The Taxpayers’ Union has today written to MBIE Chief Executive Nic Blakeley demanding answers after officials repeatedly failed to justify claims that key fuel security data must be withheld from the public.

The letter follows last week’s meeting between MBIE's CEO, officials and the Taxpayers’ Union regarding its Fuel Clock (FuelClock.nz), a public dashboard tracking New Zealand’s real-time fuel security.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says the core issue remains simple: officials are refusing to list the ships they claim are 'on water' to New Zealand by hiding behind “commercial sensitivity”. But they cannot explain what the sensitivity actually is.

“We’ve now had multiple meetings with MBIE. Each time we’ve asked a very basic question: what exactly is commercially sensitive about publishing the names of fuel tankers and their cargoes? And each time, we’ve received no answer.”

The Fuel Clock uses MBIE’s own published data but adjusts it to reflect real-time consumption and separates confirmed fuel in New Zealand from shipments that are still days or weeks away.
It currently shows materially lower fuel availability than MBIE’s official “days of cover” figure.

“We’ve gone away and tested MBIE’s claim with industry contacts, a competition law expert, and even a major fuel company. None could identify any credible commercial sensitivity or risk to competition,” says Williams.

“That leaves a simple conclusion: either the risk doesn’t exist, or MBIE is unwilling to explain it.”

The Taxpayers’ Union says the lack of transparency is compounded by inconsistencies in MBIE’s own explanations.

“One week we’re told ships ‘on water’ have left port. The next week we’re told they may not have. That’s not a minor technicality – it goes directly to how much fuel New Zealand actually has available.”

Williams says the public is being asked to rely on outdated and unverifiable information at a time when fuel security is critical.

“MBIE is publishing figures that are already five days out of date, while Ministers are receiving daily updates. At the same time, they’re refusing to release the underlying data that would allow anyone to independently verify the official position.”

“You can’t have it both ways. If the situation is as comfortable as MBIE suggests, then transparency should reinforce that. The refusal to provide detail only undermines confidence.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is again calling on MBIE to release the vessel-level data underpinning its fuel stock figures and to clarify contradictory advice provided to officials and the public.

“This isn’t about causing alarm. It’s about ensuring New Zealanders – and policymakers – can see the reality for themselves.”

The letter can be viewed at www.taxpayers.org.nz/fuel_clock_ltr. The Fuel Clock remains live at FuelClock.nz

Responding to this morning’s CPI figures showing inflation at 3.1 percent, above the Reserve Bank’s target band, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“While today’s number was broadly expected, it’s the next wave that should worry Kiwis. Fuel price hikes are only just starting to work their way through the economy and when transport costs rise, everything follows.”

“With inflation still proving sticky, markets are increasingly betting on earlier interest rate hikes. We urge the Reserve Bank to hold its cautious line. Global uncertainty, particularly around Iran–US tensions, remains high, but there are things firmly within the Government’s control - starting with Budget 2026, now just weeks away.”

“Let’s be clear: government revenue is likely to come in weaker than forecast. But instead of tightening its belt, the Government’s spending, even after adjusting for inflation, keeps climbing. Despite the spin, it hasn’t saved a dime. That only adds fuel to the inflation fire.”

“This Budget is shaping up as the Government’s last real shot to restore credibility. Kiwi households are already making tough choices, it’s time for Wellington to do the same.”

“A credible path back to surplus isn’t optional. It’s essential if we want to avoid a credit downgrade and borrowing costs from becoming even more punitive.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on MBIE to be transparent about which fuel-carrying ships are expected to arrive in New Zealand, so the public can have a clear picture of fuel stock flows into the country - rather than relying on five-day-old data, as released by MBIE earlier today.

The Taxpayers’ Union’s fuel stock tracking website, FuelClock.nz, uses MBIE data but adjusts it for daily usage. It also tracks tanker movements using international ship-tracking services and New Zealand port schedules, but these movements cannot be reconciled with the official data.

The Fuel Clock is now showing less than 15 days of diesel actually available, far below the 21-day Minimum Stockholding Obligation (MSO) that Parliament set in law, while MBIE's official table continues to headline a figure of 44.8 days. 

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf says:
 
"MBIE's headline number isn't wrong, but it is highly misleading. It adds together fuel in our storage tanks with fuel on ships thousands of kilometres away in international waters and, in some cases, with shipments the public has no way of independently verifying.”

"The nearest diesel tanker currently tracking toward New Zealand is still outside our Exclusive Economic Zone, near New Caledonia - at least two to three days’ sailing from any New Zealand port.”

“We have also been unable to verify a number of the ships MBIE includes in its ‘days’ cover’ figure against public port schedules or AIS vessel tracking data. That leaves New Zealanders being asked to take these figures on trust.”

“Last week, MBIE assured us that ships listed as ‘on-water’ had left port. The week before, they told us otherwise.”

“MBIE cites ‘commercial sensitivity’ as a reason for withholding detail. But industry experts, economists, and even fuel companies we have spoken to cannot identify any risk in releasing the names of these ships and their cargoes, information that becomes public as soon as the vessels arrive.”

“Let’s be clear, this isn’t about commercial sensitivity, it’s political sensitivity. Officials don’t want scrutiny of whether shipments are delayed or diverted.”

“For something this critical, that lack of transparency is unacceptable. A cargo bobbing near New Caledonia is not fuel you can put in a truck tomorrow morning and that’s exactly why the Fuel Clock separates what we have from what we’re still waiting on.”

How the Fuel Clock works

FuelClock.nz takes MBIE's own in-country stock figures, published twice a week and typically several days old by the time anyone sees them, and continuously draws them down using MBIE's own daily consumption rates, weighted for day of the week. That produces a live estimate of what is in country right now, not what was in country last Wednesday.
 
Incoming shipments are then split into two buckets based on what the public shipping data actually proves:

• Confirmed On-Water: Tankers that AIS vessel tracking shows are already inside New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone, or berthed and offloading at a New Zealand port. These are added to the "Total" reserves line.
• Likely / Scheduled: Tankers still outside the EEZ, up to three weeks away. These are shown to the user but are deliberately excluded from the reserves total, because vessels outside the EEZ can still be delayed, rerouted, or cancelled outright.

If the Fuel Clock can see that a vessel arrived before MBIE's reporting cut-off, that cargo is treated as already being captured in MBIE's in-country figure to prevent double counting.

Tonight, the Fuel Clock is showing zero confirmed diesel tankers inside the EEZ. The singular diesel tanker the country is relying on is still in the "Likely / Scheduled" bucket as it remains near New Caledonia. And some of the ships MBIE appears to be counting toward the national total cannot be located in any publicly available shipping data at all.
 
Spokesperson Tory Relf said: "This is the distinction MBIE's dashboard refuses to make. On paper everything looks fine. The reality is only 15 days of diesel on the ground, falling every day, with the nearest replacement tanker still thousands of kilometres away and any others unverifiable. Kiwis deserve to see much more transparency."
 
"The Fuel Clock was designed to be the early warning system that the official system isn't providing. Tonight, that warning light is on. Diesel has slipped below the legal minimum stock the Government itself legislated for, and New Zealanders are finding out from a dashboard created by a transparency group, rather than from the Ministry’s out of date ‘official’ source."
 
The Taxpayers' Union is calling on MBIE to:

• Publish daily rather than twice-weekly updates for the duration of the current disruption;
• Clearly separate in-country stock from confirmed on-water stock from scheduled shipments in its public communications; and
• Publish the list of vessels and tonnages its "days' cover" figure is built on, so the public can independently verify the claim. 

The Fuel Clock is free, live, and open to the public at www.FuelClock.nz

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that the Children’s Commissioner’s “Dear Children” campaign cost $139,880.25 (GST inclusive).

While advocacy is part of the Commissioner’s role, the campaign places Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad front and centre, raising questions about whether this is public service messaging or publicly funded self-promotion.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Advocacy is part of the Children’s Commissioner’s job and at first glance this looks like a worthy campaign. Yet spending nearly $140,000 on a campaign led so prominently by the Commissioner looks to cross a line into self-promotion.”

“This campaign is built around the Commissioner’s personal message and profile, rather than the full focus being on delivering a safer future for children.”

“On top of this, the goal was to reach as many adults as possible and start national conversations. So instead of measurable outcomes for children, they got 18,000 new users to the Dear Children website, with just 21 percent signing the letter.”

“Taxpayers deserve confidence that their funding is being used to improve outcomes for vulnerable children, not promotional advertising.”

One of the billboard advertisement can be found here

In this episode of Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams sits down with Oliver Hartwich, Executive Director of the New Zealand Initiative, to discuss why he believes the country’s public service is "fundamentally broken" and incompatible with implementing good policy.

Oliver explains how the 1988 reforms inadvertently created a  state where department heads are more beholden to the Public Service Commissioner than their own ministers, and how the bureaucracy can subvert political will.

Drawing on the German model of ministerial accountability, Oliver argues for a system that prioritises deep subject matter expertise over generic management skills to ensure that voters finally get a government with the power to perform its job.

Responding to news that Wellington City Council’s former CEO withheld a damning report into the Council's dysfunctional relationship with Wellington Water, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said the decision was “reprehensible, especially given it was kept from elected councillors responsible for water infrastructure.”

“But even more concerning is former councillor Sean Rush’s claim that withholding information isn’t just historic. He says Council executives have continued to suppress information that doesn’t suit their agenda, skewing data, blocking access, and treating elected members as obstacles to work around.”

"We regularly get reports like this from the country's local government elected representatives and it is why we have long argued for strengthened access to information for councillors, similar to what company directors enjoy."

“In the private sector, company directors have a legal duty to guide and monitor the companies they oversee, so the law gives them full access to the information they need to do so. Councillors carry comparable responsibilities for billions of dollars in public assets and ratepayer funds, yet they have weaker information rights than the director of a small company.”

"Local Government Minister Simon Watts has failed to grasp the nettle. Instead of fixing this imbalance, he currently has a Bill before Parliament that places the decision of what information councillors can access first and foremost in the hands of council CEOs. That is putting the fox in charge of the henhouse."

“Councillors have repeatedly said they have lacked the information they needed when making major financial decisions, from the town hall rebuild debacle to airport share sales and long-term planning. How many times does it need to happen before Parliament will give local councillors the tools they need for effective governance and oversight?"

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Labour leader Chris Hipkins to clarify his party’s position after Labour’s Revenue spokesperson Deborah Russell refused to rule out expanding their proposed capital gains tax.

“Deborah Russell’s refusal to confirm Labour’s capital gains tax goes far enough should ring alarm bells for taxpayers,” said Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf.

“When the person in charge of tax policy won’t rule out going further, it’s a clear signal this tax could expand.”

“Our analysis already shows Labour’s proposal is unfair, taxing inflation rather than real gains and hitting Kiwis with bills on so-called ‘profits’ that don’t actually exist.”

“Now senior Labour figures are asking taxpayers not only to accept that flawed policy but potentially making it even bigger.”

“Chris Hipkins needs to step in and provide certainty. Is this a limited tax, or just the starting point for more?”

“Kiwis deserve straight answers before the election, not after it.”

The Taxpayers’ Union’s analysis of Labour’s proposed CGT, Why Labour’s Capital Gains Tax Fails the Fairness Test, is available at https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/cgt_report

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Department of Corrections has spent $1.79 million between 2022 to 2024 in settlements relating to breaches of prisoners’ rights under the Bill of Rights Act.

This includes $1.29 million in compensation and a further $492,170 in legal costs across 86 settled cases, including matters relating to inhumane treatment, discrimination, liberty, and unreasonable search and seizure.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“No matter what you think about how criminals should be treated, more than $1.2 million in compensation is a significant cost to taxpayers and points to an ongoing issue within the system.”

“Prisoners are entitled to the same legal rights as the rest of us, and these costs are ultimately the result of failures within Corrections that should not be happening.”

“Instead of wasting $9 million on rongoā Māori services and $4 million on advertising campaigns, Corrections should be getting back to basics. That money would be better spent supporting frontline staff to do their jobs properly. especially when they’re among the lowest paid in the public service.”

“Rather than taxpayers continuing to foot the bill year after year, the expectation needs to be that Corrections gets on top of these issues and reduces the need for these payouts at all.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for publishing fuel supply data that’s nearly a week out of date, leaving Kiwis in the dark.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“At a time when fuel security is critical, MBIE is asking New Zealanders to make decisions based on last week’s information. That’s simply not good enough.”

“No one seems able to say how much fuel is actually in the country, what’s on the way, or when it will arrive. Even the Prime Minister’s numbers on his Monday morning media round didn’t match MBIE’s just hours later.”

“MBIE keeps hiding behind ‘commercial sensitivity’ to avoid naming incoming fuel ships, yet these are vessels anyone can see sitting in ports just days later.”

“Officials won’t confirm which ships they’re counting, what they’re carrying, or when that fuel will actually be available. That kind of secrecy is unacceptable.”

“A week-long lag raises serious questions about whether officials even understand the country’s fuel position. This information should be being fed to MBIE in real time, and shared with the public daily.”

“When independent analysts using public data can outpace MBIE, something has gone badly wrong. Our Fuel Clock is already cross-checking MBIE’s numbers with live shipping data — and it’s proving more up to date than the official government website.”

“Kiwis deserve better than running on empty, both at the pump and when it comes to information from their government. In a crisis, transparency matters.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on MBIE to answer:

• Why is fuel supply data being released up to a week late?
• What specific information is considered “commercially sensitive”, and why?
• Why are vessel details not being disclosed when they are publicly observable?
• What steps are being taken to ensure the public has access to timely, accurate information?

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming pay increases for Wellington’s new water entity leadership, including board pay reportedly doubling, as households face water bills are set to be introduced.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Wellington households are being told to brace for water bills heading toward $7,000, yet the new Tiaki Wai is dishing out inflated salaries for board members and $645,000 for it's Chief Executive, $134,700 more than the Prime Minister."

“Rates have already increased by 47 percent last term for Wellingtonians, making them some of the most unaffordable in the country. At a time officials need to start tightening their own belts, costs look set to keep blowing out.”

"What makes this worse is that these decisions were made through a murky ‘partnership’ arrangement involving councils and iwi, with the pay rises justified on the basis of matching other council-controlled organisations. Since when is a nearly $650,000, ratepayer-funded salary something that needs to be protected in the name of ‘parity’?

“Before asking households to pay more for an already broken service, Wellington’s water bosses need to justify why executive pay is rising while affordability for ordinary ratepayers is going backwards.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is urging the Government to both cut tobacco excise taxes and beef up enforcement following warnings from Retail NZ that the illicit tobacco trade is booming, with New Zealand already seeing around a third of the tobacco market supplied illegally."

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams said:

“Demand for illicit tobacco has been driven by tax hikes that have pushed prices to extreme levels and created a lucrative illicit trade for gangs and organised crime. It's bad for everyone. Bad for smoking rates - people are turning to 'cheap' illegal cigarettes - it's bad for retailers, and it's bad for Treasury and taxpayers."

“If Ministers don’t change course, we risk heading down Australia’s path where an estimated 70 percent of tobacco is illegal.”

“Across the Tasman, those high prices haven’t just created a black market, they’ve fuelled gang involvement, turf wars, and even firebombings as criminals fight over the profits.”

“It is very difficult to police your way out of a problem caused by your own tax policy. Tax currently amounts to roughly 80 percent of the cost of a pack of cigarettes; as long as the Government maintains a massive tax-driven price gap, organised crime will keep stepping in to supply cheaper illicit alternatives.”

"Nevertheless, the keystone cops approach is clearly making the problem worse. Taxpayers will support efforts to beef up enforcement."

“Lowering excise would help take the profit margin away from gangs and restoring control of the market and oversight of the legitimate products being sold.”

“The Government has pushed excise rates so high that reducing excise rates would likely increase the tax take and undermine the incentives for crime."

Hi,

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 money.

Remember the objective of this taxpayer fund is to "solve and protect New Zealand's bio-diversity" – and these science challenges are all about bringing together "the country's top scientists".

Buckle up.

Curing Kauri Dieback ...with a horror graphic novel 👻

The same “Mobilising for Action” programme that brought the kumara patch allocated $398,000 on an Auckland University study titled: “Toi Taiao Whakatairanga: Saving Trees with Art”.

Here's what $398,000 of your taxpayer cash bought you:

Now some might argue that there's a role for Government in helping educate Kiwis and raise awareness of plant diseases.

An advertising campaign? Or education resources for school science classes? No and no.

This is what Auckland Uni had in mind:

In other words, this "science" study – termed a "cross-disciplinary research project" – literally paid for designers, novelists, and even web developers. All in the name of curing Kauri Dieback!

Curing Kauri Dieback ...with a virtual reality game (and a prayer from Mum!) 👀

Other commissioned science artwork includes a 'virtual reality' game – and even a karakia (prayer) "gifted" from the grant recipient's mum!

Yes, seriously! It's listed as one of the three "research outputs":

Digging deeper...

Your humble Taxpayers' Union wanted to review the virtual reality game, but alas, it might have been expensive, but it's not long-lived - the work is no longer even online!

But we did find this: the result of a $26,000 video production (we've made a slight edit to the original - tracking the cost to taxpayers, as you watch it).

📺 Click here to see what the trees got for 26 grand 💸

Incredibly, this leading taxpayer-funded science failed to fix Kauri Dieback and Myrtle Rust! 😮

You can picture it, can't you? The boffins in some MBIE back office are sipping a soy latte, debating why curing Kauri Dieback and Myrtle Rust with whale songs to trees didn't work!

