The Ministers for Climate Change and Energy have announced the launch of the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund.  This fund allocates $27.7 million dollars towards a 25% subsidy towards the purchase price of low emission heavy vehicles.

Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“This announcement is another example of reckless government spending.  If the government truly wants to reach net zero, a simple cost benefit analysis would tell them that putting this amount of taxpayer dollars towards subsidising vehicles is a complete waste of money.

“All this does is hand over hard-earned taxpayer dollars to billion dollar car companies.  If small businesses understand one thing it’s how to balance the books.  And common sense is to not throw away money on expensive vehicles – an investment that this government apparently thinks is sound.

“Under New Zealand’s declining emissions cap, all these subsidies do is free up emission allowances for other businesses to take advantage of, and so there is no net reduction in emissions overall. This is not an efficient use of taxpayers’ funds.

“Kiwis expect to get bang for buck for their tax dollars.  If Climate Change Minister Watts truly understood just how little effect this will have on carbon emissions, he would cut this fund immediately.”

 

The Post has reported that nine of sixteen councillors have signed a notice of motion seeking to cancel the sale of a 34% stake in Wellington Airport.  This issue was so integral to the council’s long-term plan that this could mean all the council’s planned spending, borrowing and rating might need to go back for more public consultation.

Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“If the sale of the 34% stake in Wellington Airport is killed this would be a significant reversal from a previously sound fiscal strategy.  Not only is this poor fiscal management in the long term, but this decision results in more public spending for public consultation in the short term.

“Instead of making a fiscally prudent decision that serves as a pathway for the future, the Council is now left thinking about squandering the opportunity.  Between future ramifications and current short term costs, this would only further pinch the pockets of ratepayers.

“Council needs to shift its focus back to helping hardworking ratepayers rather than pursue short-term influence over airport operations.  To even consider this level of financial mismanagement shows how out of touch this council is with Wellington ratepayers.”

“Statistics New Zealand’s release today of gross domestic product for the second quarter of 2024 shows another quarterly contraction” says Taxpayers’ Union economist Ray Deacon.  “Although not yet another technical recession, this will almost certainly be true with the third quarter’s result expected to also signal a further decline.

However, Statistics New Zealand data on GDP per capita reveals that this has contracted by 4.6% over seven consecutive quarters and this exceeds the decline of 4.2% over the first seven quarters of the global financial crisis.  It took another six quarters after this for GDP per capita to again rise consistently, signalling real economic growth had finally returned.” 

“This Reserve Bank engineered recession is serious and damaging, as much recent data indicates.  Although there is some slight evidence of growing confidence, that has yet to be translated into increased investment and output in the face of continued weak consumer demand and high interest rates.  The Reserve Bank must accelerate its program of reducing the official cash-rate in the light of continuing weakness in the economy and an expectation that third quarter CPI will fall under 2.5%.”

“The Government too must play its part by further spending cuts, especially at the bloated policy ministries and plethora of commissions.  Strong fiscal consolidation played a big part in returning New Zealand to surplus after the GFC and this enabled debt to be paid down.  The current Government must increase its efforts to achieve the same.”
 

Wellington Regional Council has today released documents showing that, in partnership with Metlink, more than $2.8 million in “cosmetic upgrades” has been spent on Naenae subway station. The upgrades include a $127,000 LED handrail, $29,000 on a public consultation questionnaire, and more than $159,000 on entrance signage.

Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“These recent reports by Wellington Regional Council are a classic example of more ‘nice-to-have’ spending from local councils.

“$127,000 on an LED handrail is shameful. With egregious spending like this, it appears that the council is attempting to maximise costs rather than minimise them.

“This latest spending spree includes $29,000 on a “public consultation questionnaire” and more than $159,000 on entrance signs.  How big and bright are these signs being installed for them to cost the same amount as a brand new Porsche?

“In their statement today, Wellington Regional Council said the cosmetic changes were for ‘safety’.  Surely they could have just installed some lights in the station that would have provided the same amount of safety while costing a fraction of the $127,000 now wasted.

“With a cosmetic makeover of a subway station costing more than $2.8 million, questions needs to be asked about how these spending decisions were made.  Is the council deciding to now send ratepayer funds to the highest bidder?”

More than 6,500 taxpayers have filed requests under the Privacy Act to find out if their personal information was leaked to Facebook, Google, and other social media and tech companies, as part of IRD's enormous data breach that saw taxpayer information handed over for 'marketing' purposes.

Taxpayers' Union Spokesman, Sam Warren, said:

“This is the biggest breach of taxpayer privacy in New Zealand’s history, and we are only hearing crickets.  Why hasn’t the Minister fronted on this yet, is he on holiday?

“Heads should be rolling at Inland Revenue.  Unlike when you voluntarily provide data to third parties, Kiwis have no choice with IRD and are required to by law.  With this comes the expectation of trust, which has been completely betrayed.  Now there is no telling where your information might be.

"New Zealanders want to know whether their personal information has been given to overseas tech companies.  In 24-hours, more than 6,500 submissions have been made on IRD-Leak.nz, demanding answers under the Privacy Act.

“The Privacy Act allows 20-working days for IRD to provide answers, but in reality, it should take no longer than a few days.  They obviously have the information in digital form, it's a matter of simply data-matching to the spreadsheets they've already uploaded to Facebook."

Earlier this week, The Post reported that Nicola Willis’ newly established social investment agency is able to draw from double the budget of its predecessor.

Staff salaries at the agency are reported to be an average of $148,215, compared to the overall average salary of $97,200 across all other agencies. This move has sparked concern among taxpayers about the efficiency and priorities of government spending.

Commenting, Taxpayers' Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“These numbers show that Nicola Willis has doubled the budget for her new Social Investment Agency. This is a clear double standard that goes against everything this government promised it would do once in power. 

“The fact she is paying her bureaucrats fifty percent more than other government agencies shows clear favouritism towards a Nicola Willis ‘pet project’. 

“Willis needs to start going ‘back to basics’ and stop funnelling taxpayer money towards larger budgets and higher bureaucrat perks. It’s high time to redirect this money towards hard working New Zealanders and deliver true tax relief.”

The Taxpayers’ Union has launched an online Privacy Act Request tool at www.IRDLeak.nz for taxpayers to find out whether their private information has been handed over to social media platforms by the Inland Revenue Department.

Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said:

"Last week IRD were caught red-handed misusing private taxpayer information. Instead of respecting taxpayer privacy, they extracted the data from the tax system, shared it with their 'marketing department' and deliberately sent it onto social media companies.

"Many New Zealanders choose not to give their personal information to foreign social media giants. It's beggars belief that IRD chose to do it for them.

"Taxpayers have no choice but to share private and personal information with Inland Revenue. The quid pro quo is that the information is handled securely. That trust has been completely betrayed and justifies heads rolling at the very top.

"Instead of being upfront and truthful, IRD have now been caught lying to New Zealanders about the data breach.

"First they told media that there wasn't any complaints about the practise. That was untrue.

"Now they're trying to seed confusion by giving bogus assurances about 'hashing'. IRD's leadership team will know full well that it does not provide protection. IRD have even admitted that the whole purpose was to enable social media companies to identify and target individual and identifiable taxpayers.

"The 'hashing' is a convenient PR distraction tactic. It demonstrates a total arrogance towards taxpayers IRD are supposed to serve.

“Make no mistake, this is the biggest breach of taxpayer privacy in New Zealand's history, affecting hundreds of thousands of taxpayers, if not more. Having consulted with taxpayer groups throughout the english-speaking world, we cannot find any example of a privacy breach anywhere near this scale," said Mr Williams.

www.IRDLeak.nz allows taxpayers to file a Privacy Act request with Inland Revenue to requires the Department to inform them whether the taxpayer's private information was leaked.

For transparency, the site was commissioned and is hosted by the Taxpayers' Union. Unlike the IRD, the Taxpayers' Union respects taxpayers' rights to privacy. The site uses a New Zealand-owned and operated software tool to generate and send the Privacy Act requests.

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, we sat down with National Party MP, Suze Redmayne.

Suze was elected as the MP for Rangitikei at the 2023 General Election. Suze and her husband run an award winning farm and sell their lamb under their own brands. Suze shares her life story, what drew her to politics and what she hopes to achieve during her time in Parliament. Also discussed is a number of member's bill ideas Suze is considering and what the role of government should be in the economy. 

Suze's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Suze on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

RIP John Bishop The update below was scheduled to go out on Saturday morning, but just prior to sending we learned the very sad news that our founding Chair, former TVNZ political editor, and father to Cabinet Minister Christopher Bishop, had passed away unexpectedly. So it is a very sombre note to start today's Taxpayer Update. John was instrumental in setting up and getting the Taxpayers’ Union to where it is today. An ‘old school’ journalist in the best possible sense, John had integrity, wisdom, wit, and a kindness that will be deeply missed. For many years, he has been my mentor and friend, and I know he has been the same to many of the staff and volunteers over the last 11 years. We issued to the media a small tribute from David and me over the weekend which is posted online here. The NZ Herald's piece on John is here (although I am sure there will be more). John got to know countless early supporters and financial supporters. So I am sure you will join me in offering our condolences to Rosemary, Eleanor, Christopher and the wider family on behalf of the whole Taxpayers’ Union. Rest in peace, John.

