To view this newsletter online, click here <[link removed]>. To share it on Facebook, click here <[link removed]>.



Dear Supporter,



We wouldn't usually send out a newsletter in the evening, but I wanted to share today's news (including an update on the Three Waters legal challenge) as soon as possible.



There's a lot of Three Waters material here, but if you scroll through you'll also find important updates on wacky spending at Creative NZ, and a dodgy Government-backed restructure at Fonterra.



Stop Three Waters roadshow launches with a bang 🎉







Despite it being a work day, and with only a few days' notice, more than a hundred local supporters turned out for the first event of our Stop Three Waters roadshow.







Local Councillors Sam MacDonald and Aaron Keown were first to sign the official "Community Leaders' Appeal" calling on the Prime Minister to protect local democracy and Stop Three Waters.







And local ACT MP Toni Severin got big applause for committing to reversing Nanaia Mahuta's co-governance 'reforms' if ACT are part of the next Government.



Click here to view footage of the event. <[link removed]>



Tomorrow, Jordan, Connor, and Levi head to Rolleston, Ashburton, and Fairlie. On Sunday they're in Queenstown, before Peter Williams boards the "Mobile Campaign HQ" for the Alexandra–Wanaka–Gore–Balclutha–Invercargill leg. (Shout out to our friends at Groundswell who have put together the town-hall style meetings with Peter Williams!)



I'll be taking Jordan's place in the campervan for the Invercargill–Wellington leg, and I couldn't be more excited.



>> Click here to find out when we're in your town << <[link removed]>



Mahuta formally introduces Three Waters bill to Parliament







Our latest campaign push couldn't be more timely. Yesterday, Nanaia Mahuta formally introduced to Parliament the core Three Waters legislation – the euphemistically-named "Water Services Entities Bill <[link removed]>".



Far from pulling back, the legislation actually doubles down on co-governance (more on that next week – it's technical, and quite sneaky). The other surprise is that yet another layer of bureaucracy has been added to the already convoluted governance structure. New "regional advisory panels" will sit below the co-governed Representation Groups. And the new advisory panels are themselves co-governed! We're beginning to understand what Mahuta meant when she said her reforms would create jobs...



Now that the Bill has been introduced, it could pass its first reading and be referred to Select Committee as early as next week. Public submissions are likely to open soon after.



We're calling on the Select Committee to take its consultation on the road and hear from communities directly affected, face-to-face, across the country. If your humble Taxpayers' Union can do it, so can the MPs!



Doing the media's job: we've released scientific polling on Three Waters



As part of the regular scientific polling we commission from Curia Market Research, we asked New Zealanders whether water entities should be directly accountable to voters.







Seventy-six percent agreed that voters should have the power to vote out water service providers who fail to deliver good value.



Click here to see how the results break down by location, age, and political party support. <[link removed]>



Of course, Nanaia Mahuta's Three Waters regime would run roughshod over local accountability. The boards of the new water monopolies would be insulated from accountability by layer upon layer of-co-governed bureaucracy.



Have we already won the war?



Ideally, our efforts will force the Government to u-turn on Mahuta's proposals.



But if they force the legislation through, there's still a path to victory: Three Waters could do so much political damage that next year could see a change in Government, and Three Waters repealed.



So this is a major victory for our campaign:



<[link removed]>



Christopher Luxon is only making this promise because New Zealanders like you have stood up and shouted from the rooftops that local democratic control matters, and Three Waters cannot stand.



An update on the legal challenge







You may be aware that we are financially supporting the Water Users' Group's judicial review against Nania Mahuta's claims that co-governance is necessary for Three Waters for the Crown to comply with the Treaty. If you're one of the thousands of New Zealanders who've chipped in to the legal fund <[link removed]>, thank you.



We have an update. This is from Stephen Franks, one of the lawyers leading the court challenge:



On Thursday 4 August, we are headed to the High Court. This interlocutory hearing is to argue for the Crown to release the advice the Minister relied upon to say co-governance is required for Three Waters.



You may recall that Crown released Cabinet Papers last year that disclosed some of this information. And then tried to get us to delete it once they realised that we had used the information in our Statement of Claim. 



The Crown is now arguing that they could disclose it, but only to our lawyers. You won't get to see it. We don't think that is right. If they are going to give co-governance over $185 billion, we think you should be able to see the reasoning (if there is any).



This won't be our only day in court. We still have the substantive argument to go - that co-governance is not required as part of the Three Waters scheme. We don't have a date for this hearing yet. But our legal team have made an application to the court to get this dealt with as soon as possible.



If you want to understand more about the background on this case (or read the Statement of Claim), check out the Litigation FAQs here <[link removed]>.