Then the virtual reality games didn't.

This is arts and culture, not 'science' 🧬

No taxpayer had this in mind when politicians announced tens of millions of dollars for the 'Science Challenges' to study how to heal trees that have Kauri Dieback or Myrtle Rust.

And once again, because these projects are cloaked in cultural language, the media won’t go near them. 

That’s why the Taxpayers’ Union exists – to call out the wasteful spending others are too scared to touch.

Because unless we call it out, this sort of spending will simply continue.

You and I both know that sunshine is the best disinfectant.  Our public exposés of wasteful spending have forced politicians to act in the past.

But that all takes resources, and we can only keep doing it with your support.

Right now, many taxpayers are struggling to afford groceries, let alone fuel. Meanwhile, officials sign off $156,132 for a kumara patch, and $398,000 for a story, a lost video game, a video, and a prayer.

Will you make a confidential donation to our War on Waste campaign?

Unless you take a stand, this waste will just keep happening and taxpayers will keep forking out.

Will you back us so we can take this fight to the Auditor-General and demand accountability?

Thank you for standing with us,

Jordan Williams  Executive Director  New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

PS. More to come too – trust me when I say that what we've found at Auckland Uni makes the place look like a preschool! I'll email that through next week... In the meantime, thank you for making the work possible.

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling for the Governor-General and Government House to be brought under the Official Information Act. Currently, the office is excluded from both section 2 of the OIA and Schedule 1 of the Ombudsmen Act 1975.

This follows an Official Information Act request where officials confirmed that information held by Government House, including the costs and purpose of domestic travel, is not subject to the Act.

Taxpayers' Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley said:

“In Canada you can request information from the Governor-General. In Australia you can request information from the Governor-General. Even in the United Kingdom, the Royal Household has a policy of providing information as freely as possible.”

“In New Zealand, however, the Governor-General sits behind a carve-out in our legislation. Every Minister appointed to Government can be held to account under the Act - so why not the person appointing them?”

“Minister Paul Goldsmith is currently reviewing the Act with a focus on cost, but the real issue is transparency. You cannot put a price on democracy.”

“This review is the perfect opportunity to fix the real issue in our information laws. Bring the Governor-General under the Act, bring Parliament under the Act, and stop taxpayer-funded bodies hiding from the people who fund them.”

Responding to today’s Official Cash Rate decision, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“As expected, the Reserve Bank has held the OCR at 2.25%. With global conflict clouding the inflation outlook, the Bank has sensibly chosen to wait and see.”

“But while the Reserve Bank can afford to sit tight, the Government cannot.”

“In a scathing weekend column, The Post’s Luke Malpass laid bare what we’ve been warning for years: New Zealand’s books are in poor shape, leaving us dangerously exposed to external shocks. This mirrors repeated warnings from Treasury that our fiscal position is unhealthy. Kicking the can down the road will only make the eventual correction more painful.”

“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the Government must cut spending. Our A Pathway to Surplus sets out how. Budget 2026 simply must demonstrate significant expenditure reductions, and not reprioritisations, and a credible path to surplus. A failure to do so will lead to our placement on negative credit watch metastasising into a full-blown credit downgrade and a blowout in the interest bill."

“New Zealanders deserve better than drift and denial. It’s time for fiscal discipline.”

Hi,

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 the first public poll taken since the announcement of the Government’s Fuel Security Plan. NZ First surges to a record high which propels the Government bloc back to a majority in April's Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll.

Compared to last month’s results, Labour is down 1.0 points to 33.4 percent, while National is up 1.4 points to 29.8 percent. New Zealand First is up 3.9 points to 13.6 percent, while ACT is up 1.5 points to 9.0 percent.

The Greens are down 2.7 points to 7.8 percent, while Te Pāti Māori is down 0.6 points to 2.6 percent.

Converted into seats in Parliament, Labour would be the biggest party on 42 seats (down 2 from last month), with National up 1 to 37 seats.

New Zealand First gains 4 seats from last month to 17, while ACT gains 1 to 11. The Greens drop 3 to 10 seats, while Te Pāti Māori lose 1 on 3 seats.

The combined projected seats for the Government parties bloc is up 6 seats to 65.

The combined seats for the Opposition parties bloc is down 6 to 55.

On these numbers, the current three parties of Government would be able to form a Government.

NZ First remain kingmakers 👑

The left bloc (Labour plus the Greens) remain stronger on 52 seats (down 5) compared to the right bloc (National plus ACT) which are on 48 seats this month (up 2 seats).

The last time either bloc commanded a majority without needing a support partner (NZ First or Te Pāti Māori) to be able to form a government was December 2024.

A more detailed breakdown of the results is available on our website - and if you want to receive the full polling report, join our Taxpayer Caucus for exclusive access.

Oh, and if you'd like to hear about how polling actually works, Peter Williams recently sat down with our pollster David Farrar to discuss for a Taxpayer Talk podcast.

PAY GAP EXPOSED: Public sector workers paid an average of $17,600 more than private sector colleagues  💸👨‍💼

While most households are tightening their belts, Wellington’s bureaucrat class have a much larger cushion.

We’ve crunched the numbers and published the Bureaucrat Salary Leaderboard – showing that despite what the public sector unions would have you think, there's nothing modest about public service pay packets!

On average, bureaucrats are now paid $17,600 more per year than workers in the private sector. 

With six-figure salaries across the board, the Bureaucrat Salary Leaderboard has exposed that every single government department has a higher average salary than New Zealanders working in the private-sector (i.e. the taxpayers!).

...and Sir Humphrey's Pay Gap is getting even larger 🤯

Public sector workers enjoyed an average hike to their salary of 21.37 percent between 2020 and 2025, almost fifty percent more than the 14.49 percent wage growth in the private sector over the same period.

Now, no one’s saying public sector staff shouldn’t be paid fairly.

And with the Government borrowing $48 million per day just to keep the lights on, these hikes show that the politicians haven't yet got to grips with keeping a lid on the costs of Government.

Dive into the leaderboard to see which departments are paying top dollar and decide for yourself whether taxpayers are actually getting value for it.

Yes, Minister indeed!

Which departments are raking it in? 💰🥸

$116k for a logo? No wonder Whanganui District Council hid the cost 🎨

New documents uncovered by investigations team show Whanganui District Council’s January rebrand didn’t cost the $61,800 ratepayers were originally told. No – it actually came in at a whopping $116,899 – $55,000 more than what was publicly presented.

To justify the spend, officials claimed the Council was juggling around 20 different logos and that it was all too hard to manage. 🤨

But in reality, many of those belong to individual facilities (things like the opera house or pools). In other words, the “problem” being solved doesn’t look nearly as dramatic as it was made out to be.

And here’s where their excuses really start to unravel.

Public feedback wasn’t exactly crying out for change. Around half of submissions either supported keeping the existing coat of arms or said the rebrand shouldn’t go ahead if it cost money.

Yet here we are.

Councillors didn’t even sign off on the decision. Instead, it appears to have been driven by council staff in another example of unelected officials pushing through costly changes without clear democratic backing.

If councils want to change something as fundamental as a city’s identity, it should be done transparently, with elected representatives making the call, not quietly pushed through by a self-promoting CEO.

Why are we paying millions for new logos? 💰

It’s becoming a familiar story: government agency decides it needs a fresh “look”… and taxpayers are left footing the bill.

Last month, Investigations Coordinator Rhys wrote to Public Service Minister Judith Collins raising concerns about the growing cost of public sector rebranding.

The examples speak for themselves. NZQA’s rebrand blew out to $2.9 million, new Crown Research Institutes spent $270,000, and Callaghan Innovation dropped another $170,000 on its own overhaul. 

And for what? A new logo, a new website, and a new set of 'branding guidelines'.

But the problem isn’t just the spending, it’s the system behind it.

Back in 2021, the Government introduced Identity Policy and Guidelines intended to standardise branding across agencies using the New Zealand Coat of Arms, improving transparency and consistency. Yet in practice, those rules have been interpreted so loosely that agencies are still running their own branding exercises anyway, duplicating design work, refreshing websites, and racking up ongoing costs. 

Other countries have already solved this. The UK and Australia use consistent, standardised government branding.

Even here in New Zealand, Internal Affairs managed to update its branding at minimal cost (thanks to Minister Brooke van Velden).

So we put a simple proposal to the Minister: tighten the rules. Limit branding exceptions to clearly defined cases where there’s a genuine operational or cultural need. No more free-for-all rebrands on the taxpayer dime.

To her credit, Minister Collins has asked officials to review the guidelines and assess where costs can be reduced, including lessons from recent blowouts. 

That’s a good start. But let’s be honest, this shouldn’t require a review - just an instruction from the Cabinet Office.

Spending millions on logos isn’t just wasteful, it’s tone deaf given the financial climate.

But until the rules are tightened, don’t be surprised if the next rebrand bill lands in your payslip.

Gore’s 11 percent rates hike - public excluded 🚨

Whanganui City Council aren’t the only council on the naughty list this week.

Gore District Council has approved an 11 percent rates increase, without any public consultation!

That’s on top of the staggering 46.6 percent cumulative rates hike Gore ratepayers have faced over the past three years.

As our Local Government spokesman Josh put it, hiking rates without even consulting ratepayers is an outright affront to local democracy - and exactly why a rates cap is urgently needed. Now.

But don’t just listen to us. Gore native and Newstalk ZB Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper certainly had something to say about the decision too, have a listen here.

Barry called our report 103 Ways to Save Money in Local Government “required reading” for local councillors and, without tooting our own horn, it’s not hard to see why.

It’s packed with practical, no-nonsense ideas to cut costs and take pressure off ratepayers, from trimming bloated comms teams to putting a stop to nice-to-have spending like rebrands, events, and consultancy blowouts. 

The team have posted a hard copy of the report for every council in the country. Each councillor will also receive their own PDF version too - so there’s no room for excuses on missing this required reading.

If councillors can’t wait for their copy to arrive, you can read 103 Ways online now.

New Taxpayer Talk: Is the world... actually getting better? 🌈🎙️

Now, I know what you’re thinking. This is a bit rich coming from a newsletter that spends most of its time exposing government waste and bureaucratic nonsense.

But what if all the doom and gloom we’re constantly fed… just isn’t true?

In this week’s Taxpayer Talk, our Executive Director Jordan sits down with Cato Institute economist and HumanProgress.org founder Dr Marian Tupy to unpack the data behind global progress, and why so many people think things are getting worse when, in many ways, they’re improving.

From falling poverty and rising life expectancy to the real costs of Net Zero, housing affordability, and what AI means for the future of work, it’s a wide-ranging and surprisingly optimistic conversation.

If you’ve ever suspected the catastrophists might be missing something… listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts 🎧

I hope you all had a lovely Easter break - I had a great time in the Remutakas, getting some fresh air before Budget season hits.

Have a great week!

Tory Relf Head of Comms New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Ps. Dashboards like the Bureaucrat Salary Leaderboard help us to keep the Wellington elites accountable. But we can’t do it without your support, so chip in now to contribute to our next one - the much-anticipated annual rates increase dash. 

Responding to calls in The Post by Labour MP Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall that there have been “thousands of public service job losses", Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Where on earth is Dr Verrall getting these numbers from? The Public Service Commission’s own data shows there are still more bureaucrats now than when Labour left office.”

“There were 63,117 public servants in 2023 compared to 63,657 at the end of 2025. That’s 540 more staff than when Labour was in charge - not fewer.”

“The truth is the public service is still larger than it was, and it’s not the cause of Wellington’s decline - that lies with the COVID hangover from work-from-home policies.”

“The idea of mass layoffs across the bureaucracy is simply a myth. If Labour really wants to back Wellington, they should support getting public servants off the couch and back into the office.”

Public servants are now paid $17,600 more a year than people in the private sector, and every single government department has a higher average salary than private-sector New Zealanders.

To make it worse, bureaucrats' salaries are also growing quicker. Between 2020 and 2025, departments' average salaries rose 21.37 percent, almost fifty percent more than the 14.49 percent growth in the private sector over the same period.

More bureaucrats being paid more money means more debt for taxpayers. 

*Public service salaries were taken from the Public Service Commission's 'Wage Trends' data, available here.

What if the world is actually getting better — and we just can't see it? In this episode, host Jordan Williams sits down with Marian Tupy, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and founder of HumanProgress.org, to challenge the doom and gloom dominating today's headlines. Drawing on his books Super Abundance and 10 Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know, Tupy makes a data-driven case that life expectancy, poverty, child mortality, and war are all trending in the right direction — and explains why our brains are wired to miss it.

From the hidden costs of Net Zero and NIMBYism, to the real story behind American inequality, housing affordability for young New Zealanders, and what AI might mean for the future of work, this is a wide-ranging conversation about progress, freedom, and what it takes to build a better world. A must-listen for anyone who suspects the catastrophists might be missing something important.

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is backing Te Pāti Māori’s call for a freeze on MP pay rises, saying politicians should not be taking more while many New Zealanders are doing it tough.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Te Pāti Māori are right to call this out. While families are struggling with rising costs, Members of Parliament pocketing over $17,000 in pay rises this term is completely out of touch.”

“This is a simple matter of leadership. If MPs believe the country is struggling, they should reflect that in their own pay packets.”

“Too often, politicians are quick to talk about fairness but slow to apply it to themselves. Te Pāti Māori deserve credit for taking a principled stance on this issue.”

“Of course, MPs who don’t want to accept unfair pay rises can pay them straight back to Treasury. We look forward to confirmation that Te Pāti Māori MPs will be paying back any increase they receive.”

Treasury’s Crown receipts account number is 03-0049-0000327-25, and a copy of the deposit clip can be viewed here. Treasury requests that donors include the name of the payee and purpose of payment e.g. “MP’s Salary” in the reference fields.

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 of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

While Kiwi businesses are facing economic uncertainty, the Ministry supposedly responsible for helping businesses has been spending our money on Workplace Waiata – i.e. staff singing sessions in their Wellington offices.

And this isn't just a one-off thing: At their swanky Wellington offices, MBIE were hosting 30 minute sessions every work day, every week!

MBIE employs 5,892 bureaucrats (it's grown from 4,676 in 2020), literally being paid to sing, clap, poi, and recite Māori proverbs and hymns.

MBIE bosses asked the staff to get back to work. But the bureaucrats said "NO!"

According to documents we've unearthed, last year, MBIE bosses attempted to reduce these sessions from daily 30-minute sing-alongs across various floors, to "just" 20 minutes, twice a week.

According to email correspondence (obtained under the Official Information Act) one of the reasons for the 'cut back' was concerns about the Workplace Waiata causing noise distraction for others in the office.

No kidding!

But here's where it gets even more ridiculous...

The precious MBIE staffers weren't having a bar of it!

They revolted at management for daring to cut back the entitlement.

MBIE's CEO was forced into crisis meetings to literally negotiate the waiata schedule! 

We've unearthed internal emails, chats, strategy documents, and even formal negotiations.

Staff wrote an eight page submission demanding that the waiata "entitlement" continue.

Staff described the sessions as "taonga" (treasure) and insisted they were essential for "wellbeing" and "capability building." They produced lengthy documents arguing why three sessions per week was the "bare minimum".

Their suggestion to the senior leadership? To carry on doing everything they were already doing: 

The bureaucrats claimed that management's instruction to have the sessions during unpaid breaks was "colonial" and "culturally insensitive". 

They said even "relocating to enclosed rooms" (in order to avoid disrupting other staff in the open offices) was "viewed as symbolic marginalisation" and "hiding the kaupapa".

So MBIE's leadership teams were forced to hold crisis meetings. 

You read that right. The Ministry responsible for making sure New Zealand’s economy works, from businesses and jobs to housing, immigration, and energy, spent months arguing about singing schedules. 🤦‍♂️

That's how woke self-entitled these MBIE staff have become.

The "compromise" reached

The final compromise and solution? Management eventually agreed through a "cultural negotiation" that the 30-minute sing-along sessions would not be abolished.

Instead, they were reduced from five to three 30-minute sessions per week. 🤯

Only in the public service could something so ridiculous require this level of executive time, negotiation, and outcome.

Wellington needs a reality check - will you ensure they get it?

Friend, this isn't about cultural respect, it's about the priorities of people who are funded by us, the taxpayer.

Whether it is religious or cultural, you don't go to work to be paid to sing along. Only with your support can we fight to expose this sort of waste, call out the public sector, and demand better value for money.

Let me be crystal clear: this isn't a criticism of waiata or Māori culture. This is about a Ministry that has lost sight of its purpose.

Does your employer pay you 30-minutes a day for a sing-along or prayer?

If staff want to sing together, that's great – do it at lunchtime or after work. 

This MBIE workplace waiata shows what's wrong with Wellington, and we thought this Government was elected to tackle.

Where is the focus on the core business? Instead, taxpayers are shelling out for endless navel-gazing and staff priorities trumping taxpayer value, all while management is unable or unwilling to make basic decisions to ensure value for your money.

Time and time again, we get stories and tips from supporters about waste that goes on within the public service. At this point, we aren't even surprised. 

Will you donate to the Taxpayers' Union so we can continue to highlight this waste?

>> Fight the war on waste << 

Thank you for standing with us,

Rhys Hurley Investigations Coordinator New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Ps. Next time a business owner tells you they can't get help from MBIE, or that economic development officials seem "out of touch" – remember this story. Chip in to fight the War on Waste.

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request that Selwyn District Council is spending $27,186 a year on media monitoring.