 

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A new poll (and it's not good news for Chris Hipkins); even more wasteful spending on "white privilege workshops" for Wellington bureaucrats in this week's Taxpayer Update.

But first, we have to tackle the extraordinary news that IRD officials have been caught uploading taxpayer data to social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn.

🚨 IRD Data Leak 🚨

Thanks to the hundreds of supporters who have contacted us concerned about IRD's data leak that was reported by Radio NZ earlier in the week.

We were as stunned as anyone that IRD staff have been caught extracting data from tax returns to upload to social media companies.

Names, addresses, dates of birth, and even details on who has tax debts and overdue student loans have been handed over to Google, Facebook, and others.

Putting aside the questions about data sovereignty – these companies are based outside of New Zealand and not under New Zealand's legal/privacy jurisdiction – it is almost certainly the worst breach of taxpayer privacy ever seen in this country.

We've spoken to our counterparts in the UK, Canada, and Australia, and this appears this is the worst data leak or privacy breach by a revenue agency in the Commonwealth.

What's worse, the IRD have been trying to downplay and obfuscate. They told Radio NZ that because the data is "hashed" there is nothing to worry about.

Our IT experts say this is absolute nonsense. The whole point of giving the data to Facebook and Google (among others) was for the companies to identify you/taxpayers online and match the data to profile(s).

It is so basic it shouldn't have to be said: taxpayers face prison if they don't give personal information to the IRD. Taxpayers are entitled to expect that information to be held in the strictest confidence.

Literally uploading the information to social media companies (or even using it for "marketing") warrants nothing short of a Ministerial investigation and heads rolling.

To our astonishment IRD are reported as saying that taxpayers cannot "opt-out" of having their information being given away. If that is true, we will need to consider all legal options. We cannot take this one lying down.

The whole team are working on this. We are still speaking to IT experts, getting legal advice, and (most importantly) advice on how to stop IRD from giving taxpayer information being given to social media companies. 

MONDAY UPDATE: I've just sat down with David Buckingham, whose 'citizen journalist' efforts uncovered what IRD have been doing. The more we learn, the more alarming it becomes. Have a listen to my interview with David on our special Podcast episode here.

I am hopeful that within the next 24 hours we'll be able to give you a more thorough update and advice on how to find out whether your personal information has been leaked.

Keep an eye on your inbox tomorrow...

New Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll: good news for the governing parties 📈📊

Despite what the media might lead you believe, the public are behind Christopher Luxon's Government based on our hot-off-the-press Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll.

Based on this month's numbers, the Government would maintain a comfortable majority in Parliament if the elections were held today.

National are up one point compared to our last (July) poll, to 39 percent. ACT are down a smudge (0.3 points) to 8.8 percent while New Zealand First are down 0.5 points to 6.8 percent.

Labour are up one point to 27 percent, while the Greens are down 1.5 points to 11.0 percent, and Te Pati Māori up 1.5 points to 5.0 percent.

Translated into seats, this would give the centre-right bloc 67 seats (no change) and the centre-left bloc 53 seats (down 2).

But the real worry for Labour is that Chris Hipkins' support has taken a big hit. Hipkins' net favourability (favourable less unfavourable) has fallen 16 points since July, down to negative 10 percent. By comparison, Luxon's has risen 1 point to positive 7 percent.

And the drop is reflected in people's preferred Prime Minister. Hipkins has dropped 6 points to 13 percent, although Luxon also dropped 2 points to 33 percent.

The full poll results are on our website here. Or if you're after all the details that the PM and Leader of the Opposition get to see, join our Taxpayers' Caucus for the datasets and correlations.

Take the hint, Chris... 👀

At risk of doing a One News poll "Maiki spin", wise readers of Taxpayer Update may conclude that it is no coincidence that the same month Mr Hipkins has been talking about new taxes, his support has nosedived. 👎

Perhaps voters still haven't forgiven the last Government for its six years of wringing them dry with higher taxes, while the quality of spending deteriorated as fast as the quantity ballooned?

Here's a friendly tip for Chris Hipkins: focus on ideas about how to get government spending under control and growing the economy, before you keep talking about the next Labour government taxing New Zealanders even more.

And they've really gone fill tilt. A capital gains tax is one thing, but wealth taxes are such a backwards policy that even make socialists blush. 

Right now, New Zealand is the single worst OECD country at attracting investment (until recently we were only better than Mexico, but even they are now ahead of us).

We need Her Majesty's Opposition to be leading debates on how New Zealand can attract investment, quality jobs, opportunity and growth – not taxes to chase it all away.

Wealth taxes: a sure way to for New Zealand to be poor 😔

Writing for Stuff's The Post, Alex pointed out what happened in Europe when wealth taxes were tried. 

"In France, the tax caused 10,000 people and $35 billion to pack up and leave. Not only that, but the wealth tax cost European countries twice as much in lost VAT (similar to New Zealand's GST). So with Hipkins' proposal, the government can say au revoir to their sales tax take as well."

Countries that have tried wealth taxes have ended up poorer, tax revenue fell, and countries that aren't as interested in economic vandalism are more than happy to scoop up all the jobs looking for someone friendlier.

Come on Chris, you can do better.

But good news from The Post! You're all rich and powerful 🎉🥳🎉

If you missed Alex's opinion piece, that wasn't your only chance to see the Taxpayers' Union in the papers this week. 

Remember a few weeks ago, we dug out that MBIE had wasted $650,000 on 'white privilege workshops'? Well your humble Taxpayers' Union kept digging, and surprise surprise found more.

Another $300,000 has been pumped into the pockets of something called the Pakeha Project. Bureaucrats at StatisticsNZ, the Ministry of Justice, and - you guessed it - our ol' friends at MBIE have been getting lessons in "questioning the algorithms of whiteness that discipline our world.'

And guess who's paying for it all? You the taxpayer.

Rather than spend your tax money on quaint old fashioned things like government services, these departments are pumping straight into a string of woke organisations no one has ever heard of.

Naturally, the Pakeha Project slung some mud back after we exposed their grift, saying we at the Taxpayers' Union 'only represented a tiny percent of taxpayers who had a lot of power and money'.

So good news! Apparently, being one of the 200,000 taxpayers who receive our updates, you're in the money! Congrats.

We still say these pointless workshops are a waste of taxpayers' money, and they're well past due to be scrapped. Sign the petition here to get bureaucrats out of these "white privilege" workshops and back at their desks.

MFAT's failing grade for spending cuts 📚💰

The culture of waste goes much deeper than that though, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been in the spotlight this week.

It emerged that Foreign Minister Winston Peters had been personally lobbying the PM to avoid cuts, making out that there was no way to find savings without closing down a couple of embassies. MFAT's savings total the grand sum of less than one percent of its budget.

Back in May, we called out MFAT's simple tech projects massive budget blowout, which more than doubled the cost to $33 million. This week, our researchers also rooted out that MFAT has once again spent $5 million on private school fees for diplomats' kids – often in countries with public education systems better than New Zealand's own schools!

There's no shortage of people queueing up to be diplomats. MFAT aren't going to face a recruitment problem if they scrap some of their gold-plated perks.

Why, when our education standards are plummeting, are we paying for the silver-spooned families of diplomats to swan around in swanky overseas boarding schools?

Fees in the USA, UK, Australia, and Belgium alone totalled over $1.25 million dollars. Let us know what you think.

Wellington's Metlink wasteful spending has a bad smell about it 💲🚽🤢

If you thought MFAT were bad for flushing money down the drain, Wellington's always there to show you that things could be worse.

Austin dug out Wellington's transport agency Metlink's latest gold-plated project: building just seven toilets for their drivers, costing whopping $1.3 million dollars. That's $185,000 per loo!

No one's saying drivers don't need the loo, but as David Farrar pointed out over on Kiwiblog, companies offer commercial toilet blocks for less than a ninth of that cost. The question is, why does every simple project in the capital seem to cost an arm and a leg?

Talk about taking the... errr, let's not go there.

MP's in Depth: David MacLeod 🎙️

 

Taxpayers’ Union comment on passing of founding Chair, former TVNZ Political Editor, remarkable New Zealander

The co-founders of the Taxpayers’ Union - David Farrar and Jordan Williams - are sad to reflect on the unexpected passing of John Bishop, who chaired the organisation’s Board from the Union’s inception in 2013 until 2017.

“John should be saluted for having the guts to front the Taxpayers’ Union in its infancy, knowing full well that it posed a reputational risk,” says David Farrar.

“Most political start-ups fall flat on their face, and John took on the unpaid role because he believed the organisation we were trying to create was needed.”

"John was always calm, collected and thoughtful. He always had good humour under pressure."

Jordan Williams said “John’s experience as a Chief Parliamentary Reporter and Political Editor at TVNZ and reputation for 'old-school' journalistic integrity was the perfect fit for helping create the fast-paced comms-based think thank tank that is the Taxpayers' Union."

"John’s steady and wise counsel for me over the last eleven years will be deeply missed."

