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Taxpayers’ Union

The Taxpayers’ Union is a grassroots activist group, dedicated to being the voice for Kiwi taxpayers. We stand for value for money for government spending.

50+ Messages / Page

  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
April 13, 2026 at 11:28 PM

$300k of taxpayers' money on finger painting "for forest health"

Hi Friend, Further to my email last week (copied below), today the Taxpayers' Union is revealing yet more BS, sorry, University of Auckland "science" that you and I are paying for.  Remember the objective of this taxpayer fund is to "solve and protect New Zealand's bio-diversity" – and these s…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
April 9, 2026 at 8:55 PM

Science funding to save the native trees: spent on videos games and prayers

Hi Friend, In my email last month exposing the $156,132 taxpayer-funded "science" kumara patch , I said there was more to come... Today, I want to tell you about two projects – both out of the University of Auckland, and both funded from the same "National Science Challenge" pot of taxpayer mo…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
April 6, 2026 at 11:55 PM

Taxpayer Update: Pay Gap exposed: Bureaucrats cash in 🤑 | $116k council logo rip-off 🎨 | 'Everything is awesome' podcast 🎙️

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, We’re straight into it this week with the latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll. NEW POLL: NZ First support surges with best-ever Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll result ⬆︎⬆︎⬆︎ The Government has seen a significant increase in support according to…
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  Rhys Hurley · [email protected]
April 1, 2026 at 10:35 PM

EXPOSED: MBIE paying staff for daily sing-along sessions 🎶

Hi Friend, Rhys here - I'm the investigations lead at the Taxpayers' Union. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Health New Zealand was holding compulsory "Karakia" sessions during work hours. But now, our own research has uncovered something even more absurd, this time at the Ministry o…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
March 28, 2026 at 12:57 AM

Taxpayer Update: Govt funding activism 🇵🇸 | Fuel data fiasco ⛽️ | Looming fiscal reckoning 💣

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, It’s been another busy week in the Wellington bubble: the fuel crisis has dominated , but, unfortunately, we've yet again uncovered more creative ways they're wasting your tax dollar. And just to add to the drama, a new Fiscal Reality Check …
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
March 25, 2026 at 9:22 PM

So how bad is this fuel crisis, really?

Hi Friend, Look, I’m going to be frank with you. As hard as the team are working at the moment – on the “War on Waste” investigations, protecting democratic control of local water entities, and our soon-to-be-published council league tables – right now there is an economic elephant in the roo…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
March 21, 2026 at 12:18 AM

Taxpayer Update: Congratulations Mr Hipkins 🥳 | Who sits where in Wellington City? 💼 | David Farrar on how polls work 🎙️

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, This week: golden trophies for government waste, a policy win wrung out of a Minister, our new report on the Green's proposed Wealth Tax – Green with Envy – plus the country's best political pollster sits down with Peter Williams for a podcast …
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  Porky the Waste Hater · [email protected]
March 16, 2026 at 5:31 AM

From Parliament: The 2026 Jonesie Waste Awards @ 7pm 🐷

Hi Friend, Forget the Oscars! The most anticipated red carpet awards show of the year is about to kick-off! 🏆 The 2026 Jonesies – celebrating the "Best of the Worst" of Government Waste – will be streaming from Parliament at 7 o'clock! Every year, the Taxpayers' Union come together at …
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
March 14, 2026 at 1:04 AM

Taxpayer Update: Hipkins found guilty 👨‍⚖️ | Bond markets jitter 🥶 | Fuel rationing alert system announced ⛽️

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, What a week. Not since March 2020 have we seen the carnage in the New Zealand Government bond market as we saw in the last five days. Not good. Emergency "Alert Levels" are back! It's now official, with the Beehive signalling what everyone…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
March 5, 2026 at 11:10 PM

Taxpayer Update: Former Green MP sucks the kumara 🍠 | Poll 📈 | Ministry $1m Treaty workshops 🎓 | Labour want return to Orr-inflation 🎈

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, Former Green Party MP defends $156k kūmara patch - says 'more money' needed for 'Māori science' 🪏  We've been bombarded with emails on yesterday's exposé on the $156,132 "science challenge" 3 by 3 metre kūmara patch, funded through Massey Uni…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
March 5, 2026 at 2:09 AM

How much does a kumara patch cost?