The service, provided by STREEM, tracks mentions of the council across print, online news, television, radio, podcasts, and social media to improve “media visibility” and reporting to councillors about coverage.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Following a 38.96 percent rates hike last term, Selwyn Council apparently needs a further $27,000 subscription to see what people are saying about it.”

“Councils will argue this is a valuable information gathering tool for spotting issues, but when they start spending ratepayer money monitoring criticism rather than fixing the issues behind it, priorities have clearly gone wrong - especially when cheaper options are available.”

“Councils should be focused on roads, pipes, and rubbish, not paying for software that effectively lets them watch themselves in the news.”

“If Selwyn and other councils want fewer negative headlines about rate hikes, the solution isn’t better monitoring software but better spending decisions. Our 103 Ways to Cut Council Waste report has plenty of ideas on where to start.”

Our 103 Ways For Councils To Save Money report can be found here 

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming massive pay rises for Fire and Emergency New Zealand board members, saying it highlights the urgent need for the long-promised review into the agency following its troubled merger.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Handing out pay rises of up to 79% to board members while frontline firefighters remain locked in an industrial dispute is a terrible look and raises serious questions about priorities.”

“Taxpayers are being levied to fund an organisation where trucks are rusting, frontline and volunteer staff are under pressure, and yet those at the top are being rewarded with massive pay increases.”

“This is exactly why the Taxpayers’ Union has been calling for a full, independent review into FENZ. From failing equipment to poor management, the warning signs have been there for years.”

“The Government promised a review into FENZ’s performance back in 2016, now it’s time to deliver. Until then, throwing more money at the top risks rewarding failure rather than fixing it.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has responded to reports that Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is raising concerns about the Government’s $1.3 billion National Ticketing System(NTS).

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“The NTS is shaping up to be yet another taxpayer-funded boondoggle driven by Wellington wishful thinking rather than real-world delivery discipline.”

“It was sold as a simple nationwide solution to replace a patchwork of local ticketing systems. Instead, the NTS has ballooned into a billion-dollar project with unclear delivery timelines and very little public accountability.”

“If even the mayor behind Auckland’s record-breaking rates hikes thinks this thing is a dud, you know it’s gone completely off the rails.”

“But even a broken clock is right twice a day and this time, Brown is bang on.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is questioning why taxpayers are funding security at privately-owned airports, as it reveals that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) employs 1,855 staff (excluding casuals, contractors, board members and staff on leave), making it larger than the United Kingdom’s 1,602 employees, which handles around ten times as many passengers.

This is because New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible not only for aviation regulation, but also for running passenger and baggage screening. Making it larger than the United Kingdom’s regulator, despite ten times as many passengers travelling through British airports.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Taxpayers in New Zealand, a country less than one-tenth the size of the UK, are paying for an aviation regulator much larger than the UK’s, because it is doing jobs the UK regulator simply doesn’t do.”

“Once you strip out the security workforce, the actual regulatory function is smaller. Which raises the question of why we are running airport security through a government agency in the first place?”

“The United Kingdom’s airports handle ten times more passengers, yet their regulator focuses on oversight while airports themselves run screening.”

“When some of our airports privately owned, taxpayers are entitled to ask why they are paying to run airport security at all, and the Civil Aviation Authority focusing only on regulation and enforcement.”

The United Kingdoms Civil Aviation Authority annual report can be found here

The Official Information Act request showing that the Aviation Security Service employs 1,349 staff excluding casuals, contractors, board members and staff on leave can be found here

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling for better transparency from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) after it released today's fuel stock data that is already four days out of date, despite the importance of timely information during the ongoing fuel crisis.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“In a situation where supply certainty is critical, MBIE appears to be okay sharing last week’s information while asking the public to trust today’s reassurances. If ships were already inside New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone four days ago, then they should be here now. So why can’t MBIE simply tell us what those ships are?”

“The lack of basic transparency is baffling, particularly when the information isn't commercially sensitive. Anyone living near a port could look out their window and spot these ships, yet MBIE won’t even provide names or be clear what ship loads they're counting as 'on-shore', 'in EEZ' and 'on-water’."

"The delayed data raises concerns about whether the public are being kept in the dark during a critical supply crunch."

“At a time when Kiwis are worried about fuel availability, businesses are under pressure, and the economy is feeling the strain, MBIE’s response is to publish stale data. New Zealanders deserve real-time clarity, not lagging spreadsheets.”

"The same is true about data MBIE apparently holds, but isn't releasing, about daily fuel use. There is nothing commercially sensitive about releasing aggregated data."

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on MBIE to answer the following:

1. What are the Names and IMO numbers of all of the vessels counted within each category on the MBIE fuel stock table? For example, are the vessels that are technically here and currently unloading fuel counted in the In-Country row of the On water within EEZ row?
2. For the vessels listed as "On water outside EEZ", which are actually confirmed (with at least 90% certainty of arrival) or are they, as many suspect, simply ’Scheduled’ or ‘Likely’?
3. Why is MBIE providing what is essentially 5-day outdated information instead of the 'daily' data is is apparently receiving?

"MBIE criticises tools such as the FuelClock.nz but refuses to engage or say what, if anything, is incorrect. We suspect its failure to answer basic questions - or disclose their changing methodology - is because the third party tools are proving more accurate than their own website."

The Taxpayers’ Union has today released Fiscal Reality Check: The Reckoning in Numbers, exposing the scale of New Zealand’s deteriorating finances and the mounting pressure on Kiwi households.

The report highlights soaring debt, no surplus this decade, rising interest costs, and weakening economic growth, now compounded by global instability and a growing fuel crisis pushing up costs across the economy.

Taxpayers’ Union Head of Policy and Legislative Affairs, James Ross, said:

“New Zealand is heading into a fiscal reckoning just as global instability and the growing fuel crisis are driving up costs for families and businesses alike.”

“This report shows the hard truth: each household is now carrying around $140,000 in government debt, and that figure will climb towards $160,000 by the end of the decade. At the same time, there isn’t a single surplus forecast this decade. The Government is borrowing year after year, even outside of crises, and that debt keeps piling up.”

“Interest costs have exploded, with households now effectively paying more than $4,000 a year just to service government debt—and that’s before a single dollar is repaid.”

“Rising fuel prices and global tensions are only making this worse. Higher transport costs squeeze households from one side, while a rising interest bill on government debt squeezes them from the other. Meanwhile, New Zealanders are going backwards. GDP per household has fallen since 2023, and weak growth means less revenue and even more pressure on the books.”

“This dangerous mix leaves New Zealand dangerously exposed to the next shock, whether it’s geopolitical or economic. The longer politicians delay getting spending under control, the worse the eventual correction will be. We cannot keep running the country on the credit card.”

The report, Fiscal Reality Check: The Reckoning in Numbers, is available here.

Hi,

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 for New Zealand. Buckle in.

The $30k taxpayer-funded pro-Palestinian campaign in Christchurch ✊

Our Investigations Coordinator Rhys has uncovered that $30,000 of taxpayer money was used to fund pro-Palestinian billboards in Christchurch accusing Israel of genocide.

Now, it's not the role of the Taxpayers' Union to take a view on international affairs – we know our supporters will have varied views on this complex issue! But there’s one thing that unites us all: the apolitical Ethnic Communities Development Fund should absolutely NOT be funding blatantly political billboards like these... 👇 

Documents released under the Official Information Act show the $30,000 went to the Asturlab Cultural Centre for its “4 for 40 Stop the Silence” campaign, explicitly aimed at shifting public opinion.

So let’s call this what it is: taxpayer-funded political advocacy.

And it gets worse.

As Rhys told the media:

“The fund’s own rules say it does not support political objectives, yet this application was approved within days, with a Ministry advisor even helping tweak it to get over the line.”

We also may have created a *minor* diplomatic incident with this reveal, with the Israeli Embassy wading in and the Jerusalem Post picking up on the story. 

The story was listed in the Jerusalem Post’s Antisemitism section – although crickets from the New Zealand media...

As I said, taxpayers' views will certainly differ on the Palestine issue. But do taxpayers really fund Wellington to funnel money into foreign affairs-related political campaigns? We think not.

And there's more… 🤯

The deeper we dug, the more bizarre the spending. The same "Ethnic Communities Development Fund" is as loose as a goose.

There’s everything from swimming lessons for Pakistani women to Wellington’s CubaDupa street festival.

This is the same Ministry for Ethnic Communities that made headlines this week for being unable to justify its own existence.

Given the Government already has multiple agencies funding and advising on community development, social cohesion, and diversity, why not simply wind up these demographic ministries?

While the media wouldn't go there, ACT did: their press release was so on the money that it linked straight to our documents. 💁‍♀️

Fuel Security & Fiscal Dashboard 📊

Thanks to the many supporters who responded to Jordan's email on Thursday asking for feedback on our FuelClock.nz dashboard.

If you missed it, the Government's fuel data is released at least three days behind reality so we’ve done what Wellington hasn’t: a real-time dashboard matching official fuel stock data with live shipping movements, bond markets, and prediction market data.

It means you can see what’s actually happening, not just what Government officials want you to be told.

Right now, diesel stocks are sitting a few days above the Government’s "Minimum Stock Obligation" threshold. That’s reassuring — but far from comfortable.

MBIE does mea culpa on fuel stock misinformation screw-up ⛽️

On Thursday the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise (MBIE) had a real nightmare, putting out three different versions, sorry, "clarifications" of the data released the previous day!

Fortunately, we didn’t rely on MBIE's wayward website updates – we could see they were wrong as we have been using live AIS (GPS tracking) data of shipping to inform our models.

And so we were proved right! The highly respected political insider (subscriber only) Politik Newsletter by veteran Wellington journalist Richard Harman didn't hold back:

As I said to The Post newspaper the same day: if we can build it how come MBIE with its army of analysts seems incapable of keeping track of a few ships?

Heather du Plessis-Allan didn’t let the Government’s excuses slide either. Listen to her coverage here 👇

The role of the Taxpayers' Union is to promote transparency and accountability.

Right now, the fuel supply chain information is by far the most important economic statistic for businesses and households to plan ahead.

A lesson from COVID was not to ignore "The Wisdom of Crowds". In this case, the crowds (like our Fuel Clock) have been more accurate and transparent than the government source.

The data certainly doesn't make for pleasant reading – but we make no apology for arming taxpayers with objective, accurate information about the potential crisis the country faces.

New report: Sleepwalking into a fiscal reckoning 😨

If you’ve been feeling like things are getting tighter… you’re not imagining it.

Our latest report, Fiscal Reality Check: The Reckoning in Numbers, shows New Zealand is living beyond its means, and the bill is piling up fast.

Every household now carries a staggering $140,000 share of central government debt, up from just $29,000 in 2008.

And it’s still climbing...

And worse still, there isn’t a single surplus forecast for the rest of the 2020s.

Not one.

Wellington is borrowing year after year just to keep the lights on, with no credible plan to bring the books back into balance.

More debt, less prosperity 📈📉

This isn’t just numbers on a spreadsheet; it’s hitting New Zealanders' standard of living.

New Zealand hasn’t balanced the books since 2019, and instead of recovering after COVID, the Government has kept spending more than it earns.

At the same time, the economy is going backwards, with Kiwis now worse off than they were just two years ago.

So while the country racks up more debt, households are getting poorer. The most immediate impact of these numbers is on interest.

In just five years, the average household’s share of government interest costs has jumped from about $1,000 to over $4,200 a year — and that too is still rising.

By 2030, the government will be spending more on interest than on schools, Police, and justice combined. 

Meanwhile, the size of government has ballooned and borrowing is increasingly being used to fund day-to-day spending.

👉 Read the full report here and see just how serious the situation has become.

Because sooner or later, someone has to pay the bill. 

Policy Victory: David "Nosey" Parker's IRD snooping laws finally repealed 🕵🏻‍♂️

In August last year, we celebrated after Revenue Minister Simon Watts confirmed plans to repeal Section 17GB of the Tax Administration Act 1994.

Our chief policy wonk James danced a jig this week (not literally, although I do think it would make a good fundraiser) because the amendment canning the Nosey Parker clause finally passed in Parliament.

The excitingly-named Section 17GB allowed IRD to demand information from taxpayers (regardless of how private or personal) for purposes well beyond working out someone's tax liability.

We've been fighting the provision since 2022: it allowed the tax department to go on fishing expeditions and demand information even if it had nothing to do with working out someone's tax liability.

After thousands of taxpayers signed our petition to can the clause, we’re delighted that it’s finally, officially off the statute books. IRD is there to administer tax – no more, no less.

Nice one, Revenue Minister Simon Watts.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Tory Relf Head of Comms New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Ps. Our ability to create tools like the Fuel Clock is thanks to our supporters like you. Chip in now to further the mission of making Wellington more transparent and accountable.

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on MBIE leadership to front up and explain the extraordinary events of the last 24 hours which saw Wednesday’s fuel supply update (accurate as of last Sunday) changed three times over the course of yesterday.

“Right now, the supply chain of fuel is the most important economic statistic in the country," says Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf. "Every business leader and household is relying on up-to-date, accurate information to make informed decisions."

“It is totally unacceptable that MBIE can claim to have all the knowledge and say ‘trust us’, but then be changing it literally hour to hour. How can anyone trust that?”

“Our FuelClock.nz uses MBIE data but matches it to real-world shipping trackers. It appears that the original 'clarification' yesterday by MBIE either double-counted the ship Nicola Willis stood in front of on Sunday, or had invented a 'ghost ship' that doesn't exist on shipping logs."

"We could figure that out - which is why we stuck by the FuelClock.nz information. But apparently, MBIE had no quality control or audit before it misled the public. What resulted was a shambles.”

“Unless it was a deliberate PR strategy for misleading headlines to falsely reassure the public there is more diesel in the country than there actually is, yesterday’s events calls for accountability and heads to roll."

"Rather than making snarky comments in the media about third party tools like ours - which ironically, proved to be more reliable than the MBIE website - MBIE should be working with businesses, communities and media organisations to ensure the public are being properly furnished with accurate and timely information."

"MBIE operates under 20 ministers, making accountability grey. But if MBIE's leaders are doing their job, they ought to front up today to explain what is going on, and assure the public can have confidence in its numbers."

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the passage of legislation to remove the “Nosey Parker” powers, calling it a major win for fairness and common sense.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“David Parker’s snoopers’ law is now gone, and good riddance. Taxpayers have a right to privacy, and Parliament has finally drawn a line.”

“Open-ended powers for IRD to demand any information they ‘consider relevant’ were always an overreach with this change restoring some much-needed balance.”

“Following months of Taxpayers’ Union campaigning to have this law removed, Minister Watts has finally followed through. This is a win for common sense and for the thousands of taxpayers who backed our campaign.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal further details through a Local Government Official Information and Meeting Act request that shows Whanganui District Councils rebranding work cost $116,899.12, which is $55,099 higher than the $61,800 figure initially presented to ratepayers.

Officials have also justified the rebrand by claiming the council currently uses around 20 different logos. However, many of these relate to individual council facilities and services, such as the opera house and public pools, rather than separate logos for council departments.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“The council has tried to downplay the cost of this rebranding, but the documents show the real figure ratepayers are on the hook for is far higher than what was initially put out publicly.”

“Interim Chief Executive, Barbara McKerrow, has also claims only about 20 percent of feedback was positive, but within the consultation responses, around half either broadly support keeping the coat of arms or explicitly say the change should not happen if there would be a cost.”

“The most concerning part is that councillors themselves didn't sign off the decision. We have seen this same story again and again, where major brand changes are driven by council bureaucracy rather than elected representatives.”

“Decisions about a city’s identity should not be made by unelected officials. If councils want to change, that decision should be made by elected councillors who are accountable to the community.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Gore District Council’s decision to hike rates by 11 percent without public consultation.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Josh Van Veen said:

"Gore ratepayers have already endured a staggering 46.6 percent cumulative rates rise over the past three years. Another big rates hike without even consulting the public is total affront to local democracy and underscores the urgent need for a rates cap."

"If Gore councillors want ideas of how to save money and ease the burden on ratepayers, our report 103 Ways to Save Money in Local Government lists examples of savings across all functions of councils and is on its way to councillors across the country."

The report 103 Ways to Save Money in Local Government is available here. 

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Christchurch City Council to disband ChristchurchNZ after the ratepayer-funded agency spectacularly failed to deliver on its job creation promises.

Responding to reports that the City’s ratepayer-funded economic development arm has produced just a tiny fraction of the jobs it was set up to create, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Josh Van Veen said:

“ChristchurchNZ was supposed to help create 500 new jobs. It has managed just 69. If that is what passes as economic development, $16.3 million of ratepayer money is being wasted on an agency that is clearly not delivering.”

“This agency has had years, millions of dollars, and every opportunity to deliver. Instead, it’s become a case study in how to burn through public money without producing meaningful results.”

“Ratepayers are being asked to tighten their belts while millions are poured into bureaucratic vanity projects with little to show for it. It’s indefensible that ChristchurchNZ continues to soak up funding while delivering so little.”

“The Council should cut its losses, wind up Christchurch NZ, and refocus on core services that residents actually rely on.”

The Taxpayers’ Union has today launched a new public tool – the Fuel Clock – to provide real-time insight into the country’s fuel security, amid growing concerns about the risk of diesel shortages.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf says the tool was developed in response to increasing unease about the resilience of New Zealand’s fuel supply chain.

“If New Zealand runs short on diesel, the economy will be on its knees. This isn’t about petrol prices or even aviation fuel – diesel is what keeps the country moving. It powers the trucks that stock supermarkets, the tankers that collect milk, and the machinery that underpins our primary industries.”