The co-founders of the Taxpayers’ Union - David Farrar and Jordan Williams - are sad to reflect on the unexpected passing of John Bishop, who chaired the organisation’s Board from the Union’s inception in 2013 until 2017.

“John should be saluted for having the guts to front the Taxpayers’ Union in its infancy, knowing full well that it posed a reputational risk,” says David Farrar.

“Most political start-ups fall flat on their face, and John took on the unpaid role because he believed the organisation we were trying to create was needed.”

"John was always calm, collected and thoughtful. He always had good humour under pressure."

Jordan Williams said “John’s experience as a Chief Parliamentary Reporter and Political Editor at TVNZ and reputation for 'old-school' journalistic integrity was the perfect fit for helping create the fast-paced comms-based think tank that is the Taxpayers' Union."

"John’s steady and wise counsel for me over the last eleven years will be deeply missed."

"John was a remarkable New Zealander. On behalf of the whole organisation, we express our deepest sympathies to Rosemary, Eleanor, Christopher and the wider family," said Mr Williams.

The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that MFAT has once again spent almost $5 million dollars on private school fees for MFAT employees between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“With Kiwis crushed under their tax burden, all government departments should be looking to make meaningful savings. Bureaucrats and ministers across the board think their department needs to be the special exception, but the explosion in staff numbers since 2017 proves that just doesn’t hold water.

“The $33m blown-out cloud project at MFAT revealed earlier this year shows the idea that there’s no fat to trim at MFAT is nonsense. Slap on a $5 million a year private school bill for the silver-spooned families of diplomats and it’s hard not to spot areas for savings.

“Kiwis at home are struggling to make ends meet. Government employees are getting private education for their kids free of charge thanks to the hardworking taxpayer, even in countries where the state education system ranks higher than New Zealand’s. The hypocrisy is palpable."

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, we sat down with National Party MP, David MacLeod.

David is the MP for New Plymouth and was elected at the 2023 general election. He spent 22 years on Taranaki Regional Council, including 15 years as the Chair. He has also been a director on some significant organisations including Port Taranaki, Fonterra and Predator Free 2050. Early in his career, David was an electrician and eventually took over the company he worked for and grew it to more than 100 tradespeople.

In the podcast, we explore what drives David, why he wanted to become an MP, and what he hopes to achieve during his time in Parliament.

David's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow David on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

RNZ reported this morning on concerns that IRD has been sharing details of thousands of taxpayers with internet giants such as Facebook. The data includes taxpayers’ date of birth, phone numbers and contacts.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“These reports that the IRD is leaking taxpayer’s data to big tech giants without notice is a violation of millions of Kiwis’ privacy. Hardworking Kiwis are the reason the IRD and government are able to operate, and leaking their personal phone numbers, contacts and date of birth to benefit overseas billionaires is unacceptable.

“IRD’s defence that ‘they are fully compliant with the law’ is truly disappointing, and doubling down on failing to protect Kiwis’ privacy is embarrassing. International counterparts including European and American regulators are clear that the tools used by the IRD are not sufficient to protect taxpayers.

“Hardworking taxpayers don’t expect to have their data handed over to tech firms without their knowledge. If the IRD can’t be trusted to protect people’s sensitive data, then frankly who in government can? Those responsible need to be held accountable

🚨🚨 APOLOGY 🚨🚨
Green Councillor demands we set the record straight

In the last edition of Taxpayer Update James told you about Greater Wellington Regional Green Councillor Thomas Nash who led the local government bemoaning criticism of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's speech to local councils where the PM told them to "get back to basics" and stop wasting ratepayer money.

According to Nash, the PM was totally out of line and in fact councils are doing a good job with ratepayer money... (seriously, what planet is this guy on?!).

As revealed by your humble Taxpayers' Union (and also covered in Stuff's The Post here) the problem for Nash is that his own Council isn't practising what he preaches. Nash is the Council's Transport Committee Chairman but:

In just two years, Cr Nash and his gang have spent more than $200,000 jet-setting around the world. In fact, the Greater Wellington Council is so generous with the business class travel, it appears to spend more than every other Regional Council combined.

Las Vegas, Spain, Germany. You name the place and they were there spending ratepayers' money, but the undisputed pièce de résistance was a $900-a-night stay in London's glamorous Hyatt Regency.

While ratepayers might be having sleepless nights, no such fears for Councillor Thomas "no fat to be trimmed" Nash who we assume sleeps like a log. Perhaps wrapped up in the Hyatt Regency's Egyptian cotton in those super-king-sized beds...

Councillor Nash hit the roof. In fact he even threatened to call in the lawyers!

His issue? Not that we criticised the hypocrisy of his comments, or even the sky high flights and international travel spending our research team unearthed.

Rather Nash is furious with the suggestion that he personally stayed at the Churchill Hyatt Regency in London and/or enjoyed the luxury of those ratepayer funded Egyptian cotton sheets.

Here at the Taxpayers' Union we strive for accuracy and where we get it wrong, we're happy to make corrections and put it right.

We take Councillor Nash's word that the pleasure of staying at London's $900-a-night glamorous Hyatt Regency was in fact reserved for his colleague: Regional Council Chair, Daran Ponter. Per Councillor Nash's insistence, we hereby apologise for the assumption (and that he missed out). 

Wellington City "no fat to be trimmed" Council's new pedalling palace ✨🚴🏰✨

Speaking of Wellington, a few weeks ago Wellington ratepayers were up in arms over an $84,000 bike rack, which had less than three bikes using it per week.

But in what is surely an emotional support effort to make Auckland ratepayers feel slightly less aggrieved with the costs of the "Super City", Wellington has done one better!

It turns out that an $84,000 bike rack is perhaps an absolute bargain.

A new bike rack has been discovered! It was recently constructed opposite the Council's office (which, ironically has an existing bike rack right outside – weird they didn't see it).

This new bike rack cost ratepayers a staggering $563,000.

When the story broke, the office was pondering "Does it come with a red carpet, heated floors or perhaps a bike wash?" After all, for that cost, they could have built a house!

So we sent young Alex up the road to take a look:

Wellington's Mayor, Tory Whanau, says "there's no fat to trim" they've searched high and low to find every saving they can for Ratepayers. If only she'd literally looked out her window to the street below. 🤦

And according to the Rates Dashboard, Wellington City Council is upping rates by 17% this year. While Tory Whanau might not consider it high, it's getting hard to argue that council taxes are out of control when [checks notes] the lRD are now saying rates are unjustifiably high! 🤯

Even the IRD knows you're paying too much council tax! 💰💰💰

How many times have you heard council officials claim that rates are jumping because they've been kept artificially low for years. We all know this isn't exactly true, but mayors and councillors need some excuse for this year's latest crop of double-digit council tax rates hikes.

Now a study from the IRD shows New Zealand's rates are not just higher than the OECD average, they're nearly two times what citizens in other developed countries pay!

On average the rates burden in OECD countries – loosely meaning developed countries – is about 1.0 percent of GDP. In New Zealand, it's a whopping 1.9 percent of everything the country produces.

We've been banging the drum for years that bureaucratic bloat, mission creep, and wasteful spending are why our councils can't keep the books black, and here's the proof. Who saw that coming from the IRD of all places?

Speaking of the IRD, we've been doing some digging into the IRD's pandemic cost of living payments.

Just what do bureaucrats have to do to get their marching orders? 🤔

The cost of living payments during the pandemic came to a cost of $570 million. The least we can expect when the Government's sloshing around that kind of cash is some attempt to make sure it ends up where it's needed.

RNZ scooped a month ago that less than 14 percent of the 80,000 payments to people who were ineligible, had been recovered. Rather than trying to get the money back, the IRD has just been asking very nicely if people would consider give back the cash they took without being entitled to.

When a stuff up costs tens of millions, naturally we assumed that someone, anyone even partially responsible, would be fired.

So given the egg on the face of the tax man, we wanted to know how many officials paid the price, while the taxpayer picked up the bill.

Thanks to the Official Information Act, we can reveal that despite the armies of bureaucrats, audit teams, and investigators who came after you if you stuffed up your taxes, when the IRD make a stuff up, not only did no one get sacked, not a single person even got a slap on the wrist reprimanded! Not even one.

And the worst part? Not a single individual was "deemed accountable".

So just how hard is it to be sacked in Wellington?

We say, that this sort of bureaucratic shoulder-shrugging where no one is ever to blame, no one cares how money is lost and no one appears to even consider it a good idea in ensuring it doesn't happen again is why our public services are so broken (and expensive).

The IRD are quite happy to pour money down the drain, but what about Watercare pouring money into the river?

Watercare's $20 million secret 🤫🤫🤫

The Herald this week reported Watercare – Auckland's water provider – had signed up to pay $20 million dollars to Waikato-Tainui's governing council. That's $1 million a year, for 20 years, on top $2 million a year already given to the co-governed Waikato River Trust for river clean-up.

And this terrible deal for ratepayers was kept away from the public by Watercare.

Sam from our sister group, the Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance, summed it up perfectly in the NZ Herald:

"Ratepayers deserve transparency on issues involving this sort of money, especially when the cost-to-benefit for such a transaction remains murky at best."

