The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that the Ministry for the Environment has handed out $3,839,094 (exc. GST) to environmental NGOs over the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years—without a single report measuring its effectiveness.Amongst the big winners are the Environmental Defence Society ($377,743) and Forest & Bird ($200,000)—groups that have...
The Government’s announcement today of legislation to finally repeal and replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) is a long-overdue, much-needed win for New Zealand’s productivity. Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman, James Ross, said:“The RMA has long been a bureaucrat’s dream and a developer’s nightmare. It’s been a lead weight around New Zealand’s...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request that Dunedin City Council (DCC) has spent a staggering $1.365 million over just three years on consultation with Aukaha—an iwi-owned consultancy firm—with ratepayers now hit by an average rates hike of 17.5%.Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator Rhys Hurley said:“Ratepayers expect...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request that Wellington City Council flushed $21,702 (exc. GST) of ratepayer money on portaloos for last November’s Toitū Te Tiriti Hīkoi protest—despite having no policy on funding facilities for protests and never having done so before.Taxpayers’ Union...
New figures obtained by the Taxpayers’ Union under the Official Information Act request lay bare an embarrassing trend—ACC claims for injuries involving objects stuck where the sun doesn’t shine are on the rise, with taxpayers left to pick up the tab.In the 2023/24 financial year alone, ACC shelled out $125,348 for these mishaps—a sharp...
After eight consecutive quarters of decline, New Zealand’s GDP per capita has inched up by 0.4%.Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman James Ross said:“Kiwis can breathe a small sigh of relief, but it’s far from time to pop the champagne. Even after two years of declining living standards, Kiwis are...