"While the probability of a major disruption may be low, the consequences would be severe. Even a small risk of a diesel crisis is something policymakers should be taking extremely seriously. Frankly, it’s something our economic team is losing sleep over.”

The Fuel Clock aggregates official Government fuel stock data – released by MBIE twice a week but three days behind – with live international shipping data to provide a more accurate, up-to-date picture of supply levels.

“At the moment, official updates are already out of date by the time they’re published. With so much publicly available shipping data, there’s no excuse for flying blind.”

In addition to fuel stock and shipping data, FuelClock.nz incorporates Government bond signals and prediction market indicators to provide a continuous, independent assessment of New Zealand’s economic and fuel supply risk.

“This is about transparency. Kiwis deserve access to real-time information – not spin, not delays, and not filtered messaging from politicians.”

"While current indicators suggest the situation is stable, the tool is designed to act as an early warning system should conditions deteriorate. Right now, things don’t look too bad. But if that changes, New Zealanders will be able to see it in real time.”

This is the only tool we are aware of that combines fuel tracking with fiscal monitoring which, given the circumstances, are in strong correlation.

The Taxpayers’ Union is encouraging public feedback to improve the platform and expand its data sources.

The Fuel Clock is available at www.FuelClock.nz

Why has the Taxpayers’ Union built the Fuel Clock?

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that the Ministry for Ethnic Communities funded $30,000 for Asturlab Cultural Centre to run a nationwide advocacy campaign, using taxpayer funds to promote pro-Palestinian narratives on the conflict in Gaza.

This funding comes from the Ethnic Communities Development Fund which distributes $4.2 million of taxpayer money each year and follows a select committee report finding the Ministry has no clear evidence of achieving any meaningful outcomes.

Taxpayers Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley said:

“OIA documents show $30,000 was handed to the Asturlab Cultural Centre in Christchurch to run the ‘4 for 40 Stop the Silence Campaign’ - a Gaza advocacy campaign aimed at shifting public opinion toward a ceasefire and accusing Israel of genocide.. How does a government body funding an explicitly political campaign support our ethnic communities?”

"We've all seen posters around town accusing Israel of such things. Not in a million years would anyone expect them to be taxpayer-funded."

“The fund’s own rules say it does not support political objectives, yet this application was approved within days, with a Ministry advisor even helping tweak it to get over the line.”

“Looking through the full list of funded projects, you see everything from swimming lessons for Pakistani women to events like Wellington’s CubaDupa festival. When the Ministry has already been found to have no clear achievements, taxpayers deserve to know what exactly they’re getting for their money.”

“New Zealand already has multiple agencies funding and advising on community development, social cohesion, and diversity. Would it not be far cheaper to wind up these demographic ministries and have the work picked up by existing bodies like the Human Rights Commission?”

The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ support to ease pressure on low-income households during the fuel crisis, but says the Government cannot claim it comes without any borrowing at all.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

"Targeted and temporary relief can be fiscally responsible, but the framing doesn’t pass the sniff test."

“Kiwis are being hammered at the pump, so some short-term relief is entirely reasonable. But let’s not pretend this is cost-free; taxpayers will still be footing the bill.”

“Minister Willis’ commitment to baking the cost in Budget 2026’s operating allowance is important, but with a $2.4 billion operating allowance still funded through deficits, calling this ‘no borrowing’ is a stretch."

“If it’s funded from a deficit, it’s still going on the taxpayers’ credit card.”

"The Government was elected on a mandate to cut the inflated costs of government, including the enormous number of bureaucrats hired by the last administration. If Nicola Willis followed through, she wouldn't be borrowing for day-to-day spending, including today's support package."

The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s commitment that today’s fuel support package must not drive government debt higher.

“At a time when the books are already under strain, this is a welcome sign of discipline,” Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said. “It shows the Government now understands that every extra dollar of debt is tomorrow’s tax bill.”

"The PM's comments indicate tomorrow's announcement is fiscally neutral. That means that at least equal reductions in spending will be specified to go along with the support package."

“Helping Kiwis with targeted and temporary measures during this crisis is sensible, but only if it’s paid for. Government debt is already at $140,000 for every Kiwi household, as tracked by the National Debt Clock. Shifting the cost onto future taxpayers would just kick the can down the road."

"Any increase in debt is counterproductive. It will drive up inflation and the costs of borrowing."

"As Friday's warning from Fitch shows, New Zealand enters this crisis in a vulnerable state. Despite political rhetoric about 'saving money' the Government's running a larger structural deficit now, than when it assumed office."

"Borrowing more right now would be to adopt a Grant Robertson-style response. Even if on a smaller scale, that would be a grave mistake. We welcome Mr. Luxon's approach."

“Fiscal neutrality means real trade-offs and tough choices. But there is no longer the option to borrow and hope.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union has today released a new report, Green with Envy: Wealth, Death, and Trust Taxes Examined, exposing the real-world impact of the Green Party's proposed $17 billion tax grab. The report finds the policies would hit far more than the super-wealthy, catching homeowners, farmers, retirees, and small business owners across the country.

Taxpayers’ Union Policy Analyst, Austin Ellingham-Banks, said:

"The Greens are proposing one of the most aggressive tax regimes of its kind anywhere in the developed world, resulting in a broad-based raid on Kiwis who’ve worked hard, saved, and built something over a lifetime."

"The idea this only hits the wealthy simply doesn't stack up. One in five Kiwi homes is held in a trust, and the Greens would tax those assets from the first dollar. In Auckland, that means an annual bill of over $18,000 on a mortgage-free family home, or $3,600 for first home buyers with a 20 percent deposit."

"And it doesn't stop there. A 33 percent death tax would force many families to sell farms, homes, or businesses just to pay the bill. Inheriting the average dairy farm would trigger a $1.2 million tax bill. There is nothing fair about taxing grief, or taxing the same income again when it's earned, saved, and finally passed on."

"Most countries that have tried wealth taxes have scrapped them because they drive investment and talent offshore. Death taxes are even worse, New Zealand tried one and abandoned it in 1993 because it crushed farming families and raised almost nothing."

“This package is light on evidence, heavy on populism, and green with envy.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is warning that any Government move to support fuel prices amid disruption linked to Iran must be funded through cuts to existing budgets, not by piling more debt onto taxpayers.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf says:

“The Government’s walk must match its talk. If ministers are serious about easing pressure at the pump, they need to show how they’ll pay for it, not just slap it on the Crown credit card.”

“Borrowing for relief is no longer an option. With credit agencies now catching up with the bond markets in their dim view of the government’s fiscal credibility, borrowing keeps getting more expensive by the day.”

“Any fuel support cannot be deficit spending. Otherwise, it’s just Grant Robertson 2.0, short-term sugar hits funded by long-term debt. We’ve seen this before with Covid spending, and it ends with a cost-of-living crisis and higher mortgage rates.”

“If ministers are looking for a place to start, they don’t need to look far. The Ministry of Ethnic Communities has struggled to justify its own existence — cutting waste like that would be a far better option than borrowing more.”

“More borrowing to fund fuel support will only pour petrol on the inflation fire. That means higher prices across the board, exactly the opposite of what struggling families need.”

“Kiwis are being forced to tighten their belts. It’s far past time the Government did the same.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Government’s $52.7 million in zero-interest loans for EV chargers as ultimately costing taxpayers more as borrowing costs rise.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“If EV charging stacked up commercially, the private sector would already be funding it. If the Government is already moving to remove red tape to make installation easier, why are these loans needed at all?”

“Calling these loans ‘interest-free’ is spin. The Government still has to borrow that money and as borrowing costs rise, taxpayers are picking up the tab.”

“This is corporate welfare dressed up as infrastructure. The Government is subsidising EV chargers for those who can already afford electric vehicles, while everyday taxpayers carry the risk.”

“At a time of rising debt and higher borrowing costs, the Government should not be picking winners and handing out corporate welfare.”

Hi,

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 to discuss how it all works and who the pollsters talk to.

Let’s go.

The Golden Hoggies: 2026 Jonesie Awards @ Parliament ✨🐷

Thanks to those supporters who joined us at Parliament for the 2026 Jonesie Awards for Government Waste.

Watch the red carpeted, golden-glitzed (and tongue firmly in cheek) awards ceremony here.

The Who’s Who of government waste 🏅

This year’s winners did not disappoint. In the Local Government category, Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale took the local government bacon for his $470,000 limitless lattes – nearly half a million bucks spent on coffee machines and beans for council staff!

Apparently, the cafés surrounding the Council's swanky new offices aren't up to par...

Congratulations to the five-time world champion and double Olympic gold medallist. This new 'Golden Swine' will be right at home in the Drysdale trophy cabinet.

The Central Government Jonesie went to the Te Pāti Māori Co-leaders. Rawiri Waititi secured the nomination for having the highest individual Parliamentary Service expenditure of any MP, racking up $350 per day on the taxpayers’ credit card.

And Waititi's Co-leader sidekick is no better. Debbie Ngarewa-Packer splurged $39,000 on flights alone in just three months in 2024 – the same time Parliament was sitting but she was posting on social media surfing pictures of herself on a Hawaiian beach...

Hard at work or hardly working?

In fact, Ngarewa-Packer claimed more on flights than all of ACT’s non-ministerial MPs claimed in expenses, combined.

The Humongous Hog: The Lifetime Achievement Award for Government Waste 🐖

After the Royal Commission’s Covid-19 report came out early last week, there was a last-minute nomination and a very clear winner for this year's Big Ham.

Former Minister for the COVID-19 Response and current Labour Party Leader, Chris Hipkins took home this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his $35 billion (that's $17,157 per household! 🤯) of pandemic spending which the Royal Commission found was wasted on projects entirely unrelated to the pandemic or recovery

Unfortunately, rather like his response to invitations from Royal Commission inquiries, Chris Hipkins declined to appear...

📺 Watch the ceremony here 🎭

Tory Relf Head of Comms New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Fitch Ratings has placed New Zealand’s credit rating on a negative outlook.

Responding, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman James Ross said:

“It’s no surprise that credit rating agencies are starting to lose confidence in the Government’s fiscal credibility. Debt has more than doubled as a share of the economy since 2019, and looks to be going nowhere.”

“Even before escalating global tensions, Treasury forecasts showed not a single surplus this decade. Persistent overspending is becoming a bipartisan consensus.”

“Growth assumptions are already outdated, and weaker growth means lower tax revenue and larger deficits. At the same time, spiking bond yields mean the cost of servicing those extra borrowed billions will soar. This isn’t sustainable.”

“The Fitch move simply reflects what the bond market has been saying for some time: that New Zealand’s risk profile has got even worse over the last two years. But if this shot across the bow isn’t enough for Willis to reduce spending in Budget 2026, what will it take?”

The Taxpayers’ Union has today launched a petition calling on the Government to ignore Greenpeace theatrics and urgently lock in a critical minerals deal with the United States, as new GDP figures show mining output fell 7.7 percent in 2025.

“While Greenpeace are busy cosplaying outside electorate offices, New Zealand’s economy is stalling,” said Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf.

“Mining is down 7.7 percent in the latest GDP numbers – that’s jobs, exports, and growth going down the drain.”

“Greenpeace want us to stay poor, dependent, and vulnerable. We say: get real. As a small trading nation at the bottom of the world, New Zealand is uniquely exposed to global shocks and blockades. If supply chains seize up, we won’t just suffer – we will sink.”

“This isn’t about the United States, it’s about Kiwi jobs and incomes. The US wants secure supply lines because China dominates critical minerals, and New Zealand should join it in diversifying.”

“Developing our own critical minerals isn’t just good economics, it’s basic resilience. It means stronger export earnings, a bigger economy, and less reliance on unstable or hostile suppliers.”

“Refusing to mine here doesn’t even stop mining, it just exports the jobs, the wealth, and often the environmental standards to countries that do it worse.”

“The Government should ignore the protest placards and get this deal done. More mining means more growth, higher wages, and a stronger, more secure New Zealand.”

“Time to dig in – literally.”

The petition calling on the Government to secure a critical minerals deal and grow New Zealand’s economy can be found here,

Our latest Taxpayers’ Union–Curia poll sent Wellington into a frenzy at the beginning of March. But in this week’s Taxpayer Talk, Peter Williams sits down with Curia founder - and Taxpayers’ Union co-founder - David Farrar to separate the signal from the spin.

Are polls actually driving political decisions, or just measuring them? And why do politicians pay attention, even when they ignore the results?

David lifts the lid on how polling really works (spoiler: no, they’re not ringing every Kiwi every night), why the trend matters more than any single headline-grabbing poll, and which numbers actually tell you if a government is in trouble.

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an updated Official Information Act request, following Ombudsman involvement, that NIWA has been forced to disclose it paid $150,000 to external contractor Hum Interactive, on top of $300,000 in research costs, for the development of its “Future Coasts Aotearoa” video game.

The contractor was also not subject to a competitive tender process, with NIWA instead relying on the supplier’s previous “outstanding results” to justify the engagement.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“NIWA had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the Ombudsman before it would reveal how much taxpayer money was really spent on a video game.”

“Agencies should not be hiding six figure payments behind vague claims of commercial sensitivity, then quietly admitting the contract was not even tendered and instead awarded based on ‘previous outstanding results’.”

“When public money is involved, agencies should be testing the market to ensure value for taxpayers’ money, not handing out contracts behind closed doors and then hiding the cost.”

“This case shows exactly why the Ombudsman exists, and the new Earth Sciences agency needs to do better than its predecessor. Without that oversight, taxpayers would still be in the dark about how their money was spent.”

Responding to today’s release of the fourth quarter 2025 GDP figures, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman James Ross said:

“Although quarter one 2026's growth figure is likely to remain positive, beyond that there are massive headwinds building for the New Zealand economy. The conflict in Iran looks to be going nowhere anytime soon, pushing up oil prices, fuelling inflation, lifting interest rates, and ultimately dampening growth.”

“Economies with regular surpluses and strong fiscal buffers are well-placed to weather the storm. With no surplus expected this decade and debt more than double its 2019 share of the economy, New Zealand is not one of them.”

“This Government has ignored Treasury’s warnings and continued the fiscal vandalism of its predecessor. Spending is up in real terms since 2023, while GDP per capita has fallen by 2.41 percent.”

“This fiscal reckoning won’t wait until it’s politically convenient for the Finance Minister. With December’s HYEFU forecasts already woefully out of date, Budget 2026 must slash spending to close the deficit and rebuild economic resilience.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is backing New Plymouth District Council Mayor Max Brough for pausing a proposed service level agreement reportedly worth close to $1 million with Puketapu Hapū.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Ratepayer Protection Pledge-signing Mayor Brough is absolutely right to hit the brakes on a deal when nearly a million dollars of ratepayers’ money is on the table, and the newly elected council hasn’t had the chance to properly scrutinise it.”

“Every hapū and iwi in the district cannot expect a $1 million consulting agreement with council at the cost of ratepayers footing an open-ended bill.”

“It’s not an attack on mana to ask questions about value for money but it is an attack on ratepayers’ wallets and their own mana to wave through costly agreements without proper oversight.”

“Councils have a legal obligation to consult with Māori, but they must do so in the most cost-effective way possible. Whether that means in-house capability or structured committees, it should not mean defaulting to behind-closed-doors arrangements.”

“Ratepayers expect their elected representatives to ask hard questions and keep costs under control. On this issue, Mayor Brough is showing exactly the kind of leadership that’s been missing in local government.”

Responding to reports the Government is considering additional financial support for families during the fuel crisis, the Taxpayers’ Union says any new support for families must be fully funded through spending cuts elsewhere, not more borrowing.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“Families are under real pressure from rising fuel costs, but throwing borrowed money at the problem will only make the cost-of-living crisis worse. More deficit spending risks driving inflation higher and keeping interest rates elevated.”

“If ministers want to provide support during the fuel crisis, it must be fully funded by reprioritising the billions currently being wasted across the public sector.”

“New Zealand cannot afford another Grant Robertson-style ‘spend now, worry later’ response. Kiwis are still dealing with the consequences of that approach.”

“Government debt is already at $140,000 per household, according to the national Debt Clock. Helping families today shouldn’t mean saddling them with more debt tomorrow. The Government should be tightening its belt and reallocating spending, not reaching for the credit card again.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is celebrating winning two international Reed Awards, widely regarded as the top global awards for political campaigning and advocacy.

The awards, run by Campaigns & Elections, recognise the best political campaign work from around the world, including election campaigns, advocacy groups, and political consulting firms. They are are often described as the “Oscars of political campaigning” with past winners including US presidential campaigns, national political parties and major international political consulting firms.

The Taxpayers’ Union’s “Nicola’s Fudge” campaign won:

• Best International Campaign (National)
• Best International Online Video (National)

The campaign was also a finalist for Best Public Affairs Campaign.

Taxpayers’ Union co-founder Jordan Williams says the awards are a major international recognition of the organisation’s campaigning work.

“For a New Zealand advocacy organisation to take home two Reed Awards is extraordinary. We’re competing against campaigns with budgets many times our size.”

The Taxpayers’ Union’s win in Best International Campaign (National) places it alongside a number of major international campaigns recognised in previous years, including Claudia Sheinbaum’s Mexican Presidential Campaign (2025 winner), the Liberal Party of Canada 2021 Election Campaign (2022 winner), NATO’s “We Are NATO” campaign (2018 winner) and Justin Trudeau’s “Bring Canada Back” campaign (2016 winner). These campaigns typically involve national political parties or presidential campaigns with large professional campaign teams and multi-million-dollar budgets.