To add ratepayer insult to injury, Watercare bosses either wouldn't (or couldn't) provide an explanation for why these payments were kept secret. Either way, it's no way to build trust with the ratepayers who pay the bills.

If a freedom of information request hadn't stumbled across these payments, ratepayers would never have known about these sorts of "smoke-filled room" agreements.

I've asked the research team to look into the issue in more depth. Watercare were caught, but the question remains whether these sort of murky closed-door bargains (where iwi consent is traded for ratepayer cash) are happening elsewhere. We'll keep you posted...

Don't tell anyone but... being a diplomat's not such a bad life 🏫 ✈️

Ever stop to think about diplomats living the high life? It's a tough job for the families, sure, but nothing flash boarding schools and a few butlers won't sort out.

Just for the families of two positions – Trade Commissioners and Regional Directors – in the 2022/23 year, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise spent $1.4 million on private education costs, $150k on staff at their accommodation (i.e. diplomat's homes), and $200k for their private vehicles.

Not a bad life, all things considered.

MP's in Depth: Jamie Arbuckle 🎙️

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can report through an Official Information Act that Metlink has paid $1,300,245 dollars (inc. GST) for a project to install seven toilets in Wellington, exclusively for the use of bus drivers. The locations of the toilets include Houghton Bay, Darlington Road, Wilton, Mairangi, Lyall Bay, Highbury and Karori.

Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“This latest waste story is another example of government failing to deliver on the basics. Spending a penny is one thing, but spending 130 million pennies for just seven toilets takes the biscuit.

“At an average cost of over $185,000 per toilet, it makes you wonder – are the seats made of gold? While looking after bus drivers is important, that money could have surely gone further if spent better.

“Through only a quick Google search, Metlink could have bought seven high end portable toilets that would have cost below $2,000 each.  Not only that, with the money left over, they could have hired another twenty full-time drivers. Surely that would have helped with the constant bus delays more than installing seven loos?

“Metlink needs to start thinking about where they get their money from. Ratepayers are paying their rates with the expectation that they are paying for busses that will be on time, not on frankly ludicrous toilet spending. To waste a million dollars of ratepayers’ hard-earned money in a time when Kiwis are facing a cost-of-living crisis shows how out of touch they are with the people they are supposed to serve.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers Union can reveal through the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act that South Taranaki District Council’s new cultural centre (Te Ramanui O Ruaputahanga) has blown out from a starting point of $8 million to $20.1 million.

As Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told mayors and councillors who attended the Local Government Conference two weeks ago, ratepayers are sick of white elephants and non-delivery, the days of handouts are over, and it’s time to stop wasteful spending.

Local Government spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union, Sam Warren, said:

“The Prime Minister has gotten this right.  Councils are once again wasting too much of ratepayers’ money on vanity projects to serve their own egos.  Local government needs to return focus to roads, water and rubbish – not prioritising nice to have pet projects to make themselves look better.

“South Taranaki residents are going to be paying for this centre, which they didn’t ask for, long after the Mayor and Councillors are thrown out.  With a 11.1% rates rise locked in, funding would have been better put towards paying down debt, or prioritising other key areas.  Ratepayers have already told council they want the focus to be on roads, water and rubbish, it’s time for New Zealand councils to take note.” 

 

Wellington City Council has spent $563,000 to install a single bike rack opposite the council’s office on the Terrace. The bike rack has space for just 24 bikes. This comes only weeks after an $84,000 bike rack was reported on by the Post.

Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“These latest figures on the costs of Wellington City Council’s latest bike rack have truly humbled the Taxpayer’s Union. Imagine a Council so incompetent it can make its previous $84k bike rack blowout look almost reasonable in comparison.

“Wellington City Council needs to let ratepayers know what other special hidden features are included with the masterpiece. Does it come with a red carpet, heated floors and a bike wash? With a price tag over half a million dollars, considering you could build a 3 bed detached house for the same amount of money I’m sure Wellingtonians can expect all the bells and whistles from this latest pedalling palace.

“Tory Whanau says there’s no more fat to be trimmed from her council. Especially with another bike rack only 50m away, how many of these is she planning on purchasing? In a time when Wellingtonians are fighting to keep food on the table and meet the cost of their skyrocketing rates bills, the mayor needs to cut the wasteful spending on bike racks and realise its hardworking Kiwis money she is squandering.”

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau was reported in this morning’s The Post as saying spending was jumping across all councils because rates had been "artificially low for decades".

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Mayors like Whanau need to stop making excuses for their own failures. With Inland Revenue recently reporting that Kiwis are paying almost twice the OECD average in rates, the issue definitely isn’t that Councils haven’t been able to fleece enough money out of ratepayers.

“Council spending is the problem, and Whanau’s council almost tripling rates over the next ten years is just papering over the cracks. Tearing up the city for cycleways, funding convention centres by wringing businesses dry, and a town hall blowout costing households up to $4,000 each are the real problems facing Wellington ratepayers.

“When Whanau said there’s “no more fat to be trimmed” after the recent LGNZ conference, it’s frankly laughable. Wellingtonians might take their council more seriously on financial matters if they could manage a single project without blowing the budget.” 

 

Despite Kaikōura District Council’s project to rebuild the Waiau Toa/Clarence River Glen Alton bridge after the Kaikōura earthquake being eight years deep, the Council have still not even managed to gain the appropriate resource consents or buy the necessary land. This is despite the New Zealand Transport Agency’s 95% subsidy of the project expiring in only 10 months’ time.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“The recent construction news - or lack thereof - regarding the Waiau Toa/Clarence River Glen Alton bridge is a prime example of how councils are failing Kiwis.  Kaikōura’s council fumbling of a $13.5 million grant from NZTA and failing to sort the proper resource consents eight years into the project is an utter embarrassment.

“Is it any wonder New Zealand is facing an infrastructure crisis when even Councils themselves can’t wade through planning red tape without nearly a decade of back-and-forth talking shops? Clearly wholesale RMA reform is long overdue.

“Kaikōura District Council is being offered taxpayers’ money hand over foot for this project, and they still can’t get it right. When Luxon told councils that Kiwis expect them to focus on getting the basics right, this is exactly the sort of fiasco he was rightly calling out.”

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with New Zealand First MP, Jamie Arbuckle.

Jamie was elected on the New Zealand First List at the 2023 General Election. Jamie also remains a current Marlborough district councillor, a role he has held for fourteen years. Jamie has a horticultural background and spent many of his early years in and around the fruit industry. In the podcast, Jamie discusses why he wanted to be an MP, what drew him to New Zealand First, and some of the areas of law he would like to see change in New Zealand. 

Jamie's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Jamie on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

The Taxpayers’ Union says New Zealanders can confidently welcome the departure of Treasure Secretary Caralee McLiesh, who is headed back to Australia and has made a departure swan song calling for a capital gains tax to help paper over unsustainable government finances.

Responding to the comments, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said:

“A generation ago, Treasury bosses were focused on growing the economy and New Zealand’s economic prosperity.

"Following the disastrous tenure of both Gabriel Makhlouf and Caralee McLiesh’s lacklustre performance, taxpayers would say ‘good riddance’ to Treasury bosses who are more interested in growing and funding the size of government, rather than growing the economy.

"The two most important decisions of Nicola Willis this term are her picks for the heads of Treasury and the Public Service Commission.

"Willis should be looking outside the blob and take inspiration from the likes of Sir Roderick Dean and Graham Scott, and a generation of thought leaders who put New Zealand back on track in the 80s and 90s.

"You don’t need decades of public sector experience to work out that much greater fiscal discipline is required to rein in clearly excessive government expenditure.

"Treasury should be the cheerleaders of fiscal discipline, not the excuse-makers demanding new taxes to pay for politicians' folly."

An IRD report has today confirmed what many ratepayers have long suspected; New Zealand households are paying almost double the amount of rates, or similar land tax equivalents, than the average of its OECD neighbours.

Commenting, Local Government Campaigns Manager for the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, Sam Warren, said:

“This report will make for grim reading for many Kiwis struggling with paying their rates.

“The average percentage of rates collected by Councils, comparative to GDP, sits at 1% in the OECD.  Disturbingly, the revenue collected through rates in New Zealand is significantly higher than this average of 1.9% of GDP, nearly twice the amount.

“The report confirms we don’t have a revenue problem, but a spending problem.  We are paying more property taxes than our OECD counterparts, with compounding rates increases in the pipeline, and no end in sight.

“Councils have long failed to keep costs low while staying on top of declining local infrastructure.  What Kiwis are left with is rolling rates increases of more than 14% percent across the board just this year alone, highlighted in the 2024 Taxpayers’ Union Rates Dashboard.

“Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was recently met with jeers and scepticism from a room full of mayors and councillors when told they must go to greater lengths to rein in spending.  Compared to our overseas equivalents, alarm bells should be ringing that more must be done to get us closer to the OECD average, or ideally, below.”

Last week, Christopher Luxon had a good go at wasteful local councils, telling them that the big spending 'party is over'. And boy, did they take it personally! 

