2024/25 Annual review

I am delighted to be able to share with you the Taxpayers’ Union's 2024/25 Annual Review and Campaign Plan for 2025. 

If you have trouble viewing, click here to download the report.

Flicking through it, I’m sure you will agree that we can be incredibly proud of what Jordan, James, Michelle, Amber and the team are achieving, despite our relatively small size. After all, without you, the Taxpayers' Union would not be possible.

2024 in review

With so many of the voices you see in the media (and those paid to lobby politicians) entirely taxpayer funded, the Taxpayers' Union provides the balance. Everything you read in the Annual Review was made possible by the goodwill of the tens of thousands of New Zealanders who have chipped-in with a membership or donation.

And I think the report demonstrates that it's been put to good use! From the huge win on the Te Mana O Te Wai issue (which would have imposed co-governance of water management/environmental policies across all councils) to the successful campaign for referendum safeguards on Māori wards (ensuring that the rules of local elections are ultimately in the hands of voters not the politicians) the Taxpayers' Union has bravely fought for democratic accountability in the areas where the media often do not tread.

And again it was the Taxpayers' Union who held the IRD to account after it was revealed that tax officials had shared unencrypted taxpayer data with overseas tech companies. Thanks to the pressure applied, the full extent of this breach was forced to be uncovered: IRD now admit that 268,000 New Zealanders had their privacy breached. This is precisely why a voice for taxpayers is so important!

Meanwhile, the Union's exposé on the Health Research Council and the Marsden Fund's wasteful spending forced the Government to respond and narrow the scope of the fund criteria to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent where they’re truly needed.

These successes remind us why the Taxpayers' Union is so vital.

The achievements you’ll see in the report are the fruits of tireless work and bucket loads of passion. When I speak to the Board members, or pay a visit into the office, it is clear that every member of the team – and our volunteers – really loves what they do.

The year ahead

But let's not kid ourselves that a prosperous future of New Zealand is yet secured. As was laid bare with the opening of the Government's books the week before Christmas, 2025 is make-or-break. The country is in the longest per-capita recession since records began, our productivity has flatlined, and local government is still an absolute mess.

Sadly, there's just so much more to be done.

Jordan, even the Taxpayers' Union can't save the world if they can’t keep the lights on. To keep the momentum going, will you chip-in with a donation so the good work can continue?

Thank you for making the work of the Taxpayers' Union possible.

David Farrar Co-founder New Zealand Taxpayers' Union