The Taxpayers’ Union also won Best International Online Video (National) for its “Nicola’s Fudge” campaign video. In similar Reed Award categories, winners have included work produced for major election campaigns, including US presidential campaign teams and large international political consulting firms, reflecting the scale of competition in the awards.

Williams says the win highlights the creativity and effectiveness of the organisation’s in-house team.

“The second award – for Best International Online Video – recognises the work of our in-house creative team judged alongside campaigns produced by some of the world’s largest political advertising agencies.”

The winners were announced at the Reed Awards gala in Charleston, South Carolina on Friday (NZT).

“When David Farrar and I founded the Taxpayers’ Union, we wanted to bring the best campaigning techniques from overseas to New Zealand. It’s gratifying that our work is now being recognised as among the best in the world.”

Williams says the campaign followed a clear strategic brief from the Taxpayers’ Union Board.

“The Board asked the team to design a campaign that would hold the Government to account on fiscal discipline and highlight concerns about the failure to get public spending under control or follow through on the coalition’s election mandate.”

“The brief was to create something that would cut through and explain serious fiscal issues in a way that is engaging, memorable and capable of reaching a much wider audience than traditional policy commentary. ‘Nicola’s Fudge’ was the result.”

Williams says the international recognition reflects the effectiveness of the organisation’s campaigning model and shows a small New Zealand advocacy organisation can compete on the world stage.

“Our goal has always been to punch above our weight and use smart campaigning to hold politicians accountable and stand up for taxpayers. We’re a small team compared to many of the campaigns we compete against, but this shows that a clear message and creative campaigning can go a very long way.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that more than $1.1 million in taxpayer funding has been spent subsidising a Diploma in Commercial Skydiving through the Government’s Fees Free tertiary education scheme.

Information released to the Taxpayers’ Union under the Official Information Act shows that since 2018, the Tertiary Education Commission has paid $1,123,383.93 in Fees Free funding to the New Zealand Skydiving School in Parakai for the programme, leaving students to pay just $7.51 per jump.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, says:

“While taxpayers’ wallets are in free-fall, the government has spent more than $1.1 million funding skydiving lessons.”

“When Fees Free was announced it was supposed to get more young people into tertiary education so New Zealand could train more doctors, engineers, nurses and teachers. Now, the government's own officials admit Fees Free 'had no impact on learner participation and access.'"

“Instead, taxpayers working late shifts and struggling to make ends meet are footing the bill so a handful of students can go to skydiving school and shell out just $7.51 per jump."

"When a policy is this expensive, this poorly targeted, and this far from achieving its stated goals, it simply needs to be scrapped."

Responding to this weekend's reports on selling state houses, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Tory Relf, said:

“Minister Bishop has it right. There is no reason for the Government to hang onto a house merely because it owns it. The Government should always be prepared to recycle homes that don’t meet current requirements and use the proceeds to buy or construct homes of the right type and in the right place.”

“The Government should accept a price close to the home’s market value. Capital or rateable values are often outdated and don’t accurately reflect what a property will sell for. The most reliable estimate comes from a professional market valuation by a qualified valuer.”

“Kāinga Ora has a pressing need to sell homes it does not need to get the $18 billion of borrowings it has accumulated over the years down to more manageable levels. Servicing this debt cost $644 million in the last financial year alone — money that could otherwise be used to build more homes for those who need them most.”

“As well as retiring debt, we agree with Minister Bishop’s sentiment that Kāinga Ora should be investing where the need is greatest, not locking up scarce taxpayer capital in properties in one of the country’s most expensive suburbs that could fund several new homes elsewhere. Selling high-value houses in suburbs like Remuera and reinvesting the proceeds into homes where they are actually needed is simply common sense.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming Wellington City Council agreeing to its new three-year plan, saying the process shows that when councillors make the effort to find savings they can be found, but warning that ratepayers are still facing steep increases.

Taxpayers’ Union Local Government Campaigns Manager Josh Van Veen said:

“Getting the three-year plan over the line is a positive step and demonstrates that when councils actually go looking for savings, savings are there to be found.”

“But Wellington households will still be staring down a 7.4 percent rates increase, which is far from affordable after years of steep hikes and is still almost 2.5 times the rate of inflation.”

“The work cannot stop here. This process shows that savings exist within council budgets. Now the challenge is to keep going and make sure Wellington ratepayers finally start seeing some real relief.”

"As Deloitte’s Future Fit Pōneke report found, Wellington City Council could find up to $37 million in savings by reducing the number of managers, removing duplication, and lowering administrative overheads through automation."

"If councils are looking for other places to start, our latest report 103 Ways to Save Money in Local Government lists examples of savings across all functions of councils and is on its way to councillors across the country."

The report 103 Ways to Save Money in Local Government is available here.

The Taxpayers' Union's annual Jonesie Awards (the Jonesies) today have once again shone a light on the 'best of the worst' of Government waste. Hosted in Parliament's Legislative Council Chamber, there were laughs, there were tears, and there was more competition than ever for our coveted Golden Hogs.

Since 2018, the Jonesies - modelled on the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation's 'Teddies' hosted at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa - have awarded councils, departments, and politicians for the most weird and wacky waste throughout the year. 

Commenting on the event, Taxpayers' Union spokesperson, Tory Relf, said:

“This year’s Jonesies had it all - from skydiving lessons to disco toilets, hundreds of iPhones going AWOL and a $150,000 road cone hotline, there was no shortage of waste.”

“Mahé Drysdale’s $470,000 on coffees was music to the ears of the awards committee, and the Te Pāti Māori co-leaders took the prize for central government waste for a sustained and unapologetic expansion of spending."

“And with a last-minute nomination, Chris Hipkins won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his once-in-a-generation waste of $35 billion of Covid Response and Recovery Fund spending burned on non-Covid initiatives. That is $17,157 for every New Zealand household, shovelled from the taxpayer onto non-Covid projects during an international crisis."

"Congratulations to all our winners this year, but we've barely scratched the surface of Government waste, so look forward to seeing our contestants again next year."
 
Local Government Nominees:

1. Wellington City Council ($2.3 million disco loos): Wellington City Council spent $2.3 million on a public toilet block under former Mayor Tory Whanau, including $147,000 on decorative lighting.

2. Selwyn District Council (Child governance): Selwyn District Council included children’s feedback in its long-term planning consultation on housing, rates and infrastructure. The Council later admitted it did not separate children’s submissions from adult submissions before they were reviewed by councillors.

3. Auckland Council ($118 million consultant spend): Auckland Council spent $118 million on consultants in the first two full financial years of Mayor Wayne Brown’s term. The spending comes as the Super City faces a record rates hike, with the mayoral office alone spending $2.5 million on consultants over two years, compared with $4,110 across four years under former Mayor Phil Goff.

4. Mahé Drysdale ($470k coffees): Tauranga City Council spent over $470,000 on coffee machines and beans for staff, a decision occurring under a term that included a 36 percent rates increase, the highest-paid councillors in the country, and a $92 million council headquarters project.

5. Christchurch City Council (243 flights during climate emergency): Local councils spent $1.3 million on international flights over five years. Christchurch City Council spent more than $211,000 on 243 international flights - the most flights recorded by any council that had declared a climate emergency.

The 2026 Winner for Local Government Waste - Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale!

 
Central Government Nominees:

1. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Going for growth): The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet recorded 27 attempts by staff to access “adult entertainment websites” on government devices, up from 24 in the previous year.

2. Te Pāti Māori Co-Leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi: 

3. Minister Brooke van Velden ($150,000 cone hotline): Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden allocated $150,000 to establish a public hotline for road cone complaints - a hotline that wasn’t even a hotline! The submission tool received just over 1,000 complaints before closing early, equating to roughly $140 per complaint.

4. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (Mystery iPhone robber): Between 2022 and 2025, 258 iPhones and 22 iPads (an average of two per week over the period) were reported missing from MBIE, at a cost of $137,000. Have they not heard of Find My iPhone?

5. Tertiary Education Commission (Fees Free skydiving courses): More than $1.2 million in Fees Free funding has been used to subsidise skydiving courses for students. The Government’s Fees Free programme contributes $12,000 per student, leaving trainee skydivers to fork out just $1,500 - $7.50 per jump.

The 2026 Winner for Central Government Waste - Te Pāti Māori Co-Leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi
 

2026 Lifetime Achievement in Waste Award: Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins

This year’s winner was a late entrant in light go the Royal Commission’s report into COVID-19 Lessons Learned. Because as powerful and all-seeing as the Taxpayers’ Union’s expert judging panel may be, there is one body even more prestigious - a Royal Commission. 

As the Commission records, around half of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund allocated was instead spent on projects not directly related to the pandemic. That is $35 billion - $17,157 per Kiwi household -  shovelled out to non-emergency projects during a public health emergency.

This was nation-shaping, debt-loading, inflation-feeding, once-in-a-century waste. And perhaps most damningly of all, the Commission records that a second week of planned public hearings was cancelled after ministers declined to participate.

So with respect for the billions burned, and with gratitude to the Royal Commission for their work, the 2026 Jonesie Lifetime Achievement in Waste Award is conferred upon former Covid Response Minister, and current Labour Party Leader, Chris Hipkins.

Unfortunately, like the COVID inquiry itself, Mr Hipkins was unavailable to accept the award in person.

Responding to reports that Auckland Council has secured a formal commitment to consider a bed tax, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Josh Van Veen said:

“The Government should categorically rule out slapping Kiwis with yet another tax during the worst cost-of-living crisis in recent memory. Families and businesses are already stretched to breaking point. The last thing they need is another tax grab.

“Make no mistake: a ‘bed tax’ won’t just hit tourists. It will land squarely on the shoulders of New Zealanders travelling domestically for work, family, or holidays.

“Previous research by Tourism Industry Aotearoa found that only 30 percent of international visitors stay in commercial accommodation, meaning the majority of this tax would be paid by Kiwis, not tourists.

“If councils are so desperate to attract concerts and sporting events, they should start by reprioritising their bloated spending rather than reaching into taxpayers’ pockets yet again.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is criticising Selwyn District Council after councillors voted today to grant Te Taumutu Rūnanga speaking rights at council and voting rights on council committees.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Democracy is simple. Those who were voted for should be the ones making the decisions. Councillors today have shown they’ve forgotten this basic principle.”

“Giving voting power on council committees to unelected, unaccountable representatives undermines accountability to the ratepayers who fund the council.”

“This doesn’t come free either. The appointed representative will be funded at the councillor rate of $73,628 per year, on top of the $300,000 the council already provides annually to each Rūnanga - all funded by ratepayers.”

“Decision-making power should rest only with councillors elected by the public. Ratepayers deserve to know that decisions about their money are made by people they can actually vote out.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming reports that New Zealand First and ACT are opposing Inland Revenue’s proposal to tax shareholder loans. The group says the parties are right to push back against a plan that risks creating unfair double taxation.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“We’re pleased to see New Zealand First and ACT taking a principled approach to what is a complex issue. Company loans to shareholders are common in companies with only one or a few shareholders. As long as the loan is repaid in full, there is no issue.”

“Shareholders would have had to repay the loan from tax-paid income. Inland Revenue hasn’t proposed refunding the tax if the loan is repaid, which creates an obvious double taxation problem.”

“Other countries have already recognised this issue. The United Kingdom has rules that prevent this sort of double taxation.”

“The solution is simple. If Inland Revenue is worried about loans that are never repaid, the law should simply deem any outstanding shareholder loans to be dividends when a company is liquidated and tax them accordingly.”

“We simply do not understand why Inland Revenue has made this issue so complicated and unreasonable when the fix could be so straightforward.”

The Taxpayers’ Union says today’s release of the COVID-19 Royal Commission report confirms that ministers made some of the most significant decisions in modern New Zealand history while ignoring official advice.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf says the report raises serious questions about accountability.

“New Zealanders were repeatedly told the Government was ‘following the science’. The Royal Commission report shows that wasn’t always the case.”

“We now know that ministers kept Auckland in lockdown longer than officials advised and maintained vaccine mandates for teenagers despite safety warning against two-dose requirements.”

“These were extraordinary decisions that cost taxpayers $66 billion and imposed some of the harshest restrictions anywhere in the developed world.”

“When politicians override the advice they’re given, they must explain why. So far, that accountability has been missing. Former COVID Response Minister Chris Hipkins declined to appear publicly before the Royal Commission. New Zealanders deserve answers about why key advice was ignored.”

“When governments exercise extraordinary powers over people’s lives and spend tens of billions of taxpayer dollars, the public has every right to demand accountability.”

The Taxpayers' Union is correcting David Seymour's reported comments that a temporary cut to fuel tax - as called for by the Taxpayers' Union - would necessarily widen the deficit and result in more borrowing.

"With the greatest respect to David, the Taxpayers' Union is not calling for unfunded tax relief," said Taxpayers' Union Executive Director Jordan Williams.

"What we called for was scrapping the successor to the wasteful 'Provincial Growth Fund' and for those funds to be redirected into the National Land Transport Fund. That would deliver temporary tax relief at the pump without it affecting the deficit, or reducing investment in transport infrastructure.”

“Currently, taxes and levies make up more than 44 percent of the price you pay at the pump. But the only true tax cut is to reduce spending. The Regional Infrastructure Fund has proven wasteful with grants for things such as $10 million to a Bay of Plenty Marae. It is precisely the sort of low priority spending that should be scrapped."

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Government to temporarily cut fuel taxes as global tensions in the Middle East drive oil prices higher and push petrol prices above $3 per litre in many parts of the country.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Jordan Williams says households should not be forced to shoulder the full cost of global instability.

“Petrol prices are surging past $3 a litre in many parts of the country. At a time when households are already struggling with the cost of living, the Government needs to wear some of the burden rather than lumping it all on motorists.”

“Kiwis can’t control wars overseas, but the Government controls how much tax we pay at the pump. When petrol hits three dollars a litre, it’s working families and small businesses that feel it first.”

Williams says a temporary reduction in fuel excise would provide immediate relief.

“Reducing fuel tax is a proven way to support households when global fuel prices spike. In 2022, Jacinda Ardern’s Government cut fuel excise by 25 cents per litre to ease the cost-of-living crisis caused by soaring oil prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

“A similar three-month reduction today would cost roughly $350 million in foregone revenue to the National Land Transport Fund, the same order of magnitude as the 2022 policy.”

Williams says the relief could easily be funded by reprioritising wasteful spending.

“With billions of dollars being funnelled through schemes like the Regional Infrastructure Fund — which is fast looking like a Provincial Growth Fund 2.0 — the Government has plenty of room to fund temporary relief for motorists.”

“Redirecting wasteful spending into the National Land Transport Fund would allow the Government to provide fuel tax relief while still maintaining investment in transport infrastructure.”

“Global oil shocks shouldn’t become an excuse for the Government to collect windfall tax revenue. When fuel prices spike, taxpayers deserve relief.”

The Centre-Left bloc could form a Government, but with the finest possible margin according to the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll.

This poll shows Labour gain 0.3 points to 34.4 percent, while National drops 2.9 points to 28.4 percent.

The Greens gain 0.2 points to 10.5 percent, while New Zealand First drops 0.8 points to 9.7 percent. ACT gains 0.8 points to 7.5 percent, while Te Pāti Māori gains 0.3 points to 3.2 percent.

Headline results and more information about the methodology can be found on the Taxpayers' Union's website at www.taxpayers.org.nz/tucur_mar2026poll

Minor parties were TOP on 1.9 percent (+0.5 points), NZ Outdoors and Freedom on 1.7 percent (+0.5 points), Vision NZ on 0.2 percent (-0.2 points), and New Conservatives on 0.8 percent (+0.7 points). 

This month's results are compared to the last Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll conducted in February 2026, available at www.taxpayers.org.nz/0226_polltu, which showed a hung Parliament.

The combined projected seats for the Centre-Left increases 1 to 61. The combined seats for the Centre-Right drops 1 to 59.

On these numbers, the Centre-Left bloc could form a Government.

Labour gains 1 seat to 44, while National drops 3 seats to 36. New Zealand First and the Greens both remain on 13 seats. ACT gains 2 seats to 10, while Te Pāti Māori remain on 4.

Polling on whether voters believed Labour or National were better managers of specific policies, National led on the Economy and Spending. Labour led on Health, Poverty, Inflation, Education, Safety, Housing, Environment, and not increasing taxes.  

Commenting on the results, Taxpayers' Union Spokesman James Ross said:

"Yet again, this poll confirms that the election race is as close as it can be."

"The Government ought to be concerned with the issues Labour now lead on. It will shock National's election strategists that more voters are picking Labour as more trusted 'not to put up your taxes'."

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 University.

In case you missed it – check out what now counts as 'science' at our largest tertiary institution...

Even the media are digging in.

Taxpayer Update has occasionally criticised our friends in the media for being too chicken reluctant to call out wasteful spending when it touches on cultural matters, but not today.

Last night's Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive dug into the story, and snuffed out a case-in-point example of the problem of Wellington insiders pretending cultural and mystical studies should be put on equal standing (and funding!) as genuine science.

Former Green MP Gareth Hughes told listeners that far from criticising this spending, taxpayers should be "celebrating this Māori science".

He complained that not enough money was going to these sorts of projects and cited OECD data suggesting New Zealand is underinvesting in research and development.

That last bit is true, but growing kūmara to give to the "sky gods" probably wasn't the R&D the OECD has in mind...

Unfortunately for Gareth, Jordan was on the same panel – and he took the bait. 

Did Gareth Hughes 'suck the kūmara', or did Jordan come off second best?