Ever wondered why everyone who works in local government always has such a perfect tan? 🤔🏝️

Scores of councillors took to social media crying that there is "no more fat to be trimmed", and who was leading the charge? Greater Wellington Regional Council's Transport Committee Chairman, Green Party Councillor Thomas Nash.

Just by luck, one of our young researchers happened to dig out Greater Wellington Regional Council's international travel bill... And as covered in this morning's Weekend Post, (surprise, surprise) they are not practising what they preach.

In just 2 years, Cr Nash and his gang have spent more than $200,000 jet-setting around the world. In fact, the Greater Wellington Council is so generous with the business class travel, it appears to spend more than every other Regional Council combined.

Las Vegas, Spain, Germany. You name the place and they were there spending ratepayers' money, but the undisputed pièce de résistance was a $900-a-night stay in London's glamorous Hyatt Regency. 

While ratepayers might be having sleepless nights, no such fears for Councillor Thomas "no fat to be trimmed" Nash who we assume sleeps like a log. Perhaps wrapped up in the Hyatt Regency's Egyptian cotton in those super-king-sized beds...

Creative NZ change funding rules to draw curtain on accountability? 🤫

For as long as the Taxpayers' Union can remember, arts funder Creative NZ has been making questionable decisions with taxpayer money. From plays about menstrual cycles to creating "Indigenised Hypno-soundscapes", to poetry about "love in the time of climate change", the grifts run deep.

So when our research team went searching on the Creative NZ website to review the latest funding round, we were curiously left with more questions than answers.

Rather than make more sensible decisions, the boffins at Creative NZ are living up to their name: they have changed the official funding rules so that instead of funding projects they are now just funding organisations (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) and only publicising the total amount funded not the amounts applicable per project, organisation, or artist.

Here at the Taxpayers' Union, we say you are entitled to know where your money is going and what for

We have written to Creative NZ's bosses, and the Auditor General who has the power to demand more clarity. We'll keep you posted.

"Danger, danger, danger!" 🚨🚨🚨 Government owned banks pose increased risks for taxpayers

The Commerce Commission has released a report on banking competition in New Zealand and it’s pretty clear that things aren’t as competitive as they should be. A big part of the problem is the tangle of red tapes that make it almost impossible, and far too expensive, for new entrant to get a foothold in New Zealand, even if they already operate banks overseas.

But one of the recommendations in particular rang alarm bells at the Taxpayers’ Union. The report calls on the Government to look for ways to pump more money into Kiwibank, hoping that with more cash, Kiwibank could grow, compete better, and push other banks to offer Kiwis a better deal.

If economic and finance history has taught us anything, it is that from a taxpayer perspective, government-owned banks are inherently risky. They are vulnerable to political pressure to make dumb uneconomic decisions.

But the way to help Kiwibank grow is not to pump more taxpayer money into it. Instead, the Government should sell Kiwibank to private investors who can fund this growth themselves and focus on long-term success rather than just the relatively short political cycle. Former Minister for State Owned Enterprises, Richard Prebble, wrote about that in the Herald – we reckon he’s bang on.

We agree with the Commerce Commission that the Government should promote more banking competition. But we also agree with Prebble that government-owned banks are a nightmare.

The solution isn't too hard: Sell Kiwibank and cut the regulatory red-tape that is keeping out competition. 

Since 2016, Kiwibank has only paid taxpayers a dividend once, and that was just $14 million. Considering the bank is worth around $2 billion, that’s a terrible return for taxpayers—we’d actually earn more if we just left that money in a basic savings account!

Selling Kiwibank could allow the Government to pay down debt (tick tock, tick tock, goes the National Debt Clock), saving Kiwis hundreds of millions of dollars in interest payments, while also creating a more innovative, privately-owned Kiwibank that’s more motivated to offer better services.

Connor spoke to Michael Laws on The Platform to make the case.

Te Mana o te Wai (the mana of the water) still costing ratepayers millions 💦

With ratepayers on the hook for thousands each to protect water’s spirit and lifeforce, your humble Taxpayers’ Union has been banging the drum for months about the enormous costs of Te Mana o te Wai.

The team and I even waded down to Parliament to try and talk some sense into politicians (you can watch our presentation here).

With households in towns like Alexandra and Clyde potentially getting stung by up to $50,000 per household, to comply with cultural requirements (such as not letting water bodies mix), these new requirements cannot be ignored. 

The good news is it looks like someone at the top is listening. Minister Penny Simmonds put Otago Regional Council on the naughty step, with a letter telling them to get their priorities straight and front up on the costs of their Te Mana o te Wai work stream. 

But these costs aren’t going away. We’re making steps in the right direction, but clearly it’s time to just chuck Te Mana o te Wai on the scrap heap.

If you haven't already, send the Ministers a message telling them to scrap Te Mana o te Wai completely. 

Taxpayer Victory: Judith Collins cuts funding to space programme

Also this week, we congratulated Minister Judith Collins for declining further taxpayer-funded corporate welfare for the struggling Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre in Christchurch. 

Despite $30 million in handouts so far, based on wild promises of 1300 high-paying jobs and $2.4 billion in economic benefits, the centre has failed to attract international customers and risks becoming an even bigger money pit. 

The crazy thing is that much of the taxpayer-funding this 'spaceport' has received to date should never have occurred because it wasn't eligible. The 'Regional Strategic Partnership Fund' was a slush fund intended to go to regions outside of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. But given that rocket launches make great photo opportunities, the Cabinet at the time decided to bend the rules and fund a runway to the tune of $5.4 million anyway despite the site being located in Christchurch. 

The failure of this supposed 'investment' to deliver any returns to the taxpayer highlights exactly why it's never a good idea to let politicians and bureaucrats gamble taxpayer money on private ventures. 

Taxpayer Talk – MPs in Depth with National Party MP Rima Nakhle🎙️🎧

James Ross Policy and Public Affairs Manager New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Media Mentions:

Newstalk ZB Midday Edition: 24 August 2024 [1:50]

Stuff Damien Grant: We should debate by challenging ideas, not by silencing those we dislike

RNZ Mediawatch: Holding to account, holding the line on media freedom [31:30]

BusinessDesk Govt tries to take heat out of fast track debate with changes

PMN Pacific, Māori politicians back four-year council term

Herald Taxpayers’ Union behind ‘civic pulse’ survey of councillors

Kiwiblog Which local government CEOs are overpaid or underpaid?

The Post Luxon’s bad-mannered exercise in selective hindsight

Newstalk ZB Early Edition with Ryan Bridge [1:55]

HRD Seymour defends new Regulation Ministry's higher-than-average wages: reports

Local Government Magazine Removing well-being responsibility from local government

The Platform Jordan Williams on Māori Influence in the Fast-Track Bill

Wairarapa Times Age Former CE’s big pay day 100 days in the frame [Print only]

The Post Beehive Briefing: Luxon ditches the suit in Tonga

Northland Age From the other side: Local leaders give the PM a run for his money [Print only]

Kiwiblog He didn’t keep his job

RNZ The Panel with Mark Sainsbury and Sue Bradford [14:25]

The Post Greater Wellington Regional Council spent $200k on overseas trips

 

TVNZ has recently reported that they have lost over $85 million during the 2023/24 fiscal year. This comes off the back of huge executive bonuses, program cancellations and falling trust ratings.

Commenting on these announcements, Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“TVNZ’s abysmal $85 million loss, falling program quality and failure to return a dividend in 9 of the last 12 years demonstrate why the Government needs to cut their losses and sell the failing broadcaster.

“TVNZ has an unfair advantage over private media by being propped up by the public, and they need to start playing on an equal playing field. A private company would never hand their CEO hundreds of thousands in bonuses to go along with a million-dollar salary for such terrible results.

“In a time when New Zealanders are facing record rents and struggling to put food on the table, the Government needs to prioritise Kiwi families’ wallets over those of millionaire execs. It’s time to cut the cord and sell it off while they still can.” 

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has recently announced that the Government aims to replace the Fuel Excise Duty (FED) by 2027 for petrol vehicles by shifting them on to the Road User Charge (RUC). This comes off the back of a series of other transport-related announcements, related to tolling, congestion charges and fines.

Commenting on these announcements, Taxpayers’ Union Communications Officer, Alex Emes, said:

“If you use a road, you should pay for that road. Moving towards a user-pays model by shifting petrol cars onto the RUC would be a step in the right direction.

“But Kiwi drivers already pay well over the odds to use our crumbling roads. Sneaking in more road taxes by the backdoor isn’t the answer. When Minister Brown talks about using revenue-raising congestion charges to fill their coffers, that’s exactly what they’re proposing.

“The National Land Transport Fund has been used to fund political pet projects like light rail or cycleways for far too long. It’s time to get back to spending that money on roads instead of ramping up the cost of going A to B.”

Responding to Minister of Health Shane Reti’s announcement that Health Research Council grants are being refocused towards research that improves health outcomes, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Health research isn’t a game. Lives depend on medical advancements, and every cent spent on frivalous pet projects is money that can’t go towards improving outcomes for Kiwis.

“How would you rather see $650k spent, researching cancer or ‘breathing ancestors into life’? With dozens more examples of pointless projects this year alone, Minister Reti has delivered a huge victory for everyday Kiwis.