Hi Friend, Remember last year when we blew the whistle on the $4 million of taxpayer money being spent on recording, remixing, and playing whale music to kauri trees to (apparently) 'soothe and cure' kauri dieback? Well, Friend, if that made your blood boil, you're not going to like this email…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
February 28, 2026 at 3:12 AM

Taxpayers’ Update: MPs squirm 🥶 | Hipkins' $12.8b Fantasy 🦄 | 103 ways to cut rates ✂️ | Defence force orders woke 🫡

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, Sometimes politicians complain about the Taxpayers' Union. 90 percent of the time, it means we're right on target in holding them to account... And this week was no different. MPs squirm as Taxpayers' Union drop truth bombs to Budget Comm…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
February 21, 2026 at 3:53 AM

Taxpayer Update: 3 new taxes in 3 weeks 🤦‍♂️ | Unscrambling Wgtn's spaghetti 🍝 | $550 subsidy per fan to bring Australians to Eden Park 🏉

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, For a "no new taxes" Government, the politicians in Wellington are sure making it hard to love 'em! This week, a new string of new taxes, sorry levies, emerged. But it's not all bad news in today's Taxpayer Update. Let's get into it. H…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
February 13, 2026 at 1:04 AM

Re: The new tax on water - that no one is talking about

Hi Friend, I wanted to give you a progress update on our campaign to pull the plug on the "Water Tax" contained in the Government's replacement laws for the Resource Management Act. Peter's email below caused a bit of a stir in Wellington. And after the self-inflicted damage the Government did…
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  Peter Williams · [email protected]
February 10, 2026 at 10:28 PM

The new tax on water - that no one is talking about

Dear Friend,  Peter Williams here.  I really didn't want to write this email. When I look at the political polls and see how close it is, I despair. But this issue is too important to ignore – or avoid holding the National Party to account on. Unless we act now, the door is being thrown…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
February 9, 2026 at 2:31 AM

Taxpayer Update: Shock Poll 😱 | Drag queen wigs for Samoa 🇼🇸 | Cow-sheds are now 'regional infrastructure' 🐄

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Happy Monday Friend, A shock poll result, MBIE's secrecy on the costs of sending staff to do degrees off-shore, news that half the Provincial Growth Fund (yeah, that one...)'s loans are in default, and the Taxpayers' Union expose Creative New Zealand spend…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
February 5, 2026 at 11:12 PM

Waitangi Day isn’t just about politics

Kia ora Friend, If you saw yesterday's Taxpayer Update , you’ll know we’ve been keeping a close eye on the modern Waitangi ritual – politicians flying in, press releases rolling out, and tens of millions of dollars in so-called “gifts” being handed over at taxpayers’ expense. That stuff deserv…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
February 4, 2026 at 3:03 AM

Taxpayer Update: Winston v Christopher 🥊 | Surprise results on India FTA 🇮🇳 | Govt logo bonanza 👨‍🎨

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, For the politicians, it's all go up in Waitangi this week, and where the politicians go, your money is sure to follow – whether you like it or not.  "We've done it for decades"                             — Winston Peters Last week was a …
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
February 1, 2026 at 9:13 PM

Nominations are now open for the 2026 Jonesies 🐷🏆

Hi Friend, It's awards season again. So, dust off your bow tie, grab your ball gown from the dry cleaner and get ready for the 8th annual Jonesie Waste Awards to be hosted at Parliament next month. Nominations for the 2026 Jonesie Awards for Government Waste are now open! The Jonesies are o…
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  Austin Ellingham-Banks (Taxpayers' Union) · [email protected]
January 28, 2026 at 12:29 AM

Summer road trips are about to cost you more 🚘🌅

Hi Friend, I'm Austin, a Policy Analyst here at the Taxpayers' Union. Over summer, like most families, you probably packed the car, queued up a playlist, and hit the road.  But you probably didn’t budget for tolls. You didn’t need to; there are only three toll roads in the whole of New Zeal…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
January 26, 2026 at 7:02 PM