Poor old Gareth got ripped into. Have a listen - who came off second best? 😬

🚨 The poll 🚨

This month's Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll is attracting media attention before it's even hit the inbox!

Yesterday, as is our usual courtesy, your humble Taxpayers' Union spoke to the various political party leaders/offices and gave them the embargoed results in advance of today's public release. 

But colour me shocked – it turns out politicians can't keep a secret! 😲

Since yesterday evening, we've been fielding calls from journalists who all seemed to know more about the poll numbers of a particular party than even our own team. 

For the avoidance of doubt, we don't play favourites with the monthly poll, leak, or confirm numbers to journalists.

This, though, is the first monthly poll we can recall where someone in one of the political parties has clearly decided to get stories out there in advance. 

This morning, Mike Hosking suggested there was a whiff of skulduggery going on. Thankfully, he confirmed on air later that it's not from us!

Centre-left with narrowest of lead in new Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll 📈

Today's Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Poll sees Labour up 0.3 points to 34.4 percent, National down 2.9 points to 28.4 percent with no major changes for the small parties.

Unfortunately for National, it's their lowest party vote result since November 2021. Ouch.

The Greens are up 0.2 points to 10.5 percent, NZ First are down 0.8 points to 9.7 percent, ACT up 0.8 points to 7.5 percent, and Te Pāti Māori up 0.3 points to 3.2 percent.

Converting these results to seats in Parliament, compared to last month Labour gains 1 seat to 44, while National lose 3 to 36.

NZ First and the Greens would both remain on 13 seats each, ACT gains 2 seats to 10, and Te Pāti Māori remains on 4 seats.

This means that the centre-Left bloc could form the next government if an election was held today – but with the finest possible margin of 61 to the centre-Right bloc's 59.

Each month, our pollsters ask participants which party best matches each of these descriptions:

• Can manage the economy, spending and debt
• Can provide a reliable and accessible health system
• Will reduce poverty in New Zealand
• Can manage inflation and the cost of living
• Will provide a high quality education system
• Will not increase taxes on you
• Will make people feel safer in their communities
• Will reduce wasteful government spending
• Will make housing more affordable
• Will protect the environment

On those issues, National leads Labour as the party best on the Economy and Spending, Labour has a lead as the preferred party on Health, Poverty, Inflation, Education, Safety, Housing, Environment, and not increasing taxes.

We tend to leave the interpretation of the poll numbers to others (a poll is a poll - our job is to just present the numbers), but we can't help but note that a majority of voters appear to believe Labour, not National are best at not increasing taxes.

That's been a consistent result for a few months now, and runs counter to all the new taxes introduced by the Hipkins/Ardern Government, National's own messaging, and Labour's proposed unfair capital gains tax on inflation.

Incredible how short voters' memories are - and demonstrates why the Government needs to stick with its 'no new taxes' promise (as we've said all along!) 

You can read more on the poll, including this month's Preferred Prime Minister numbers and information about the methodology, over on our website.

How to get the "insider info"... 🤫

In addition to what's on our website, we also send a comprehensive polling report covering the detailed insights (demographic breakdowns, party leader favourable/unfavourable information, etc) to our Taxpayer Caucus.

More information (and how to sign up) is detailed here.

Ministry of Education’s million-dollar Treaty workshops ✏️

Over the weekend, our Investigations Coordinator, Rhys, was in the NZ Herald exposing yet another example of bureaucratic excess - and this one comes with a near seven-figure price tag.

Rhys revealed the Ministry of Education spent $987,772.60 putting 1,076 staff through a 10 hour online Te Tiriti o Waitangi course.

That’s nearly $1 million not spent on frontline education or kids - the people who should actually be in the classroom.

When you add salary costs ($479,392.60) to course fees ($508,380), the total comes to more than $900 per staff member.

That’s $900 per staff member for a course run by the Groundworks group, who have campaigned against removing Māori wards and the Treaty Principles Bill.

I'm sure these bureaucrats were getting a fair, unbiased lesson from these lobbyists...

Rhys unearthed the staff satisfaction survey on the course. It asked participants to rank "excellent", "fair", "good", and "very good" — in that order.

When the feedback scale runs from positive to very positive, how exactly is the Ministry measuring whether this delivered value for money? The Minister clearly knew the answer they wanted, with certain views on the Treaty not allowed.

Fact checking the "growing inequality" claims 🧐

Tory Relf Head of Comms New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

PS. The kūmara story is just the tip of the iceberg. These sorts of stories - waste hidden behind fancy names like the National Science Challenges - are layered in departments across Government. But we can’t expose these stories if we can't keep the lights on. Thank you to all of those who make it possible.

A new Taxpayers’ Union briefing paper released today finds claims that income inequality in New Zealand is worsening simply do not match the evidence.

Based on work by Treasury officials on income distribution from 2007 to 2023, The Myth of Rising Income Inequalityfinds inequality peaked around 2012–13 and has since fallen, leaving it lower in 2023 than at the start of the period.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Austin Ellingham-Banks says the findings undermine calls for higher income taxes justified on the basis of rising inequality.

“The narrative that inequality is spiralling out of control simply isn’t supported by the data. Analysts at Treasury show inequality peaked more than a decade ago and has since fallen.”

“Raising income taxes would impose economic costs without solving the real issues facing New Zealanders. Kiwis are struggling because of weak economic growth and the cost-of-living crisis. Hiking income tax won’t fix that; pro-growth policies will.”

The full report, The Myth of Rising Income Inequality, is available here.

The New Zealand Initiative Chair Roger Partridge joins Taxpayer Talk with Peter Williams to discuss a new report arguing New Zealand could unlock more than $24 billion for essential infrastructure by recycling mature Crown-owned commercial assets.

Roger explains how redirecting capital tied up in government-owned companies such as Air New Zealand, Kiwibank and the mixed ownership electricity generators could help fund hospitals, schools, roads and water systems — without raising taxes or increasing public debt. Drawing on the successful New South Wales model, he outlines how a ring-fenced National Infrastructure Fund could convert government commercial holdings into the infrastructure New Zealand urgently needs.

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, if that made your blood boil, you're not going to like this email...

After a year-long investigation, this is the first in a new series where we lift the lid on how millions of dollars of "science" funding have been wasted in projects that are nothing short of rorts and grift.

Of course, because it touches on Te Ao Māori, the media refuse to touch it - or hold anyone to account. 

That's why I am so determined that the Taxpayers' Union keep digging, keep up the pressure, and why I'm asking supporters like you to donate, fund this research work, and ultimately put an end to this nonsense and affront to taxpayers (and genuine science).

Recap: the National Science Challenges

Based on re-interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi adopted by the Chris Hipkins/Jacinda Ardern Government, officials were instructed by Ministers to give Te Ao Māori (the Māori world view) equivalent status to "colonialist science".

As a result, money allocated for the "National Science Challenges" – which had the purpose of bringing together "the country's top scientists" and using "the best science to address the Challenge[s]" – was spent to cure Kauri dieback by playing music to trees.

After one of our young researchers snuffed out the $4 million whale song spending, I instructed the Research Team to keep digging.

I tasked them to find where every single dollar of the $63.7 million spent on this particular "science challenge" ended up.

Normally, these things take weeks or months. But, officials have dug their heels in hard – it's taken nearly a year to get answers to basic questions.

A year long investigation: whale song is just the tip of the iceberg 

The rort of the whale song story was not a one-off. What the team has uncovered suggests widespread rot and a total lack of accountability.

We've found the issues spread much wider than just Wellington or officials at MBIE. The following examples, relate to money allocated to our leading 'research' universities!

The first in a new series focuses on a project called "Mobilising for Action" – another $4 million within the $63.7 million "Science Challenge" to save New Zealand's iconic trees.

Indigenous Science: Mobilising for Action

I'll let the official documents set it out: (my emphasis):

National Science Challenges were created [...] to answer some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s biggest science questions. The Challenges bring together the country’s top scientists to work collaboratively across disciplines, institutions and borders to achieve their objectives.

So what is the "Mobilising for Action" project?

Our research focuses on the human dimensions of ngahere/forest health. We seek to understand the meaning people attach to te taiao (the environment), ngahere (forest), and taonga (treasured) species, to explore people’s connection and how this can be fostered and supported, to empower them to make a difference now and in the future so te taiao, ngahere, and taonga species flourish.

What does this look like in practice?

The first project was a Massey University initiative. $156,132 was spent on a scientific research project titled "Māra Tautāne".

Although Māra Tautāne translates to "garden for men", the project's purpose was, in fact, "Revitalisation of traditional hapū practices".

The Research Brief states:

The purpose of this project is to observe and record the deep cultural and spiritual significance that cultural practices connected with the natural world hold for tāngata Māori.  Specifically, the project involves recording the revitalisation of the Māra Tautāne in a hapū of Tūhoe, located in Ruātoki, in the northern Te Urewera. [...] 

The project also elevates the importance of the role of wāhine [woman] in the preservation and maintenance of cultural practices associated with māra [the garden]. [...] 

The Māra Tautāne acts as a symbolic icon to enable a connection between the spiritual world and the physical world.  It is a symbol of Māori connectedness and inseparability from the natural world. 

According to one of the researchers, kūmara were chosen for the garden because it is the "garden of the gods" and only kūmara can be given to the gods.

Who are we to argue with these government scientists? 👀

I swear we're not making this up.

The research outcomes included:

• a "story book"
  
  
• a 20 minute cultural video; and
  
  
• growing kūmara to offer to the sky gods.

Science for the sky gods: "Only the best foods will be offered"

This is taken word-for-word from the project's description:

Māra Tautane

Māra tautāne are small gardens often nestled in an isolated area of a larger māra kai, which were established in recognition of the essence of the atua associated with the mãra and enabled the mãra to flourish.

Historically, Māori would plant a mãra tautāne at the annual heliacal rising of Matariki - a ritual with deeply spiritual connotations that reinforced the connection between people, the environment, and the wider cosmos.

All produce grown within te māra tautane were offered to Rongo, the Māori atua of cultivation, and to atua representing stars in the constellation of Matariki. A kumara, for example, might be offered to Tupuānuku, and a kereru or another bird from the forest offered to Tupuārangi. Likewise an eel or freshwater fish would represent Waiti, and some form of shellfish or sea life would be chosen for Waita. Only the best foods would be offered.

So how much does a kūmara garden cost? 

Your humble Taxpayers' Union wanted to see a breakdown of the $156,132 spending, and a picture of the kūmara patch.

And we knew we were onto something when Massey dragged the chain on our Official Information Act requests...

But, I can now give you the breakdown.

Personnel costs amounted to $111,132. It's an important research project involving "the country's top scientists" (apparently), so I guess we can't complain, right?

Participant koha: $5,000. At the Taxpayers' Union we think taxpayer money should never be used for koha gifts. But that's not the view of Massey University. 

Additional equipment: $10,000. Gardens are expensive. $10,000 at Mitre 10 doesn't go far nowadays...

Team travel costs: $25,000. A Marae 20km south of Whakatāne was chosen to locate the kūmara garden. Presumably a lot of trips from Massey University were required?

Story map development: $5,000

Grand total = $156,132.

Before you scroll down, remember that this kūmara garden cost taxpayers $156,132.

That's nine years of the income tax paid by the average Kiwi worker...

You might expect something like a scientific research facility, irrigation systems, and monitoring equipment.

Maybe even a greenhouse.

Instead, we got this:

And from above:

$156k is a lot of money, but the true cost here is real science.

It's an entire year of salary for two new-grad scientists actually working in a laboratory on plant disease and biosecurity research.

It could fund thousands of laboratory tests to detect invasive pests threatening our forests or scientific equipment to study this. 

But instead, it funded… a kūmara patch.

Even the $10,000 for "additional equipment" for something so small is mind blowing.

This is the sort of spending that happens when bureaucrats know no one is watching.

It is why we fight the War on Waste, and are asking for your support.

Will you give us the spades, so the Taxpayers' Union can keep digging?

It's fair to say Massey University isn't giving the Taxpayers' Union a $10,000 Mitre10 voucher to dig up wasteful spending.

We rely on the generosity of supporters like you who join us to demand accountability.

In the coming weeks, we'll be shining even more light on "science" funding.

From your money going to develop "Decolonising Flip Cards" (funded through Landcare Research), to "Saving Trees with Primary School Art" (Auckland University) – in the weeks to come, we'll rattle cages, and demand transparency.

But we can only do this if we have your support.

Thank you for standing with us,

Jordan Williams  Executive Director  New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Ps. Based on the death threats (and a legal threat) we received for exposing the whale song/kauri tree story last year, I know this is going to cause a stir and some will no doubt scream 'racism'.

But government waste isn't about skin colour – and with the media not doing their job, only the Taxpayers' Union is willing to call out the nonsense.

Your support means we can keep at it - and return public *science* money back to, well, science.

Thank you for making the work possible.

Responding to Treasury figures showing the Government’s deficit is slightly smaller than forecast, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“These figures are genuinely encouraging for taxpayers, especially young New Zealanders who will inherit this debt.”

“But let’s be clear, better than expected is not the same as balanced. The deficit for the seven months to January is still $6 billion, nearly $3,000 per household. Deficits remain, debt and spending are both still too high, and structural pressures persist. The Government cannot rely on temporary tweaks or lucky timing to claim progress - especially given the potential for economic pressures with conflict in the Middle East.”

“Budget 2026 is the real test. Ministers must use this momentum to lock in serious fiscal discipline, slash wasteful spending, and implement real structural savings. They need to show taxpayers a credible plan to reduce deficits and debt, not just optics.”

“If they fail, today’s small improvements will mean nothing, and ordinary New Zealanders will still be left footing the bill for years to come. The pressure is on: Budget 2026 must deliver.”

Responding to reports from RNZ on Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa polling suggesting people were feeling the pinch from rising inequality, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman James Ross said “Kiwis are certainly feeling the pinch, but not because of supposed rising inequality."

“In fact, the data shows the opposite. A Treasury analytical note shows that by all four measures, income inequality in New Zealand has fallen between 2007 and 2023, not risen."

“What Kiwis are actually dealing with is stagnant wage growth, a prolonged per-capita recession, and a cost-of-living crisis driven by years of persistent government overspending.”

“If Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa are serious about lifting living standards, we look forward to their support for policies that would actually grow the economy. That means slashing red tape, introducing full expensing, and removing the third of public servants needed to trim government bloat back to 2017 levels.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is warning that Treasury’s repeated cautions about New Zealand’s vulnerability to an economic shock are now looking prophetic, as geo-security assessments suggest the Iran conflict is likely to drag on for months, not days or weeks.

“Over the last six months Treasury has made it clear: New Zealand is poorly positioned to weather another global shock. Unfortunately, those warnings now look less theoretical and more like a sign of what’s coming,” said Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf.

"While there is not yet evidence of a decisive global economic downturn, the probability of sustained disruption has increased."

“When economic shocks hit, governments have a habit of slapping another 10 percent of GDP onto the national credit card. But with core Crown debt already equating to roughly $140,000 per household, and international bond markets increasingly jittery about New Zealand’s fiscal discipline, the Debt Monster is no longer hiding under the bed - it’s at the front door.”

“Nicola Willis faces difficult choices, but the worst option of all would be to double down on a ‘borrow and hope’ strategy, kicking the can down the road while leaving our kids to foot the bill through higher taxes, weaker growth, and lower living standards.”

“Budget 2026 may be Willis's last opportunity to get spending under control, before her hand is forced. Continuing along Grant Robertson’s high-debt, high-spending track has left New Zealand exposed. Without a serious course correction now - structural spending restraint, not tinkering - the eventual fix will be far more painful.”

Nicola’s Fudge, the tongue-in-cheek campaign by the Taxpayers’ Union to hold the Finance Minister to account for her fiscal indulgences and failure to deliver on her pre-election promises to get spending under control, has been shortlisted for three prestigious international Reed Awards.

The campaign has been named a finalist for Best International Campaign (National), Best Public Affairs Campaign, and Best Online Video – 2 Minutes or Under at the 2026 Reed Awards, hosted by Campaigns & Elections magazine in the United States.

Often described as the “Oscars of political campaigning,” the Reed Awards recognise the very best political, public affairs, and advocacy campaigns from around the world. Winners and finalists regularly include presidential campaigns, national political parties, and major advocacy organisations operating at the highest levels of professional political communications.

Last year’s winners included Kamala Harris for President 2024 in the Best Online Video category, and Claudia Sheinbaum’s Mexican Presidential campaign for Best International Campaign. To be shortlisted alongside campaigns of that scale and profile is a significant achievement for a New Zealand-based organisation.

Taxpayers’ Union Chair Hon. Ruth Richardson said the recognition demonstrates that New Zealand advocacy campaigns can compete on the global stage.

“These awards are judged internationally and attract entries from major presidential campaigns, governing parties, and leading public affairs firms,” said Richardson. “For a New Zealand taxpayer group to be shortlisted in three categories speaks to the professionalism and creativity of our team.”

The Nicola’s Fudge campaign combined satire with serious fiscal scrutiny, highlighting concerns about rising debt, delayed surplus projections, and continued growth in government spending. The campaign cut through with humour while reinforcing substantive economic arguments, generating significant media coverage, online engagement, and public debate.

Head of Communications Tory Relf said the nominations reflect the growing sophistication of New Zealand-based campaigning.

“Campaigns & Elections sets the benchmark for political communications globally. Being recognised by the Reeds signals that what we are producing here meets an international standard,” said Relf.

“We are proud that a campaign focused on holding government accountable for spending has resonated beyond our shores.”

The Reed Awards ceremony will be held next week in Charleston, South Carolina.