“The Health Research Council is just one of many research organisations which has spent far too much taxpayer cash on woke nonsense, so why stop there? While the Government’s on a roll, let’s get the Marsden Grants back on track as well.” 

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, we sat down with National Party MP, Rima Nakhle.

Rima was elected as the MP for Takanini at the 2023 Election. She was born in Australia where she graduated from Western Sydney University with a Bachelor of Laws and was admitted to practice in New Zealand in 2014. Rima shares her journey into New Zealand politics and discusses her proud Lebanese ancestry, and her role in running a successful emergency and transitional housing service.

Rima's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Rima on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

Responding to reports that the Government is planning to spend $7 million on new ministerial offices, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“This spending is completely out of touch with the reality that New Zealanders are facing right now. Families are having to make difficult spending decisions, cutting back on their own nice-to-haves to ensure they have enough money to cover the necessities. The Government should be doing the same.

“When even senior Ministers who would be using the offices are criticising the spending, it’s clear that the government needs to take a moment of reflection on their priorities.

“The Government must follow its own advice it has been dishing out to councils and government agencies and rein in spending to focus on the basics that New Zealanders expect.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Labour Party following reports that the party is actively considering adopting a capital gains tax or wealth tax policy.

Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Envy taxes like these are really taxes on entrepreneurship, innovation and risk taking. A tax on wealth or capital would send our best and brightest packing, taking jobs and businesses with them.

"Pitting New Zealanders against each other might be Labour's politics, but it is certainly not what’s best for our country.

“If Labour really cared about inequality, they would have focused on spiralling housing costs when they had an unprecedented single-party majority. If Labour cared about balancing the budget, they would have cut the billions of dollars of wasteful spending that was occurring under Grant Robertson. They did neither, and are now resorting to lazy envy politics to blame wealth creators for the problems they caused in government.

“If Chris Hipkins is serious about leading the country again, he needs to unequivocally rule out introducing any form of envy tax in New Zealand.”

Responding to the Court of Appeal ruling that four Uber drivers are employees rather than contractors, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Forcing strict and inflexible employment conditions onto the gig economy would be a lose/lose for both drivers and riders alike.

“The Government must act quickly to reaffirm freedom to contract so that drivers maintain the ability to effectively be their own boss – choosing when and where to work, for how long, and which rides to accept and refuse.

“This flexibility means that more people are able to be ride-share drivers with the ability to pick and choose hours to fit around childcare responsibilities, study or other employment. For passengers, it means there is almost always a driver who chooses available at very short notice which provides a high degree of certainty and reliability.

“This court action is nothing more than a shakedown. If some Uber drivers don’t like the flexibility they have, they are more than welcome to work for a taxi company instead. The reality is most drivers are voting with their feet and choosing to drive for Uber instead.

“If the freedom to contract isn’t reaffirmed to ensure that people can rely on what is stated in contracts, then this latest case will in effect create yet another regulatory tax that drives up the cost of Uber for consumers while also gatekeeping the job from those who benefit most from the flexibility it provides.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is releasing the results of a survey that shows that the negative reaction from a few vocal mayors, councillors and LGNZ leaders is far from representative of the entire local government sector. In fact, roughly half of those participating in a survey of elected members back the Government’s proposals to get local government ‘back to basics’.

The survey asked elected officials whether they supported or opposed each of the four main policy announcements from the Prime Minister at last week’s LGNZ conference. For each policy, a net approval rating was calculated by subtracting those who oppose or strongly oppose the policy from those who support or strongly support it.

The results are as follows:

• There is a net approval of -1.33% for Cabinet’s decision to abolish the four wellbeing provisions in the Local Government Act and restore focus on local services and infrastructure. (225 responses)
• There is a net approval of +35.04% for Cabinet’s decision to investigate introducing consistent, easily accessible and comparable performance benchmarks for local councils, similar to the approach some Australian states apply to their local authorities. (177 responses)
• There is a net approval of 0% (meaning the same number support and oppose) for Cabinet’s decision to investigate options to limit council expenditure on ‘nice-to-haves’, such as by applying revenue caps to non-core activities. (177 responses)
• There is a net approval of +66.11% for Cabinet’s decision to review the transparency and accountability rules that apply to councils, which may include strengthening councillors’ right to access information from council officials. (177 responses).

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said:

“Our survey shows that elected representatives are far from united in their condemnation of the government’s latest announcements as the vocal few crowing to the media would have you believe.

“There is a relatively even split over the proposal to abolish the ‘four wellbeings’ to focus on getting back to basics and the proposal to limit expenditure on nice to haves. On the issues of benchmarking and improving transparency and accountability rules the results are clear – councillors support the changes the government is proposing.

“So while LGNZ and others jump up and down and kick up a stink, the results show that a substantial portion of those elected agree with the government’s sentiment. Perhaps LGNZ would be better to take a look in the mirror and realise they are misreading the room on this one – that would explain why so many councils are choosing to leave the organisation.”

Responding to news that congestion charges are likely to come into force in Wellington, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: 

“Congestion charges can be a useful tool to manage demand, but that’s not what this is. There’d be no need to manage demand if the Council weren’t spending millions ripping up roads and car parks to replace them with cycleways. 

“Wellingtonians have just been told their rates are about to triple over ten years by a Council that can’t get its spending under control. Now, another tax is coming down the road on top of that to slap them in the face. 

“With Council policies hollowing out the CBD, give it a few years and at this rate there’ll be nothing to drive into the city for anyway. 

“Businesses are failing and families are already being forced to sell their homes. If we want a capital people can afford to live in, Wellingtonians need to fight tooth and nail against any new tax – including this one.” 

 

For the staff here at the Taxpayers' Union, we're always looking for new ways to torture poke-fun at Jordan. But after making him sit through three days of this year's Local Government New Zealand conference, even we felt bad for him!

Day one included 43 minutes of pōwhiri, 15 minutes of "transgender paper scissors rock" (yes that's literally what LGNZ called it) and countless sing alongs for the 800 atendees, but they allocated just ten minutes for the Prime Minister to talk about the Government's plans for local government. Talk about priorities. 

The conference cost nearly $1,000 per day to attend (though 99% of the attendees were not paying for it themselves!) and Jordan tells us that even with the open bars in the evening and open (all you can eat) ice cream bar during each of the three days, it wasn't worth the money.

But, between those hour-long morning and afternoon teas buffets, Jordan did get something to be happy about. 

Luxon lays down the facts to out-of-touch councils 

We don't normally promote politician's speeches, but we really think the Prime Minister's speech from earlier in the week, is a must read.

Luxon hounded local councils for wasting money on vanity projects and nice-to-haves while pipes were bursting and potholes were unfilled. Wellington's flash new loss-making convention centre was a prime example.

As Jordan put it (covered by Newsroom.co.nz):

All four new policies laid out in the PM's speech fall squarely on the side of the ratepayer. They boil down to:

✅ forcing councils to get back to basics,

✅ introducing benchmarks so ratepayers can measure performance,

✅ limiting spending on pet projects and

✅ demanding more transparency and accountability to ratepayers. 

So four big ticks from the Taxpayers' Union!

And with thousands of ratepayers having already emailed the PM calling on him to cap council rate hikes, it is certainly consistent with the noises from the Government this week. We sense that even more policy victories are possible... 🥳

But while the Prime Minister was busy preaching a 'back to basics' approach his Economic Development Minister had other ideas... 🤦

Is a $1.5 million "street dance" competition really "back to basics"?

Less than 24 hours after the Prime Minister gave his 'get back to basics' local government speech, So-called "Economic Development" Minister Melissa Lee announced that she is teaming up with Auckland Council to "co-fund" $750k each a street dance competition!

Talk about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is saying... And of course the media immediately picked up on the 'do as I say, not as I do' hypocrisy. Case and point: What is a 'core activity’? Government tells councils to focus on ‘must-haves’ (Stuff.co.nz)

The Government can’t expect to be taken seriously by local government when it continues to splash cash on silly projects that make great photo opportunities but don’t deliver value for most New Zealanders currently struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

Not to be rude to the hoards of street dancing Taxpayers' Union supporters out there, but just like our criticism of the last Government's infatuation with DJ's, we respectfully point out that rolling out taxpayer funding for street dancing is not economic development.

And this wasn't some out-of-touch government department that sprung this at the worst possible time. The 'economic development' street dance funding was literally a Ministerial announcement! See Media release: Hon Melissa Lee. 'New dance competition set to bring economic benefits' (Beehive.govt.nz). 

Speaking of those not needing to busk on the street, this week we revealed the lucky group of New Zealanders who are far from struggling – and you're paying them!

RICH LIST REVEALED: NZ's highest paid council CEOs 💰💰💰

Rates bills are landing on doorsteps across the country, and with an average hike of 14% Kiwis are feeling the sting in their wallets.

Town Clerks, sorry, Chief Executives, across the country are failing to keep costs under control. It turns out the same is happening to their own salaries! That’s why we’re providing transparency, so ratepayers can judge for themselves.