What you helped secure in 2025 (and why it matters)

Dear Friend, Because of your support — and the support of tens of thousands of other New Zealanders — the Taxpayers’ Union is able to take on government waste, bad ideas, and overreach that would otherwise go unchallenged. Quite simply: these wins don’t happen without people like you. That’…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
January 24, 2026 at 3:26 AM

Taxpayer Update: NEW Councillor Salary Dashboard 💰 | How much is your MP spending? 🤯 | Auckland Council’s wet mistake 🌳

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, Happy Saturday! Welcome to the first Taxpayer Update of 2026. As you'll see, the team are back into it fighting for transparency and accountability of how taxpayer and ratepayer money is being spent. EXPOSED: Local councillors pocket HUGE pay…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
January 21, 2026 at 11:26 PM

New poll confirms the race is neck-and-neck

Hi Friend, Today's Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll confirms, yet again, that the prospects of a change in Government this year are a real possibility. When the recent mainstream polls are averaged out, it’s a statistical tie – with the two blocs neck-and-neck. Just a few percentage points — o…
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  David Farrar · [email protected]
January 20, 2026 at 11:54 PM

Election set for 7 November – but the fight starts right now

Dear Friend, It’s now official. The Prime Minister has just confirmed the 2026 General Election will be held on Saturday, 7 November. The announcement means the fight for New Zealand’s future starts today. The polls show the same thing: this election will be decided on a knife-edge. A ha…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
December 31, 2025 at 12:08 AM

This is what accountability looks like 💥

Hi Friend, Like most of us in the North Island, my family has been stuck inside this week due to the wind and rain. 😠 But I thought I'd use the bad weather as an opportunity to review the year and thank you for making the work of the Taxpayers' Union possible.  This email is a recap of som…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
December 22, 2025 at 9:31 PM

Taxpayer Update: One Ministry to rule them all 👷🏻‍♂️ | The Fiscal Elephants plain to see 🐘 | Jacinda: The Untold Stories 🎙️

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, As the country winds down for Christmas, the wheels of Government (waste) have continued to turn. This week, we’re bringing you the latest on the state of the Government’s books, breaking down Minister Bishop’s latest reforms (another mega-depar…
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  Ruth Richardson · [email protected]
December 15, 2025 at 10:23 PM

We must prevent another Mother of All Budgets.

Hi Friend, I know what a genuine fiscal reckoning looks like. I lived it, and it's not pretty. My 1991 'Mother of All Budgets' was not ideological zeal. It was an unavoidable response to years of fiscal drift, mounting debt, and a refusal by successive governments to act early enough. The deci…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
December 10, 2025 at 12:32 AM

Taxpayer Update: NEW POLL Government still in, Labour largest party 📊 | RBNZ spend $850k on flights 🛫 | The schools spending $18.5k on trips for teachers 🗻

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, Happy Wednesday. Today we've got the numbers from the last Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll of the year, the $218,000 of dodgy misspending by school principals, and the ridiculous amount of money the Reserve Bank are spending shuttling staff between …
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
December 9, 2025 at 12:49 AM

RMA replacement: Chris Bishop set to deliver New Zealand’s biggest ever tax cut

Hi Friend, I know you’re busy, so if you’re not interested in the Government’s replacement to the Resource Management Act, feel free to delete this email. But I know for many of our supporters, the RMA is important. It is New Zealand's biggest regulatory tax and the most significant handbrake …
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
December 7, 2025 at 3:01 AM

Taxpayer Update: Govt want to Cap Rates LATER ⏰ | New dashboard of savings 🧮 | $837,000 of Golden Handshakes this week alone 🫲

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, The silly season is well underway. It's the time for Christmas shopping, summer planning, last minute errands, and when Governments tend to 'take out the trash' – hoping bad news stories are buried in the Christmas rush. So while Christmas is ri…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
December 4, 2025 at 8:35 PM