Richardson said the nominations underscore a broader point.

“Accountability and fiscal responsibility are universal issues. It is encouraging to see a campaign rooted in New Zealand politics recognised alongside presidential campaigns from some of the world’s largest democracies.”

The video and details on the campaign remains live at NicolasFudge.nz

Labour leader Chris Hipkins is again disputing Treasury’s estimate that reversing the Government’s pay equity changes would cost $6,400 per household. The Taxpayers’ Union says if Labour rejects the numbers, it should back independent verification.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman James Ross said:

"If Chris Hipkins thinks Treasury has got it wrong, he either needs to prove it or back an independent policy-costing body to test the numbers."

“Treasury says reversing the Government’s changes would cost $6,400 per household. If Labour disputes that figure, taxpayers deserve to know the real cost, not just another round of ‘he said, she said’.”

“An independent fiscal watchdog isn’t a radical idea. Even Labour’s finance spokesperson, Barbara Edmonds, has previously drafted a Members’ Bill calling for an Independent Fiscal Institute.”

“Countries like Britain use their Office for Budget Responsibility to keep politicians honest. It’s time New Zealand put an adult in the room to cut through the election-year spin and tell it like it is.”

Before Wellington bureaucrats and local government mandarins pop the champagne or draft obituaries: no, the Taxpayers’ Union is not disappearing.

Yes, members of the Taxpayers' Union are set to vote later this month to confirm the winding up the incorporated society known as the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Inc.

No, that does not mean we’re shutting down. Quite the opposite.

The change is purely legal and administrative, the result of new requirements under the new Incorporated Societies Act that are better suited to bowling clubs and orchid societies than to a nationwide campaigning machine that exists to ruffle feathers and hold politicians accountable.

Rather than risk being bogged down in bureaucratic process (the irony is not lost on us), members voted unanimously at our AGM in December to transition the organisation into a non-profit company with identical objects: New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Ltd. Consistent with the legal requirements to wind up a Society, members are expected to vote to confirm the decision in a fortnight.

Same mission.
Same team.
Same campaigns.
Same determination to fight for Lower Taxes, Less Waste, and More Accountability.
Just a different legal wrapper.

Co-founder and Executive Director Jordan Williams says the move ensures the organisation can remain focused on its mission while remaining transparent to the public, and accountable to members and financial supporters.

“We’d much rather spend our time exposing wasteful spending than navigating procedural tripwires designed for organisations that don’t have political opponents. This proposed change keeps us efficient, agile, and focused on fighting for taxpayers.”

The new structure preserves grassroots membership, annual meetings, published accounts, and member voting rights. In fact, members – and the public – will continue to receive financial reporting that is more transparent than political parties ever provide.

The transition follows considered legal analysis and reflects concerns that the new Incorporated Societies framework could be weaponised by hostile interests seeking to distract or disrupt advocacy groups.

Let’s be clear: the Taxpayers’ Union is not retreating. We’re reinforcing.
The campaigns will continue.
The scrutiny will continue.
The media releases will definitely continue.

If anything, this change ensures we can keep punching above our weight without wasting donors’ money on compliance gymnastics.

To those who might have been hoping this was the end: sorry to disappoint.

We’ll see you at the next wasteful spending scandal, and next week's Jonesie Awards.

Labour’s Finance spokesperson, Barbara Edmonds, has reportedly hinted that a Labour-led government would move the Reserve Bank away from its single mandate to control inflation, and bring back a mandate to target maximum sustainable employment.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman James Ross stated that “this would be a disastrous mistake. Kiwis can clearly see the damage that the dual mandate inflicted, and that businesses and households around them are still suffering from the cost-of-living crisis. Distracting the Reserve Bank from fighting inflation is the last thing New Zealand needs.”

“Monetary policy must focus on one objective only, which is maintaining inflation within the current target band. Diluting that focus ends up with the Reserve Bank having to take drastic action to wrestle out-of-control inflation, which is what caused the severe economic recession we’re currently struggling to climb out of.”

“Last year, Labour also floated the idea of raising the inflation target band and seeing everyday prices spiral at a quicker rate. Does Ms Edmonds seriously think either of these changes are credible policy? With the cost of living consistently the most important issue to voters, it’s about time Labour got with the agenda.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has released 103 Ways to Save Money in Local Government – a report that lists big and small opportunities for local councils to save money and reduce the rates burden on ratepayers.

The 103 suggestions, many of which were provided to the Union by councils and media stories across the country, range from the common-sense to the novel.

Taken together, they serve as a challenge to reimagine undisciplined council spending. Avoiding wasteful spending should not be a cause for celebration, but an expectation.

After a Taxpayers' Union campaign, rates caps are now Government policy. Councils have to find ways to save money, and this report is a way to get the ball rolling.

Some highlighted suggestions:

• Pay down council debt (#1)
• Installing water meters (#7)
• Leaving social housing to Government (#50)
• Performance based pay (#61)
• Leaving climate reductions to the Emissions Trading Scheme (#103)

Some more novel ideas:

• Ending sister city deals (#2)
• Rental grazing for underused land (#18)
• Phasing out postal billing (#39)
• Move to electronic agendas (#47)
• Offering flu jabs to staff (#79)

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe, in a foreword to the report, said:

“The Taxpayers’ Union’s scrutiny is welcome. It sharpens our focus and keeps public discussion where it belongs: on results for households. I look forward to continuing to work with central and local partners to keep Whanganui moving forward — delivering the basics well, protecting household budgets, and giving permission to dare to dream about the so-called nice to haves which make our communities more liveable.”

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Rhys Hurley said:

“By sharing examples of councils that have achieved real efficiencies, we hope to encourage the adoption of best practice, reduce wasteful spending, and help restore public confidence in local government.”

The Taxpayers’ Union would like to thank the Councils who responded to the Union's invitation to submit ideas and examples of how their councils have saved ratepayer money.

The Taxpayers’ Union is adding its voice to the growing calls for the sale of the Government’s stake in Air New Zealand, saying taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to own a struggling airline and politicians are no good at running commercial businesses.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams said:

“Air New Zealand proves exactly why politicians should be nowhere near the controls of a commercial business. Since becoming Government-controlled, it’s become unreliable, expensive, down-market, and unable to wash its face financially. That’s not a strategic asset — it’s a national embarrassment sitting on the Crown’s balance sheet.”

“This is the only airline where you pay twice: once as a taxpayer and once as a passenger. It’s the worst of both worlds. Taxpayers carry the risk, customers wear the cost of the inefficiency.”

"Government ownership inevitably politicises governance, with the board inherently balancing two masters: commercial performance and political interests. That tension is built into the system.”

“Take the well-circulated rumour that Dame Therese Walsh is being lined up to be the next Governor-General. On the one hand, as Chair she is bound to act in the best commercial interests of the company. On the other, any director of a majority state-owned enterprise knows they must keep on side the political leadership of the day.”

“It’s naïve to pretend that doesn’t come at a price. Even if no explicit pressure is applied, the incentives are obvious. Political ownership inevitably distorts commercial judgement.”

“We saw precisely this during the recent industrial action by international aircrew. Under Government ownership, the unions knew they could apply political pressure. That leverage is used to push up the airline’s cost base in ways a purely private company would be far more resistant to.”

“Contrast with Qantas. As a privately owned airline, and not having to keep shareholding ministers happy, it's been far more successful at staring down the unions and keeping costs under control. Private ownership doesn’t eliminate tough negotiations, but it removes the political pressure point. That matters, because every concession driven by politics rather than performance ultimately shows up in higher fares for passengers and weaker returns for shareholders — including taxpayers.”

The Taxpayers’ Union rejects claims that majority state ownership is necessary to protect regional connectivity.

“If regional routes are genuinely uneconomic but socially necessary, then be transparent, tender, and contract them. Don’t hide behind majority ownership of a bloated airline and pretend that’s a policy.”

Williams said the Government should sell down its 51 percent stake, use the proceeds to pay down debt, and remove the politics from the airline once and for all.

“Air New Zealand used to be a national icon. Under political ownership, it’s fast becoming a national embarrassment.”

Disclosure: Jordan Williams also serves as a Vice President of the New Zealand Airline Passenger Association (PAX-NZ), commentating on aviation matters. He has previously accepted gifts from QANTAS (complimentary premium status) and Air New Zealand (corporate hospitality and sports tickets).

The Taxpayers’ Union is cautiously welcoming Environment Canterbury’s decision to scale back its planned annual rates increase from 17 percent to 3 percent.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Josh Van Veen said:

“This will come as welcome relief for Canterbury ratepayers, who were hit with a 5.8 percent rates rise from ECan last year.

“However, we are concerned that the rates burden has been temporarily eased by cancelling or deferring infrastructure projects rather than finding permanent back-office savings. For example, ECan employs 354 staff paid more than $100,000 a year, including 148 managers paid an average of $147,655. Further savings could be locked in by implementing a hiring freeze on vacant positions."

“Ratepayers deserve genuine efficiency, not deferred investment.”

In answering questions about the proposed Auckland Harbour Bridge Toll yesterday, Chris Hipkins told media: "Tolling a new road is something Labour has been open to previously, tolling an existing road is something we've been opposed to".

"But that's a porkie pie,” points out the Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Tory Relf, said:

“Right now, the Government has a Bill before the Parliament to give Ministers the powers to toll existing roads - effectively changing tolls to taxes - and the replace the status quo of tolls only being applied to new roads. Despite what Mr Hipkins now claims, Labour voted for it."

"The election is nine months away, but Chris Hipkins is gaslighting New Zealanders when it comes to tax."

"It's bad enough 'no new taxes’ National aren't ruling out the proposal, but at least they're honest about it."

"In a cost of living crisis, Kiwis cannot afford new taxes, levies, or tolls. Hipkins says he knows so, but actions speak louder than words."

The Taxpayers’ Union says comments from the Chair of the Remuneration Authority on Newstalk ZB last night attempting to downplay massive council pay increases only reinforce the need for a taxpayer representative on the out-of-touch Remuneration Authority.

Applications for a vacant board position close tonight, and the Union is urging the Government to appoint a representative on the side of those who are paying the bills.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“The Remuneration Authority sets the overall remuneration pool per council – that’s the total amount councillors in each authority are paid each year – and then councils divvy it up amongst themselves.”

“The Authority seems to be hanging its hat on the fact councillors can decide how to allocate the pool across roles, but that doesn’t change the bottom line: The pool went up, the average pay went up, and ratepayers are left footing the bill.”

“In Western Bay of Plenty, the governance pool jumped and, after councillor numbers dropped from 11 to 9, the result was an average pay increase of 56.86 percent. But this isn’t a one-off: last year the Authority pushed through a 9.81 percent increase nationwide, more than three times inflation.”

“What we’re seeing is a complete breakdown in accountability. Councillors can claim ‘the Remuneration Authority set the pool’, while the Authority shrugs and says councils choose how to split it. Meanwhile, ratepayers still lose.”

“As the Minister responsible for the Remuneration Authority, Brooke van Velden oversees this appointment. As a member of the ACT Party - the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers - she should back that up by appointing an independent taxpayer advocate.”

“If the Authority is going to keep setting pay packets funded by ratepayers and taxpayers, then ratepayers and taxpayers deserve direct representation on that board. We’ll be encouraging qualified taxpayer advocates to apply before the deadline.”

The full Council Pay Rise Dashboard is available at https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/pay_rise_dashboard

Labour leader Chris Hipkins today ruled out tolling the existing Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Responding to this, Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman Tory Relf said:

“Tolling to pay for a new road is fair. Tolling a bridge that’s already been paid off is shamelessly raiding Aucklanders’ wallets.”

“Even Labour, who are currently campaigning on an inflation-taxing, small business-punishing capital gains tax, think this particular cash grab is a bridge too far.”

“If Labour can rule out the bridge tax, National must do the same.”

Responding to this morning’s announcement by the Minister of Finance that the Government will spend $200 million to buy half of Genesis Energy’s new share issue, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“This is an irresponsible use of money the Government simply does not have. If Genesis is such a great investment, private investors can fund it. There is no reason for the Government to step in with borrowed money and it’s even harder to swallow when $200 million is one-fifth of the expected cost of the proposed LNG plant in Taranaki — a project Ministers say must be paid for by taxing electricity users."

"The real motive appears to be preserving the Government’s 51 percent stake, but borrowing more just to cling to a majority shareholding makes no financial sense. If asset sales are being talked about for the future, as the PM has indicated, they should be considered now not after piling on more debt."

"Spending is already out of control and the debt keeps rising. The Taxpayers’ Union’s Debt Clock shows it now sits at the equivalent of $140,000 per household. Another $200 million in borrowing only adds to the tab. When will the Government stop mortgaging taxpayers’ futures?”

Responding to ACT Leader David Seymour’s “willingness to consider” selling gentailer shares to pay for the proposed new LNG terminal, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman James Ross said:

“Rather than slapping Kiwis with a new gas tax, recycling capital out of the Gentailers to pay for the Government’s planned LNG terminal is a win-win for taxpayers: Future-proofing, no new taxes, and increased competition in the energy sector.”

“David Seymour is asking the right questions. Does government control benefit New Zealanders? Or does it result in gentailers too focused on dividends and not enough on investment and competition?

“Minister Seymour deserves credit for his willingness to consider whether taxpayers’ cash could be better invested elsewhere instead of new taxes, but willingness is only one small step towards actually doing it.”

The Taxpayers’ Union says today’s decision by the Reserve Bank to hold the Official Cash Rate at 2.25 percent shows inflation remains a serious problem and further interest rate relief is highly unlikely.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman, James Ross, said:

“Today’s decision makes it clear inflation pressures haven’t gone away. Too much of that pressure is coming from sectors the Government has influence over. Electricity prices surged 12.2 percent, the largest increase since 1989, while local authority rates rose 8.8 percent. When power bills and council rates are rising steeply, monetary policy forces a rise in interest rates to combat the resulting inflation.”

"Allowing council rates to rise year after year well above inflation directly feeds into the CPI and makes the Reserve Bank’s job harder. If the Government is serious about supporting lower interest rates, it must rein in runaway council spending and cap rates now.”

“Further, shifting billions from one programme to another is not real savings, and spending in both nominal and real terms remains higher than under the previous Government. Persistent deficits mean continued borrowing, leaving New Zealand more exposed to global interest rates and rising debt servicing costs.”

“If the Minister of Finance wants durable interest rate relief, she must match monetary policy with genuine fiscal restraint. That includes capping council rates now. Budget 2026 will show whether the Government is prepared to make the tough calls needed to reduce expenditure, help get inflation under control and secure sustainable growth.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Government’s plan to toll the existing Auckland Harbour Bridge to help fund a new Waitematā Harbour crossing.

Taxpayers’ Union Spokesperson Tory Relf says:

“For a party that campaigned on ‘no new taxes’, the National-led Government is sure as hell departing from the script. In the past two weeks alone, during a cost-of-living crisis, the Government has gone after power bills, commuters, mortgages, water charges, and even floated a bed tax — now they want to whack drivers crossing a harbour bridge that was paid for in full generations ago.”

“Let’s be clear: yes, Auckland needs a second harbour crossing, and yes, that new crossing should be tolled with a user-pays model.”

“But tolling the existing Harbour Bridge, a piece of infrastructure whose construction costs were paid off and tolls removed generations ago, breaks every part of that equation.”

“Any politician calling this proposed $9 per vehicle toll ‘user pays’ is gaslighting. Once you sever the link between the toll and the service a driver actually benefits from, it stops being a fee and starts being a tax. And a Government that promised no new taxes should understand the difference.”

“Minister Bishop has to sell this but make no mistake, the blame lies squarely at the feet of Nicola Willis. She is the one who has failed to follow through on the pre-election promises to get spending under control. As a result, Ministers are forced to scramble to find new revenue schemes just to pay for the basics.”

“Kiwis were promised discipline and no new taxes. What they’re getting is a Government that has continued Grant Robertson-era spending and now expect motorists to pay even more.”

“Right now, Willis is spending even more, even adjusting for inflation and population growth, than Grant Robertson, who Willis alleged had an ‘addiction to spending’. Willis’ failure to cut spending means their ‘no new taxes’ claims are hollow.”

“Fair enough tolls are put on new infrastructure but make no mistake: tolling a bridge that we paid for 60 years ago is not user pays, it’s yet another a tax grab.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Government for using borrowed money to help bankroll an Australian sporting event, after this morning’s announcement that State of Origin will be coming to Auckland thanks to an A$5 million Government bid.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf says:

“Only days after preaching fiscal restraint at the NZ Economic Forum, the Government has apparently decided that announcing the borrowing of millions to subsidise an Australian rugby league spectacle is a better priority than fixing the basics here at home.”

“The real scandal here isn’t State of Origin, it’s the fact the Government is running a Major Events Fund fuelled by borrowed money while claiming it’s serious about restraint. If the Government genuinely believes these events stack up commercially, then the private sector can fund them”

“We thought this Government was serious about saving money, but clearly those principles have been thrown straight out the door in a desperate bid to look fun and flashy in an election year.”

“Kiwi taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill so Ministers can pose with rugby balls and high-five their mates at the stadium.”

ACT announced plans during their State of the Nation address to cap the number of ministers at twenty. Responding to this, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman James Ross said:

“New Zealand’s government is a jumbled mess, with no one knowing which bureaucrats report to which ministers at any given time. MBIE alone answers to 21 different ministerial portfolios.”

“Blurred lines of responsibility undermine accountability and play into the hands of a bureaucracy that puts far too little stock in democratic oversight. One minister per department is the key to putting control back in voters’ hands.”

