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To view this newsletter online, click here. To share it on Facebook, click here. Dear Supporter, Taxpayers' Union Curia Poll: National + ACT able to form Government 📊The results of our latest scientific poll are now LIVE on our website – and it's a bombshell. Together National and ACT have enough support to form a Government. Put another way: ACT have supplanted the Māori Party to hold the balance of power.
There's also been a very telling increase in the share of New Zealanders who say the country is heading in the wrong direction. Click here to view the poll results on our website. The Government is spending $220,000 of your money on a documentary about Chlöe Swarbrick
Your humble Taxpayers' Union likes to keep an eye on the funding decisions that are periodically added to NZ on Air's website. We've found a doozy. The agency has decided to give $220,000 to a documentary "exploring the political and personal life of New Zealand's youngest MP Chlöe Swarbrick".
Using taxpayer money to promote a sitting politician should never be acceptable. This case is made even worse by the scale of the spending, the likely timing of an election year release, and the fact it's a standalone documentary – not part of a series focusing on other political parties. Our democracy should be better than this. If you want to remind NZ on Air that taxpayer money shouldn't be used to promote politicians, the email address is [email protected]. Is it time for media companies to scrutinise themselves?In the last Taxpayer Update, we revealed exclusive polling showing that New Zealanders believe Government funding for media companies undermines media independence. This presented an obvious test for the media: would they cover our poll? You won't be surprised to learn the polling was not covered by any of the outlets to have received money from the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. Fortunately, this week a new media outlet was officially launched. The Platform, founded by Sean Plunkett, has a policy of refusing Government funding, and Sean invited me on as his first in-studio guest.
I also delve into the way media companies are also propped up by big-budget public sector advertising campaigns – think "Two Shots for Summer" and "Road to Zero". >> Click here to add your name to the petition calling on the media to Pay Back the $55 Million and protect media independence <<Speaking of Road to Zero...On the basis of dollars spent per second of video, NZTA's Road to Zero ads cost the same as major Hollywood blockbusters. We've updated the first two ads so that taxpayers can watch their money being spent in real time:
Each 30-second ad costs almost $1 million in production costs alone. The cost of buying the airtime comes on top that! Exposed: The Film Commission's $58,000 Oscars junketWorking at the Film Commission must be one of the cushiest jobs in New Zealand's public sector. You're paid big bucks to wine and dine Hollywood bigwigs before giving them billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies! This week Newstalk ZB covered our exposé on how two Film Commission officials burnt through $58,000 on a single 10-day trip to Los Angeles for the Oscars. David Strong and Philippa Mossman spent $21,000 in flights and accommodation (business class for Mr Strong), and $1743 in Uber trips. At one cocktail function (pictured below) at the NZ Consulate they served around 100 Hollywood figures and bureaucrats $5152 of wine and $8648 in food and catering. Valet services were provided at a cost of $3400.
Guests including Jane Campion and producers of The Power of the Dog were sent home with custom-printed goodie bags containing Whittaker's chocolate and, for some, gifts of carved Māori cloak pins worth $10,350. At a separate drinks event for film industry figures, $1223 was spent on spirits, beer, wine, and bar snacks, again charged to the New Zealand taxpayer. On top of the near-daily wining and dining events (including the Netflix Oscars afterparty!), Mr Strong and Ms Mossman were given $115 each per day for food and incidental expenses. ACT's alternative budget takes waste seriously
Ahead of Grant Robertson's Budget next week, ACT has unveiled its own alternative set of proposals focused on reducing the size of government and delivering substantial tax relief. ACT's proposed income tax policy is a two-rate system: 17.5% for all income below $70,000, and 28% for any income above. In addition, everyone would get an Emissions Trading Scheme refund of about $250, and low earners would receive a tax offset to ensure they pay no more tax than they currently do. Just as interesting is ACT's proposed spending cuts, which could make a good menu of options for a National-led government. ACT wants to:
And here are the government entities and programmes ACT would abolish entirely:
Labour, the Greens, and the Māori Party went ballistic over ACT's proposed spending cuts – especially the "demographic" entities such as the Ministries for Pacific Peoples and Ethnic Communities. But as David Seymour pointed out, shouldn't our main government entities already be serving all types of New Zealanders? The challenge for Christopher Luxon now is to identify wasteful spending that has not already been identified in ACT's budget. We'd suggest taking a closer look at the "sacred cows" of health and transport – behind the front lines there are layers of middle management ripe for a cull. We know there are quite a few National MPs who read this newsletter – so just to make clear, we are more than happy to help National (as we would with any political party) prepare their own alternative budget. Our team are bursting at the seams with examples of government waste that can and should be cut. Show your opposition to Nanaia Mahuta by getting your own 'Stop Three Waters' bumper stickerWe know that Labour MPs are spooked about the deep public opposition to Nanaia Mahuta's Three Waters asset grab. That's why it's important that taxpayers fly the flag against the scheme up and down the country.
Thanks to thousands of Taxpayers' Union members and supporters like you who chipped into the campaign war chest, we've been steadily promoting our petition and have now built an army of nearly 100,000 New Zealanders ready to fight Three Waters. The staff and board have had their heads down this week planning the next steps to defeat the Government on this issue. After Thursday's Budget, we'll be revealing the new initiatives to take the Three Waters debate directly to the communities affected up and down the country. Watch this space... Taxpayer Talk: The Port Of Auckland – a costly political football that hasn't scored success
In 2005, the Port of Auckland was delisted from the NZX and was taken over by what is now Auckland Council. Since then, the port has underperformed, become inefficient, and lagged behind other ports such as the Port of Tauranga. Greg Smith from Devon Funds has been blowing the whistle on the issue. Last week he sat down with Jordan to discuss how a public ownership model for Auckland's port has decimated its performance, value and status – costing Auckland ratepayers dearly. Click here to listen. You can find all of our Taxpayer Talk episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or iHeart Radio. New Zealand's first 'Taxpayer Hero'? The forgotten history of Hōne Heke
A survey by Today FM recently ranked Hōne Heke as the second greatest New Zealander of all time. While he's famous for cutting down the British flag pole, modern histories tend to skim over Hōne Heke's main motivation: he was protesting new taxes! Click here to read my guest post on Kiwiblog highlighting this fascinating history. Meanwhile, in astronomy news...
A final note: next week's BudgetOn Thursday our team will be in the 2022 Budget "lock up" where we will spend the day poring through what Grant Robertson has planned for the year ahead. We already know from the size of the "fiscal envelope" Grant Robertson has given himself, this year's Budget will have more new spending than any other NZ Government budget. We'll be working double speed to get you what you need to know, the winners, the losers, and – what the politicians don't like to talk about – the cost... In the meantime, have a great weekend.
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New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Inc. · 117 Lambton Quay, Level 4,
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