2026 Supporter Survey: What should we focus on, ?

Hi Friend, It's been a busy few months here at the Taxpayers' Union and with next year's election on the horizon, the team are focused on the campaigns ahead and our plans for next year. That’s why we’re running our Pre-election 2025 Supporter Survey for presentation at our end of year AGM. …
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
December 1, 2025 at 3:21 AM

BREAKING: Capping rates won't be in place until 2029 ! 🤦

Hi Friend, I want you to be the first to know about the dramatic news on our campaign to tackle out of control council rates. Moments ago, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, and Local Government Minister Simon Watts, announced Cabinet's decisions on how they will cap council rates. First the…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
November 28, 2025 at 11:31 PM

Taxpayer Update: How to Cap Rates Now 🧢 | The difference between a toll and a tax 🚙🤑 | Porirua City Council our ratepayer heroes 🦸

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, This week we've got a new briefing paper for you, an update on that Ngāi Tahu story, Porirua as our Ratepayer Heroes, and more. Friend, this is How to Cap Rates Now 🧢📘 Back in June, we launched the Cap Rates Now campaign and more than…
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  Peter Williams · [email protected]
November 24, 2025 at 10:49 PM

You won’t see this on the 6 o'clock news

Hi Friend, This email is important if we are to avoid a New Zealand that is based on rent seeking and resource allocation & environmental planning based on ancestry. Earlier this year, the Taxpayers’ Union made public the ridiculous $4 million+ of taxpayer money meant for “science” that was sp…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
November 21, 2025 at 1:23 AM

Taxpayer Update: Coster on a pretty penny, while sacking takes forever ⏳ | Win for democracy in Palmy 🗳️ | Parliament attendance a state secret 🤫

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, Andrew Coster pockets $15,000 while Public Service Commissioner slow walks inevitable sacking... 🤑 Last week, we shared the then-breaking news that New Zealand’s former top cop Andrew Coster tried to bury allegations relating to his former De…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
November 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM

Taxpayer Update: Taxpayer Victory on health research 🔬| First poll since Labour's CGT announcement 📊 | Winston Peter's Mongolian horse🐎

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, The breaking news re Andrew Coster / McSkimming's cover-up: another golden handshake must be ruled out. Last night, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) dropped its report on the Police cover up of the allegations related to disgra…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
October 31, 2025 at 1:58 AM

🎃 This Halloween, inflation isn’t the monster – Labour’s plan to tax it is 👻

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, It's Halloween today, but rather than 'trick or treat', we explain how Chris Hipkins has doubled down two tricks and no treats. 😤 Also in this week's Taxpayer Update, we uncover an $82,000 knees up, sorry, 'awards ceremony' to celebrate a str…
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  David Farrar · [email protected]
October 29, 2025 at 9:28 PM

RE: Labour want more inflation – and today they announced they’ll tax it! 🤯

Hi Friend, David Farrar here. Yesterday, the Taxpayers’ Union exposed the numbers behind Labour’s so-called “Capital Gains” Tax – the media aren’t covering it, but here’s the blunt truth: More than half of what Labour would tax as “gains” over the last 10 years is just inflation. Not profit. N…
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  Jordan Williams · [email protected]
October 28, 2025 at 3:35 AM

Labour want more inflation – and today they announced they’ll tax it! 🤯

Hi Friend, I’ve just been briefed by the policy team about Labour’s so-called "targeted" Capital Gains Tax announced this morning. At first glance, it might look mild. But as every good accountant knows – the devil’s in the detail. And this one’s a real shocker. Nicola Willis has rightly de…
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  David Farrar · [email protected]
October 26, 2025 at 8:01 PM

Celebrate Labour Day by joining NZ's best union 🚩

Good morning Friend, Across the country, unions up and down the country are using Labour Day to encourage New Zealanders to join up as official members. We're asking you to join New Zealand's best union – the Taxpayers' Union – and support our vision of a prosperous New Zealand with an efficie…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
October 24, 2025 at 12:48 AM

Taxpayer Update: TWO Major Victories 🎉 | Commerce Commission's $50k app 📱 | Council rates driving inflation 📈