It won't come as a surprise that local governments' top brass are overpaid, but the scale is staggering. While most Kiwis are tightening their belts, many of these CEOs will be needing a second belt to hold up stuffed pockets!

See for yourself where your council ranks. Then let us know if you think you’re getting bang for your buck.

Trees for 15 townhouses: Kāinga Ora blows $73,000 🏡

Also this week, our research team blew the whistle on the state housing agency, Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, for pouring tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars into *checks notes* trees. 

We must go to the wrong garden centre, because at $685 per tree, the agency spent $73,350 on just 107 for a 15-house development in Hastings! 

What's worse, is that this just scratches the bark. Kāinga Ora doesn't even know (or just won't tell us) how much they are spending on trees at their other developments across the country!

As an agency in charge of around 72,000 properties, we hate to think just how much "green money" is going to waste.

No wonder the agency is in such a financial mess.

Pro-tip for Cabinet Ministers? Don't turn up to the Taxpayers' Union in a Crown limo 🤫

Here at the Taxpayers' Union we love to give Taxpayer Update readers the inside gossip, and we thought we had a really doozy.

Last week, we hosted Minister of Media and Communications, Paul Goldsmith, at our Auckland office for an event with supporters on Media Matters: taxpayer funding, mistrust, and perceptions of bias.

The event was booked months ago, but happened to occur right after we ran into the difficulties with NZME screening advertising (despite taking more money under the so-called Public Interest Journalism Fund than any other media company).

The Minister was running a few minutes late, so while a member of staff waited outside for the Crown limo to arrive, you can imagine the surprise when Minister Goldsmith turned up on a lime scooter! (not an actual picture 👇)

The Taxpayers' Union was initially flattered when the Minister initially told us that they take potential criticism by the Taxpayers' Union so seriously they'd been told to ditch Crown cars when coming to our events!

Unfortunately, we learned later that the Ministerial BMW was just stuck in traffic and it had been faster for the Minister get out and get the scooter. How disappointing.

If you're interested, our next Taxpayer Caucus After 5 event is pencilled in for October with Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. For information about joining the Taxpayer Caucus, click here.

Oh, and before you ask, we are yet to confirm who paid for the scooter... 😉

Taxpayer Talk – MPs in Depth with National Party MP Grant McCallum🎙️🎧

Connor Molloy Campaigns Manager New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Media Mentions:

Stuff Complexities of amalgamation evident as ex-mayors weigh in

RNZ Mediawatch - the good & bad of AI in news, advert aggravation [33:08]

Stuff Police spent over $3 million maintaining empty Auckland station

The Platform Will the Taxpayers' Union Be Caught in the Aftermath of the NZ Herald's Hobson’s Pledge Ad

Kiwiblog The latest Marsden Fund spending

RNZ New ministry paying staff average salary of $150k despite public sector job cuts

1 News New ministry paying staff average salary of $152k

Otago Daily Times Seymour's new ministry paying staff average of $154k

RNZ David Seymour accused of hypocrisy

The Platform Taxpayers Union's Connor Molloy on Why Kiwibank Should Be Sold

Kiwiblog The Taxpayers’ Union are hiring!

Newsroom PM goes to war on council waste – and on councils

NZ Herald David Seymour pushes his luck over Treaty bill; Tuku Morgan lets rip at Tūrangawaewae - Audrey Young

RNZ The Panel with Ali Jones and Andrew Clay (Part 2) [14:20]

RNZ Day after accusing councils of wasting money, government puts $750K toward dance festival

The Post ‘Part of Masterton’s history’: Council staffer sells plaque to scrapyard

The Press Beehive Briefing: Government to spend $750,000 on dance competition

Three News 22 August, 6pm – Item 5: Central and local governments at odds over spending [Video]

Stuff What is a 'core activity’? Government tells councils to focus on ‘must-haves’

Newstalk ZB The Huddle: Do local councils need to rein in the spending?

RNZ The Panel with Zoe George and Ed McKnight (Part 1) [3:00]

NZ Herald Letter to the Editor: Reality check for councils

RNZ Early Edition with Ryan Bridge: Full Show Podcast: 23 August 2024 [26:13]

The Spinoff Who regulates the Ministry of Regulation?

Newstalk ZB Morning Edition: 23 August 2024

NZ Farmers Weekly Milking us dry: local govt told to rein in spending

NZ Farmers Weekly Analysing regional rates increase trends

RNZ American company announces deal to fly to space from Canterbury

Newstalk ZB Heather du Plessis-Allan: I'm not getting excited about the money spent on that dance competition

Newstalk ZB Barry Soper: Was Kamala Harris' speech today boring? [4:02]

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Grant McCallum.

Grant was elected as the MP for Northland at the 2023 General Election. Grant is a farmer and has been involved with the National Party's environmental group, the Blue Greens, and also with Federated Farmers.

In this podcast, Grant and Connor discuss his upbringing, life before being an MP and touch on his political philosophy.

Grant's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Grant on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

The Taxpayers’ Union has today launched its Council Chief Executive Rich List – ranking CEOs 2023 pay packets from highest to lowest.

Ratepayers have a right to know how much they’re forking out to keep the top brass living in luxury, and now all that information is available in one easy leaderboard.

The top 5 highest paid Chief Executives were as follows:

1. Phil Wilson (Auckland Council) - $648,900
2. Dr Pim Borren (Otago Regional Council) - $595,924
3. Bill Bayfield (Hawke’s Bay Regional Council) -$584,000
4. Dawn Baxendale (Christchurch City Council) - 543,943
5. Marty Grenfell (Tauranga City Council) - $537,024

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Local government pencil pushers are overpaid, that won’t be a surprise to anyone. But the scale of it is staggering. Whilst Kiwi families are having to tighten their belts, some of these Chief Execs will be wearing second belts to hold up their overstuffed pockets.

“Councils crying poverty are still chucking five figure salary hikes at fat cat chief execs. And with families’ rates bills spiralling out of control, the question is what have the CEOs done to earn them?

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. With layers upon layers of managers all the way down, council salary bills are fit to burst. If these CEOs can’t find ways to trim the fat, there need to be targets on their overbloated pay packets which cost ratepayers around $27 million a year.”

 

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Taxpayers’ Union’s Council Chief Executive Rich List can be found here: https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/council_richlist

Remuneration is for the 2022/23 Financial Year. Some of the CEOs in this report are no longer in their respective roles.

For those CEOs started their role partway through the financial year, their salaries were annualised based on the number of days they worked from the start date to the end of the financial year.

Some councils had multiple CEOs or acting/interim CEOs in the same year. In those instances, only the salary of the most recent CEO is used