“But why stop at twenty Cabinet members? There is strong evidence that once boards grow beyond around a dozen members, coordination and accountability start slipping fast. Cabinet is no different, and if ACT is serious about whipping government into shape its plans should cut further.”

Amid reports that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has given into pressure from Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and agreed to consider a bed tax, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“Who is running this government, the Prime Minister or Wayne Brown? A fortnight ago, Brown bullied Luxon into excluding Auckland stormwater from the Government’s rates cap. Now he’s been bullied into yet another tax."

“The so-called bed tax will be disastrous for many small accommodation providers while providing a slush fund that local politicians like Wayne Brown can dip into when they run out of ratepayer money."

“In his address to LGNZ in 2024, Luxon said he was committed to getting local government back to basics. He forgot to mention that Auckland is exempt.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Inland Revenue for hiding behind tax secrecy laws instead of notifying Police after receiving an alleged kidnapping claim linked to a tax scam.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tyler Groenewald says:

“When someone alleges they’ve been kidnapped, the response is simple: call the Police. Instead, IRD hid behind process.”

“Tax secrecy was never designed to be a shield for inaction. Kidnapping isn’t a tax matter, it’s a serious crime.”

Groenewald says the situation exposes troubling double standards.

“IRD had no problem sharing details with Meta. But when it came to reporting an alleged violent crime to Police there was silence.”

“If someone suffers because they contacted the wrong government agency, that’s not a minor oversight. That’s a catastrophic systems failure.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Inland Revenue to explain why Police were not notified and what will change to ensure serious criminal allegations are never ignored again.

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that Inland Revenue spent $1.967 million on an outbound phone call campaign to encourage taxpayers to adopt two-factor authentication for their myIR accounts.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Too often government departments splash out on marketing campaigns while forgetting it’s taxpayers’ money they’re spending.”

“Inland Revenue is right to strengthen its data security, but spending nearly $2 million on phone calls and staff time raises serious questions for those footing the bill.”

“Even staff questioned whether the campaign was a success, with many recipients dismissing the calls as potential scams. When fraud-prevention calls are mistaken for fraud, something has clearly gone wrong.”

“With two-factor authentication now compulsory anyway, wouldn’t a simple pop-up on IRD’s website and a direct email to users have achieved the same outcome at a fraction of the cost?”

Responding to the Minister of Finance’s announcement today of an independent review into COVID-19 monetary policy, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson James Ross said the review is “long overdue”.

“The Reserve Bank pumped far too much money into the economy. The result was a surge in asset prices and the kind of inflation that has hammered households ever since.”

“When the Bank finally realised it had let the inflation genie out of the bottle, it responded with sharp rises in the Official Cash Rate. That response tipped the economy into recession: a recession the former Governor, Adrian Orr, quite publicly said was necessary.”

“But the downturn has been deeper and longer than even he appears to have anticipated.”

“A searching investigation into how the Reserve Bank assessed the situation, and how it reached its decisions, is desperately needed. The review must examine the apparent lack of coordination between monetary and fiscal policy, and recommend corrective action.”

“It also needs to scrutinise the Bank’s use of ‘alternative’ tools, including the scale, timing, and duration of those interventions.”

“The Bank brutalised the New Zealand economy to correct its own mistakes. New Zealanders are still living with the consequences of the worst Bank-induced recession in more than thirty years.”

“This cannot be a once-over-lightly desktop exercise. It must be a forensic examination that produces a practical blueprint to prevent a repeat of this economic disaster. The public deserve nothing less.”

“The review should also have the full legal powers of a government inquiry. Decision makers should be required to give evidence under oath and in public. These decisions had major, real-world impacts on New Zealanders’ lives, and transparency demands it.”

Responding to news that Christchurch City Council is proposing an 8 percent rates rise, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Josh Van Veen said:

“Delaying the rates cap will cost ratepayers across the country, and Christchurch is no exception. Rates need capping now, not three years down the road.”

“Christchurch households are paying the price for the Government’s dilly-dallying. Another 8 percent rates hike is planned this year, on top of a staggering 24 percent increase over the past three years.

“With Local Government Minister Simon Watts postponing action until 2029, councils have every incentive to load costs onto ratepayers now and lock in a higher baseline. That doesn’t just mean higher rates this year; it means higher rates every year from here on out.”

The Taxpayers’ Union says Labour can scarcely believe its luck with the Government’s insistence that its proposed levy on electricity bills isn’t a tax because it’s a levy.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams said:

“We’ve been fielding calls and interview requests all day from people wanting to know whether we consider a levy a tax. The definition of a levy is literally ‘the act of imposing a tax, charge, or fine’. This isn’t complicated.”

“The last Prime Minister to try this line was Jacinda Ardern, who desperately wanted her clean car emissions levy not to be called what National quite rightly branded it at the time: the ute tax. Watching National now recycle Labour’s talking points is both ironic and alarming.”

Williams said while the case for improving energy security and addressing dry-year risk is legitimate, the decision to fund an LNG terminal through a compulsory charge on electricity bills was a political and policy blunder.

“This Government campaigned relentlessly on ‘no new taxes’, and warns voters that Labour and its Green and Te Pāti Māori partners would hike costs. Then it turns around and announces a new charge on one of the most sensitive household bills in the country. You don’t need a focus group to know how that lands.”

“There are clear alternatives. The Government could recycle a small portion of the $14 billion of energy assets it already owns and ring-fence the proceeds to fix the energy mess Labour left behind. Labour would struggle to criticise asset recycling when the money is used to stabilise supply and lower prices. Instead, National has chosen to tax power bills and argue about definitions.”

Williams warned that if the Government doesn’t change course, it risks undermining its core election message just months out from polling day.

“This is an unforced error. The LNG facility is defensible. Funding it through a levy on electricity is not. If National wants to keep its credibility on tax and not hand Labour a stick to whack back with, Mr Luxon should ditch the levy and insist his Ministers find another way to pay.”

Responding to today’s announcement of a new tax on the electricity sector, Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman James Ross said:

“Introducing a new tax during a cost-of-living crisis would be a huge political mistake. Luxon promised ‘no new taxes’, and he will destroy his credibility if he u-turns now.”

“You don’t make electricity bills cheaper by taxing them. Dancing on the head of a pin over what is a tax and what is a levy is a Labour Party talking point. Luxon should spare us the spin and abandon this folly.”

“Assuming the Government’s ballpark estimates are correct, based on last year’s total electricity generation Kiwi households are about to wake up to an extra cost of between $50 and $90 each."

“Make no mistake, a tax on power will hit jobs and make households worse off. If Luxon wants to spend money on LNG plants, he needs to find the money through savings elsewhere.”

Neither the Centre-Right or Centre-Left blocs have enough seats to form a Government in the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll.

The poll shows Labour drops 0.3 points to 34.1 percent, while National drops 0.2 points to 31.3 percent.

New Zealand First drops 1.4 points to 10.5 percent, while the Greens jump 2.6 points to 10.3 percent. ACT drops 0.3 points to 6.7 percent, while Te Pāti Māori drops 0.1 points to 2.9 percent.

Headline results and more information about the methodology can be found on the Taxpayers' Union's website at www.taxpayers.org.nz/0226_polltu

For the Minor parties, TOP is on 1.4 percent (+0.7 points), NZ Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.2 percent (+0.6 points), Vision NZ is on 0.4 percent (+0.1 points), and New Conservatives are on 0.1 percent (-0.2 points).

This month's results are compared to the last Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll conducted in January 2026, available at www.taxpayers.org.nz/jan26poll_nztucuria

The combined projected seats for the Centre-Right is down 3 to 60, while the combined seats for the Centre-Left rose 3 to 60. On these numbers, there would be a hung Parliament.

Cost of Living remains the most important issue, jumping 7.4 points to 34.9 percent. This is its highest result since May 2024.

The Economy more generally follows on 12.0 percent (-2.8 points), followed by Health on 9.2 percent (+0.4 points).

Commenting on the results, Taxpayers' Union Spokesman James Ross said:

"As we move deeper into election year, the race is neck-and-neck. This poll will serve as a wake-up call for the Government to lift its game."

"The sizeable shift in the seat numbers mostly reflects changes in support for the Greens and New Zealand First since last month."

"The other big shift is the increase in the number of voters more worried about the cost of living. It's now higher than anytime since May 2024. This is significant as it is counter to much of the media commentary about the recovering economy. Clearly people just aren't feeling it yet."

With more than 50 percent of Crown Regional Holdings’ loan portfolio at risk of default or impairment, the Taxpayers’ Union says the Government is gambling with taxpayers’ money.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“When politicians start sloshing money around to butter up voters, you can guarantee they’re making bad bets on behalf of taxpayers. The Government is taking on risk that private lenders wouldn’t touch through blatant pork-barrel politics.”

“Of Crown Regional Holdings’ $430 million portfolio, more than half is at risk of default. Whether it’s the last Government’s Provincial Growth Fund or this one’s Regional Infrastructure Fund, the results are the same.”

“So far in election year we’ve already seen $950,000 bunged to cowsheds in Taranaki and $10 million to a Bay of Plenty Marae, neither of which will touch the sides of New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit."

"It’s time to wrap up the slush funds.”

Kia ora,

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 deserves scrutiny. And we won’t stop calling it out.

But I also wanted to drop you a note today to say this plainly: Waitangi Day speaks directly to the values that underpin the Taxpayers’ Union – and not just because scrutinising government spending is the core of what we do.

For us, Waitangi isn’t about contemporary politics or activist theatre. It’s about one of the most remarkable New Zealanders who ever lived: Hōne Heke.

Hōne Heke – the country's first anti-tax campaigner

Too often, Hōne Heke is reduced to a caricature: “the man who chopped down the flagpole.”

What’s missing from most retellings is why he did it.

Hōne Heke wasn’t just protesting symbolism. He was protesting taxation.

In 1841, he was angered by the new Government’s introduction of tariffs on tea, sugar, flour, grain, spirits, tobacco, and other foreign goods — taxes that hit Māori trade in the north particularly hard.

Hōne Heke saw immediately that the Treaty he had signed was being followed by higher prices, reduced economic opportunity, and decisions being made without meaningful consent.

So he resisted. Not with speeches or submissions – but with the blunt tools available to him at the time.

It’s well documented that Hōne Heke was inspired by the way America had responded to British-imposed taxes with full-blown revolution. He even flew the American flag as a symbol of his anti-tax, anti-colonial protest (an image often left out of modern depictions of his rebellion).

And here’s the part that really matters: it worked.

After Hōne Heke’s rebellion, the Government abolished customs duties in the Bay of Islands and declared it a free port. Bad taxes were repealed because someone was willing to stand up and say, “this isn’t fair.”

Hōne Heke supported and was a signatory to the Treaty. His protest came when the Crown failed to honour it, particularly through unjust taxation and centralised decision-making.

He stood up for economic dignity, self-determination, and common sense. Ideals that transcend party lines, ethnicity, and political fashion.

That’s a lineage we’re proud to be part of.

Waitangi Day doesn’t belong only to politicians, separatist activists, or those who shout the loudest. It belongs to all New Zealanders who believe that power should be accountable, that taxation should be fair, and that ordinary people have the right – and sometimes the duty – to push back.

We don’t use axes anymore (thankfully). We use transparency, evidence, and public pressure.

But the principle is exactly the same.

So this Waitangi Day we’re remembering New Zealand’s original tax rebel and recommitting to the simple idea that government should respect the people who pay the bills.

Because Waitangi doesn’t belong to one ideology. And Hōne Heke's values of self-reliance and accountability are as Kiwi as it gets.

That’s why, today of all days, we’re recognising Hōne Heke as a Taxpayer Hero — and in his tradition we’ll keep defending taxpayers — calmly, firmly, and without apology.

Ngā mihi nui, thanks for standing with us. And happy Waitangi Day.

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

ps. You can read more about why Hōne Heke is the de facto patron of the Taxpayers' Union here: Hōne Heke didn’t just cut flagpoles – he cut taxes.

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is backing Federated Farmers’ alarm over draft resource management legislation that could open the door to effectively enabling a tax on water by stealth.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf says:

“This is exactly the kind of slippery, backdoor taxing power taxpayers have every right to be worried about. If the Government wants to fix planning laws, it should do so transparently, not sneak in the ability to tax water through future Ministerial decree.”

“Freshwater is already heavily regulated. Giving Ministers sweeping powers to auction rights or impose levies is not reform, it’s a blank cheque for future Governments to treat water as a cash cow.”

“Make no mistake: a water tax doesn’t just hit farmers. It flows straight through to higher food prices, higher costs for exporters, and higher bills for every New Zealander.”

“The whole point of replacing the Resource Management Act was to cut bureaucracy and restore property rights. Provisions like those allowing freshwater being auctioned, tendered, or levied undermine that promise and will only create more uncertainty, more compliance costs, and more distrust.”

“The Government must urgently clarify its intentions and scrap any clauses that allow freshwater rights to be effectively taxed. Kiwis were promised reform, not a new stealth tax.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to clarify media reports that he has struck a backroom deal with Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown to exempt the Super City from the rates cap.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“Any backroom deals between the Prime Minister and the Mayor of Auckland would totally undermine what is already a watered-down policy.”

“As it stands, the Government’s so-called rates cap is more accurately described as a ban on rates freezes. And with implementation delayed until 2029, councils have another three years to jack up rates and set a high baseline for future rate hikes. All the cards are already being laid in councils’ favour.”

“As the Rates Cap Savings Dashboard shows, a two percent rates cap would have saved the average Auckland family $442 over the last three years, and that’s what the PM is signing away.”

“Exempting stormwater in Auckland would render a cap in the Super City meaningless. The Prime Minister needs to explain if he’s sabotaging his own Government’s policy, and if he intends to do the same for other councils across the country.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act requestthat staff at the Ministry of Education were paid $414,119.68 by taxpayers to do 8,528 hours of union work.

This includes organising and advocating on behalf of the New Zealand Educational Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI), the Public Service Association (PSA) and the Association of Professional and Executive Employees (APEX).

The response shows under current agreements that:

• NZEI staff are entitled to two hours per week of union work for 12 staff, equalling 1,248 hours per year or an estimated $60,602.88 of paid work.
• PSA staff are entitled to two full time co-convenors and a minimum of 5 hours per week for 12 National Delegates, equalling staff time of 7,280 hours per year or an estimated $353,516.80 of paid work.
• The Ministry of Education has also confirmed that PSA co-convenors are provided with free office space within Ministry buildings and the 7 APEX delegates are entitled to "support to fulfil their role."

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“This is a rort. Taxpayers are paying government employees to organise against the very system that employs them.”

“Ministry staff were paid to help coordinate strikes that last year left kids out of the classroom and parents forced to fund childcare. Minister Seymour has already announced that union strikes tanked school attendance last year."

“If a private company wouldn't pay staff to protest against itself, then why are taxpayers footing the bill for the Ministry to do so?"

"Somehow, when it’s done on the taxpayer’s dime, it’s seen as business as usual. Union work should be funded by union members, not by the public.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is backing a proposal by Christchurch City councillors to freeze the pay of chief executives and directors at council-owned companies, saying it is a positive step that should now be extended more broadly across the council.

Taxpayers' Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“This is a constructive start, and we commend councillors willing to show restraint at the top. The Council’s chief executive has already acknowledged the pressure on ratepayers by taking a pay cut herself, and that example of frugality should now be reflected more widely across the organisation.”

“Christchurch City Council still employs more than 1,000 staff earning over $100,000 a year, including 45 paid more than a backbench Member of Parliament. As households brace for another significant rates increase, it’s fair to question whether this level of senior pay is sustainable.”

“Ratepayers are being asked to tighten their belts. It’s only reasonable that the same discipline shown by the chief executive is applied throughout senior management.”

“This isn’t about targeting individuals, it’s about priorities. With rates continuing to rise, the Council must show it is managing costs responsibly and living within its means.”

Responding to today’s reporting that Minister Willis expects the current rise in inflation to be "a blip", Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“Minister Willis is sounding a lot like former US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who dismissed rising inflation under the Biden administration and got it completely wrong. Minister Willis’ claim that the increase is mainly due to international factors downplays the domestic pressures her Government can actually influence.”

“As Kiwibank recently noted, it is the heat in domestic inflation that is most disappointing. High electricity prices driven by a cosy power sector oligopoly, and grossly excessive local government rate rises are major contributors. The Government knows this, but its responses have been ineffective or delayed.”

“The Government’s excessive spending is also adding fuel to the fire. Continuous borrowing is building a mounting debt pile, with Total Crown borrowing now nearly $2 billion a month. Financial markets are already signalling expectations that the Reserve Bank may need to bring forward interest rate hikes later this year. Mortgage rates have already started rising on that basis, and economist Brad Olsen has speculated the Reserve Bank could even lift rates as soon as May.”

“Budget 2026 is Minister Willis’ last real chance to show spending restraint. Continued failure to rein in government spending will cement a record of fiscal ill-discipline. Claims of a surplus at the end of every forecast period will keep losing credibility, and international credit ratings agencies will take notice.”

Responding to the public disagreement between the Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister over the India trade deal, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson James Ross said:

“Kiwis shouldn’t have to rely on hearsay and rumour to work out what their Government has committed them to.”

“When two of New Zealand’s most senior politicians are sniping at each other over a deal the public still can’t read, it’s absurd to not give Kiwis the chance to work out the truth for themselves.”

“Regardless of the content, the agreement has already been signed in New Zealanders’ name. What’s the harm in some public accountability?”