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, Happy Friday! While the weather has been awful this week (thoughts with those whose lives and livelihoods are affected), it's been a wild ride for taxpayers too, with some wins, and some losses.  We've exposed yet another $230,000 government …
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
October 17, 2025 at 12:27 AM

Taxpayer Update: Local Elections 2025 🗳️ | The Government is finally getting some good economic news 📈 | MSD's $2.3 million survey 👧

RIP Jim Bolger From all of us at the Taxpayers' Union we express our condolences to Joan and the rest of Jim's family. Our chair Ruth Richardson, who was Minister of Finance in the Bolger Government, has paid tribute to Jim across the media in recent days. You can read her tribute here in S…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
October 7, 2025 at 11:02 PM

Taxpayer Update: NEW POLL: Nats and Labour slide 📊 | Chris Penk, shatters costs 🦸 | CEOs back fiscal watchdog ✅

BREAKING: Former Reserve Bank Governor under gag clause as part of $416,000 golden handshake , before we get into the newsletter proper, we've just had land on our desk a copy of the agreement signed between former Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr and the Reserve Bank. On Monday we learned Orr…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
September 26, 2025 at 1:44 AM

Taxpayer Update: NDPC are Ratepayer Heroes 🦸‍♀️ | $5m Roadside Art 🎨 | Confidence in Willis Collapses 📉

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, Happy Friday! From $5 million roadside statues to a new Taxpayer Hero council, it’s been a week of contrasts. We’ve also had our say on the draft Code of Conduct, checked the mood on Nicola Willis, and seen more candidates sign up to the Pled…
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  James Ross · [email protected]
September 25, 2025 at 2:27 AM

Treasury aren't holding back anymore 😲

Hi Friend, Every four years, Treasury reports on the country's finances for the next 40 years. It's a big deal. They dig into aging populations, healthcare costs, superannuation, economic growth, and how it'll all affect taxes, spending and debt. No spin, just the raw figures. Think of it this…
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  Tory Relf, Taxpayers' Union · [email protected]
September 19, 2025 at 7:33 AM

NZ is going backwards 📉 (and it’s worse than you think)

Hi Friend, Yesterday’s shocking GDP figures are nothing short of wake up call. While our trading partners get richer, New Zealand isn’t just falling behind, we’re literally going backward! So as we head into the weekend, I want to paint a picture of contrast between how New Zealand has dealt w…
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  Jordan Williams, Taxpayers' Union · [email protected]
September 17, 2025 at 9:19 PM

23 Days to go ✅

Hi Friend, When Peter Williams launched our local government campaign earlier this year, we made some big promises. And with just 23 days until voting closes, we're coming up to the home straight. What have we done so far? We said we would hold debates across the country - and we’ve done…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
September 16, 2025 at 3:15 AM

Taxpayer Update: Ruapehu’s Ratepayer Heroes 💘 | Catch up on our mayoral debates 📺 | The PM's $44k TikTok Ride 🚁

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, We had an amazing week on the road with our mayoral debates. I loved getting to meet so many supporters, from Hamilton to Dunedin, and visiting new parts of the country that I've not seen before. Voting is Open: Who’s standing with ratepayers…
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  Sam Warren, Taxpayers' Union · [email protected]
September 10, 2025 at 6:24 AM

➡️ Ratepayer Voting Guide now live ⬅️

Hi Friend, Voting is now open for local council elections. Ballot papers are hitting mailboxes up and down the country in what will be the most important local elections in years. That’s why we’ve launched the 2025 Ratepayer Voting Guide. Click here to see which candidates in your area hav…
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  Tory Relf · [email protected]
September 8, 2025 at 12:33 AM

Taxpayer Update: New poll puts Centre-Left ahead 📊 | 2025 Mayoral Debates 🗳️ | Labour wants to spend your money… on themselves 🚨

📌 View Online  | 🚀 Share on Facebook Hi Friend, NEW POLL: National up, ACT down, centre-left could form Govt 📊 Our latest Taxpayers’ Union–Curia Poll is out, and it’s mixed news for the centre-right. While Christopher Luxon's personal numbers are up, overall, it's bad news for the Governme…
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