You funded a ballet called 'The Sl*tcracker'







In light of Budget 2022 throwing even more money at arts grants, we decided to take another one of our regular looks at where this money ends up.



This time our Researcher, Levi, examined the "Creative Communities" grants funded by Creative NZ and doled out by local councils.



Here is a small sample, in this case all projects in Wellington:







I wish we were making this up: taxpayers are forking out for escort exhibitions, 'dismantling e-waste for fun', pictionary, queer and trans drawing classes, interpretive dance, music courses for 'womxn and femmes', a ballet called 'The Sl*tcracker', and a literal clown show.



Click here to view the full list, adding up to more than $400,000 in Wellington alone. <[link removed]>



Law change for Fonterra could jack up prices and suffocate competition







Have you seen the price of cheese lately? Squeezed households may be alarmed to learn that the Government is considering a proposal that could send prices further into the stratosphere – and cripple our economy at the same time.



Click here for my summary of how Damien O'Connor is quietly changing the rules to shield Fonterra from healthy competition. <[link removed]>



COVID “service recognition” awards cost $5 million







We often protest 'tokenistic' Government initiatives, but this time it’s literal. A select group of individuals deemed by the bureaucracy to have made a special contribution to the COVID-19 response will be given an expensive pat on the back by the Prime Minister’s department.



The Prime Minister has said <[link removed]> that the awards will take the form of lapel pins. So how is this costing $5 million? How many lapel pins are they buying?? Of course, the real cost will be the bureaucratic administration of the awards, and the catered ceremonies.



The first group up for awards is apparently MIQ workers. But we already have a way of recognising the efforts of public sector workers: we pay them competitive salaries. As far as we can tell, no MIQ staff are asking for a glorified participation award.



This newsletter is getting long...



Finally, a few important taxpayer stories for weekend reading:



- Government blames COVID-19 for 46 percent increase in communications staff <[link removed]> (Newshub)





- NZ loses top score for budget transparency <[link removed]> (BusinessDesk)





- The good, the bad and the outrageous of public record-keeping in NZ <[link removed]> (The Spinoff)





- And in case you somehow missed it... Co-Governance: the Crown and the Mahuta Dynasty <[link removed]> (The Platform)











Have a great long weekend,





Louis Houlbrooke

Campaigns Manager

New Zealand Taxpayers' Union



<[link removed]>



Media coverage:



Stuff  Adrian Orr may be happy to speak up, but there's more we need to hear <[link removed]>



Homepaddock  Public funding of political parties political poison <[link removed]>



Stuff  Sci-fi won't help with hard calls on climate change <[link removed]>



New Zealand Herald Populism’s big dive across the ditch <[link removed]>



New Zealand Herald What Australia and NZ teach each other <[link removed]>



RNZ  Political commentators Jones & Thomas - Budget, Climate plan & Aus new PM <[link removed]>

Homepaddock  Bad timing for tax <[link removed]>



Stuff  Forget Luxon's National, it's ACT which is set to make an impact <[link removed]>



Stuff  'Is trippy-dippy Chloe Swarbrick actually the cool MP? I thought I was' <[link removed]>



Homepaddock  Backwards Budget <[link removed]>



Stuff  Without hearing it, I'm confident the Budget hasn't addressed these issues <[link removed]>



The Spinoff  Budget 2022: what chance a surprise? <[link removed]>



NZCity  Latest research suggests New Zealanders may want the Government to tighten its purse-strings <[link removed]>



RNZ  Season 2 | Episode 13: 17th May 2022 - Party People <[link removed]>



Newstalk ZB  Newstalk ZB Wellington 11am - Item 2 <[link removed]>



The Platform  Is the jig up for Three Waters? <[link removed]>



BusinessDesk  The govt can't spend its way out of this hole <[link removed]>



RNZ  Producer of Chloe Swarbrick documentary responds to ACT backlash <[link removed]>



The Working GroupThe Working Group Weekly Political Podcast with Russel Norman, Jordan Williams, & Damien Grant <[link removed]>



Homepaddock  Redpeace hates cows <[link removed]>



Kiwiblog  Chloe hagiography under fire <[link removed]>



The Country  The Country Full Show: Monday, May 16, 2022 <[link removed]>



The Platform  Sean Plunket interviews Jordan Williams from The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union <[link removed]>



Radio NZ  Political commentators Morten & Te Pou <[link removed]>



Radio NZ  Re-Platformed: radio outcasts make their own outlet <[link removed]>







-=-=-

New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Inc. - 117 Lambton Quay, Level 4, Wellington 6011, New Zealand

This email was sent to [email protected]. To stop receiving emails: [link removed]

-=-=-



Created with NationBuilder - [link removed]