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Dear Supporter,

A lot going on in the last few weeks, especially to do with Three Waters. The first half of this update covers the recent developments on that campaign to keep Wellington honest. If you want to skip ahead, the second half covers our continued war effort against government waste. The next Taxpayers' Union Curia Poll will be out and about this time next week, so keep an eye on your inbox.

Explosive legal opinion: Three Waters Bill “calculated to deceive” – Minister’s professional advisers possibly liable as a party to the deception

Last week we released an explosive Legal Opinion completed by Franks Ogilvie and reviewed by Gary Judd QC on the Government's reassurances that under Nanaia Mahuta's Three Waters, local communities and councils will still 'own' shares in the new water entities.

The lawyers don't mince words in their assessment of the situation stating: “Ministers appear to have cold-bloodedly decided to confuse Councils and ratepayers with false statements.” It's a searing condemnation of how the Government, and its advisors, have intentionally misled New Zealanders. They say the claims have been "calculated to deceive Parliamentarians, and when it becomes law, to deceive New Zealanders generally".

Gary Judd QC comments in his review of the legal opinion: “When all the lying statements are put together, as [the] opinion does, the government’s effrontery is breath-taking.”

It's clear that the Government realised that it could not convince New Zealanders that handing over ownership of local assets was a good idea. So instead Ministers have set out to redefine the meaning of the word ‘ownership’ to hoodwink Kiwis.

So have Ministers broken the law?

People making these sorts of statements would normally face prosecution under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and/or the Fair Trading Act 1986. But Ministers are not in business (i.e. "in trade") – the remedy for dishonesty is at the ballot box, not the Courts.

But the defence that applies to the politicians does not apply to the people assisting Ministers in a professional capacity. That would include, for example, members of the Ministerial Working Group on Three Waters governance and Local Government New Zealand who could be held liable as professionals providing a service and could be deemed complicit in making the untrue claims.

One of the lawyers who wrote the opinion was interviewed on "Today FM" - listen to that here.  Alternatively, you can read the full legal opinion here.

We instructed our lawyers to write to the Commerce Commission to bring this matter to their attention. The letter asks them to:

investigate and if feasible, prosecute certain people who have made or assisted in the making of misleading or deceptive claims that territorial authorities and communities will have ownership of the Three Waters “entities” under the ‘Three Waters’ scheme for New Zealand water infrastructure.

You can read the complaint to the Commission here.

Water Users' Group Judicial Review hits Court

Earlier this year, we backed the effort by the "Water Users' Group" to challenge Nanaia Mahuta's claim that the Three Waters co-governance model is required for the Crown to comply with its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. On Thursday, the matter finally hit the Court. I sat down with one of the QCs running that separate matter for our podcast (available here).

Expats living overseas for years receive Cost of Living Payment

Expats are saying "cheers" to the New Zealand Government as they pour Kiwi taxpayers’ earnings down the brain drain. 

Minister David Parker says it is too hard to figure out if someone is living in New Zealand before giving them the Cost of Living Payment as funded by you, the taxpayer! But, IRD recently spent $1500 million ($1.5billion) on a new computer system – is Mr Parker seriously suggesting that it’s not up to filtering those who are overseas? 

Is Minister Parker not across his portfolio or are his officials giving him the runaround?  IRD already gets information when Kiwis leave the country – it is used to apply interest for student loans, and to determine whether someone is tax domiciled here!

Shrugging off untold amounts of taxpayers’ hard-earned cash being sent overseas to people who left as long as twenty years ago is disgraceful.

The Government has been calling these payments ‘targeted’, but if they can’t even confine the payments to people living in the country that is a mighty big stretch of the meaning of the word. Just how big will the taxpayers’ bill be for this?

Kāinga Ora are out of control

New Zealand's bloated public service is already a beast chomping through Kiwis' taxes, but one agency seems determined to expand at a rate of knots. Kāinga Ora have hired 1,700 extra staff in the last four years and it has been revealed that they intend to hire 465 more staff by June 2023. This is the same agency Government agency that recently spent $24 million on renovating their own offices!

And what do they have to show for it? In the year June 2021 to May 2022, Kāinga Ora has added 21 net new state homes.  

I got up early last week to join Kate Hawkesby on Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - listen here.

But wait, there's more - meddling Kāinga Ora outbidding and overspending

The Government’s meddling is driving up the cost of land and contributing to the ongoing housing crisis.

By outbidding in excess of 10 private developers to purchase the land at Ferncliffe Farms, the Government is wasting taxpayer dollars and preventing healthy competition in the market between buyers who can develop the housing New Zealand needs without taxpayers having to foot the bill.

Minister Megan Woods has touted Kāinga Ora’s rule that they must spend no more than 5% more than valuation on land purchases, but when the valuations are based on wild assumptions and an inaccurate picture that rule doesn’t protect against overspend.

Officials from Housing and Urban Development explicitly told Minister Woods and Minister Robertson that ‘neither of the two valuations [for Ferncliffe Farms] reflect true market value of the site’. It is difficult to fathom why then the Government proceeded with the sale.

The Government must get out of the way of private developers who have the expertise and private capital to get developments done. Driving up the price of land and your hard-earned cash to do so is both counterintuitive and nonsensical.

One more thing

We are 100% funded by our members and supporters like you, who make our work holding the Government and councils to account. To back the mission of Lower Taxes, Less Waste, and More Transparency, click here to donate via our secure website.

Thank you for your support.

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Media coverage:

Newstalk ZB Taxpayers' Union crying foul on Kainga Ora's plans to hire more staff

Newstalk ZB Taxpayers' Union banned from Local Government NZ Conference

Newstalk ZB The Huddle: Taxpayers' Union vs LGNZ, overseas investors, mask use

Newstalk ZB Barry Soper on cost of living payment, unemployment and Three Waters

Newstalk ZB Heather du Plessis-Allan re Commerce Commission 

Today FM: Do you believe that Nanaia Mahuta lied to the NZ public about Three Waters?