “simplistic”.
Then – in front of our enormous “Cap Rates Now” truck in
Christchurch – we got the National Party on board. Simon Watts
announced National would adopt our policy to cap council rates to
inflation.
And now it seems we are on the cusp of getting Labour on board
too.
So
let’s make it happen, Friend.
Thank you for your support.
Jordan @ Taxpayers' Union.
Sent from my iPhone
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