The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Government to ban settlement payouts across councils and government agencies following the Chatham Islands Council’s $100,000 payment to disgraced former Chief Executive Paul Eagle.Taxpayers’ Union spokesman, Rhys Hurley, said:“How on Earth can someone whose conduct prompted their employer to write to...
Public Service Association National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons’ claims that the Opportunity’s plans to remove 2,000 bureaucrats would ‘harm public services for generations’.Responding, Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman James Ross said:“Between June 2025 and March 2026, the public service grew by 1,881 bureaucrats. There are still 17,284 more bureaucrats today than before the last...
Fletcher Building has posted a $228 million net profit, just one month after the Government handed its Golden Bay Cement subsidiary a $60 million taxpayer bailout.Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Levi Gibbs said:“Taxpayers were told this handout was needed to keep Golden Bay Cement afloat. A month later, its corporate parent is...
The Taxpayers’ Union is backing New Plymouth Mayor Max Brough’s push to unlock value from the council’s $25 million art collection, after he took aim at its mounting costs.Taxpayers’ Union spokeswoman, Ella Dickson, said:“While New Plymouth ratepayers are struggling, their council is sitting on $25 million worth of art while...
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that at least 9 public service agencies are running hours of waiata and karakia practice each week.Using a conservative estimate that just ten percent of staff at each agency participate, and applying the average public service hourly salary of $49.66 over 8,680 hours per year, the...
The Taxpayers’ Union says that if Labour is ruling out the Ute Tax and a streaming tax, it should also rule out the inflation tax.Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tyler Groenewald said:“Labour says it is campaigning on only one new tax - its capital gains tax. But without indexing tax brackets to...