Council	CEO	2022/2023 Remuneration*	Annual Change	Notes
West Coast Regional Council	Daryl Lew	Not Available	Not Available	Not Publicly available
Auckland Council	Phil Wilson	$648,900	$6,115	Source,page 101
Otago Regional Council	Dr Pim Borren	$595,924	($40,460)	Source, page 148
Hawke's Bay Regional Council	Bill Bayfield	$584,000	$253,415	Source, Page 125
Christchurch City Council	Dawn Baxendale	$543,943	$17,094	Source, page 345
Tauranga City Council	Marty Grenfell	$537,024	$11,963	Source, page 262
Wellington City Council	Barbara McKerrow	$513,970	$46,216	source, page 113
Far North District Council	Guy Holroyd	$511,000	$80,300	Source, Page 99
Dunedin City Council	Sandy Graham	$449,758	$31,678	Source, Page 87
Environment Canterbury	Stefanie Rixecker	$438,416	$18,514	Source, page 120
Selwyn District Council	David Ward	$435,847	$70,988	Source, page 95
Greater Wellington Regional Council	Nigel Corry	$433,493	($42,601)	Source, page 160
Bay of Plenty Regional Council	Fiona McTavish	$430,137	$27,265	Source, page 161
Timaru District Council	Bede Carren	$423,225	$55,465	Source, Page 136
Hutt City Council	Jo Miller	$422,163	$8,113	Source, Page 136
Hastings District Council	To'osavili Nigel Bickle	$421,474	$12,414	Source, page 116
Rotorua District Council	Geoff Williams	$416,031	$23,300	Source, page 152
Waikato District Council	Gavin Ion	$416,000	$50,738	Source, page 123
Napier City Council	Louise Miller	$408,532	$47,532	Source, page 142
Hamilton City Council	Lance Vervoort	$400,972	($12,843)	Source, Page 190
Gisborne District Council	Nedine Thatcher Swann	$399,767	$30,660	Source, Page 191
Central Otago District Council	Peter Kelly	$393,754	$57,115	Source, Page 172
Porirua City Council	Wendy Walker	$388,505	$5,369	Source, Page 118
Nelson City Council	Nigel Philpott	$387,912	$15,230	Source, Page 172
Queenstown-Lakes District Council	Mike Theelen	$383,814	$7,525	Source
Palmerston North City	Waid Crockett	$381,838	($153,237)	Source, Page 186
Horizons Regional Council	Michael McCartney	$380,000	$0	Source, Page 97
Waikato Regional Council	Chris McLay	$378,566	$20,080	Source, Page 123
Tasman District Council	Leonie Rae	$375,000	$48,000	Source, page 201
Matamata-Piako District Council	Don McLeod	$374,997	$23,910	Source, Page 31
Waipa District Council	Garry Dyet JP	$363,604	$4,920	Source, Page 49
Thames-Coromandel District Council	Aileen Lawrie	$362,500	($61,418)	Source, Page 74
Whangarei District Council	Simon Weston	$361,915	($166,741)	Source, Page 167
Marlborough District Council	John Boswell	$361,000	$2,000	Source, Page 141
Waimakariri District Council	Jeff Millward	$359,235	($64,683)	Source, Page 153
Western Bay of Plenty District Council	John Hollyoake	$356,412	$29,588	Source, Page 153
Ashburton District Council	Hamish Riach	$356,000	$19,000	Source, Page 211
Manawatu District Council	Shayne Harris	$350,687	$10,540	Source, Page 156
Whanganui District Council	David Langford	$348,789	($53,885)	Source, Page 193
Taupo District Council	Julie Gardyne	$347,587	($24,229)	Source, Page 109
Horowhenua District Council	Monique Davidson	$344,600	($324,350)	Source, Page 219
Kaipara District Council	Jason Marris	$343,535	$19,780	Source, Page 74
South Taranaki District Council	Fiona Aitken	$341,837	($2,152)	Source, Page 153
New Plymouth District Council	Gareth Green	$341,356	($65,134)	Source, page 90
Waitaki District Council	Alex Parmley	$341,065	$29,428	Source, Page 133
Northland Regional Council	Jonathan Gibbard	$334,661	-$6374	Source, Page 81
Southland District Council	Cameron Mclntosh	$333,598	$19,198	Source, Page 177
Invercargill City Council	CV Hadley	$327,375	($52,349)	Source, Page 180
Ruapehu District Council	Clive Manley	$325,367	$21,568	Source, Page 49
Environment Southland	Wilma Falconer	$324,617	($58,415)	Source, Page 93
Hauraki District Council	Langley Cavers	$322,000	$6,400	Source, Page 115
Upper Hutt City Council	Kate Thomspon	$321,694	$10,894	Source, Page 123
Masterton District Council	David Hopman	$317,277	$64,917	Source, Page 131
Whakatane District Council	Steph O'Sullivan	$317,099	$1,208	Source, Page 151
Opotiki District Council	Stace Lewer	315,211	$49,509	Source Page,155
Taranaki Regional Council	Steve Ruru	$312,671	($21,329)	Source, Page 106
Kapiti Coast District Council	Darren Edwards	$310,000	($18,500)	Source, Page 149
South Waikato District Council	Susan Law	$305,000	$30,000	Source, Page 126
Hurunui District Council	Hamish Dobbie	$300,314	($595)	Source, Page 74
Gore District Council	Deborah Lascelles	$300,101	$9,966	Source, Page 85
Rangitikei District Council	Kevin Ross	$299,956	$8,261	Source, Page 92
Clutha District Council	Steve Hill	$282,250	$5,390	Source, Page 59
Waitomo District Council	Ben Smit	$277,770	($614)	Source, Page 111
Otorohanga District Council	Tayna Winter	$272,000	$10,000	Source, Page 25
Tararua District Council	Bryan Nicholson	$270,000	$22,000	Source, Page 187
Waimate District Council	Stuart Duncan	$265,000	$7,000	Source, Page 57
Westland District Council	Simon Bastion	$262,302	$9,630	Source, Page 110
Grey District Council	Paul Morris	$261,569	$23,138	Source, Page 105
Buller District Council	Sharon Mason	$260,100	$11,795	Source
Stratford District Council	Svenne Harris	$257,000	$14,098	Source, Page 123
South Wairarapa	Harry Wilson	$250,000	$0	Source, Page 43
Mackenzie District Council	Angela Oosthuizen	$249,000	($139,000)	Source, Page 124
Kaikoura District Council	Will Doughty	$238,963	$0	Source, Page 126
Wairoa District Council	Kitea Tipuna	$237,175	($107,035)	Source, Page 61
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council	Doug Tate	$230,400	$0	Source, Page 98
Kawerau District Council	Morgan Godfery	$222,362	($8)	Source, page 49
Carterton District Council	Geoff Hamilton	$220,000	($1,278)	Source, Page 60
Chatham Islands Council	Owen Pickles	$219,382	$12,311	Source, Page 45

Notes:

-> *Remuneration is for the 2022/23 Financial Year. Some of the CEOs in this report are no longer in their respective roles.

-> For those CEOs started their role partway through the financial year, their salaries were annualised based on the number of days they worked from the start date to the end of the financial year.

-> Some councils had multiple CEOs or acting/interim CEOs in the same year. In those instances, only the salary of the most recent CEO is used. 

-> Queries relating to methodology should be directed to [email protected]

The Taxpayers’ Union is congratulating Judith Collins for rejecting further corporate welfare for the space industry via the Tāwhaki National Aerospace Centre that, despite promises of 1300 high-paying jobs and $2.4 billion in economic benefits, has seriously underperformed.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The failure of the aerospace site to attract international investors, despite $30 million in taxpayer funding demonstrates that it’s never a good idea to let politicians and bureaucrats gamble taxpayer money on private ventures.

“If the Government wants to support the space industry, they should focus on cutting the red tape that makes it so challenging to launch a rocket into space in the first place, and encouraging councils to do the same.

“Rocket Lab originally considered building a launch site in Kaitorete but found getting a consent to be too challenging, made worse by the Green Party at the time raising concerns about the impact it would have on ‘threatened lizards, rare invertebrates and threatened plants’. Who would have thought getting a consent was more complicated than rocket science?

“It makes a mockery of taxpayers that the government then went on to subsidise that very same site to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. It can be difficult for politicians to stand up against well-connected space industry lobbyists and the potential for cool photo opportunities but that is exactly what Minister Collins has done and so we congratulate her.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Government for teaming up with Auckland Council to spend $1.5 million ($750,000 each) on funding a dancing competition less than 24 hours after hounding the local government sector for wasting money on nice-to-haves rather than must-haves.

“The Government is ignoring it’s own advice, instead urging councils to ‘do as I say, not as I do.’

“Despite telling councils ‘the party is over’ yesterday, the Government is now teaming up with Auckland Council to waste money on exactly the kind of vanity projects they are ridiculing them for – the party is far from over.

“The economic benefits proclaimed by Minister Melissa Lee are nothing more than wishful thinking. The economic activity lost from taxing the money away from productive New Zealanders will far outstrip any benefits of the dance competition. If people aren’t willing to spend their own money to go and watch, why on earth should taxpayers be subsidising it?

“The Government can’t expect to be taken seriously by local government when it continues to splash cash on pet projects that make great photo opportunities but don’t deliver value for most New Zealanders currently struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.”

 

I'm emailing from the Local Government New Zealand annual conference in Wellington.

LGNZ are the organisation that were bribed given taxpayer money by Nanaia Mahuta to endorse the last Government’s anti-democratic 'Three Waters', despite LGNZ (apparently) standing for ‘localism’ and ‘democracy’ – the very things Three Waters would have undermined...

LGNZ are also the organisation that two years ago literally banned the Taxpayers’ Union (including our supporters, like you!) from attending their previous conference, which was ironically titled “The Future of Local Government”.

They must be short of money (their largest members, Auckland and Christchurch City Councils, recently pulled their membership) because this year they've let me in!

The conference started this afternoon. After 47 minutes of pōwhiri, the Mayor of Wellington Tory Whanau gave the first speech (introduced as a 'welcome to Wellington').

The Mayor's main point was that “we should decide” about having Māori wards. And no, she wasn’t saying that “we” local communities should decide on Māori wards, she meant we the politicians should decide!

Following Ms Whanau was the Prime Minister, Chris Luxon. Mr Luxon was allocated just 10 minutes for the three day conference.

Rather than wait for the media (and the left-wing mayors to scream from the rooftops), I thought it best to just send it straight to you.

As you'll see below the speech was extraordinary.

The room was dumbfounded. To call the audience disrespectful would be an understatement (turkeys don’t welcome an early Christmas, after all).

The room literally laughed when the MC (Kim Hill) thanked the Prime Minister.

But from a ratepayer perspective (I seem to be literally the only ‘ratepayer’ person here!) is this best speech at a local government conference in a generation? 

Judge for yourself:

Rt Hon Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister

21 August 2024

Speech to LGNZ SuperLocal conference

Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone.

Before I begin, I’d like to thank LGNZ for their invitation to speak here today.

I spend a lot of time meeting with many good mayors and councillors across the country, but this is a great opportunity to speak to so many of you here all at once.

So, thank you to LGNZ for that opportunity, and more importantly, thank you to each of you for stepping into the public square and serving your communities in these roles.

I’d also like to acknowledge Minister Simon Watts and, in particular, Minister Simeon Brown, who are here.

As you know, Simeon is responsible for the Local Government portfolio, has an ambitious reform programme, and has accomplished a lot in a very short period of time. So, thank you, Simeon, for all of your hard work and leadership.

New Zealand faces big infrastructure challenges - Water. Transport. Resilience. And each of those will be absolutely critical to get right.

We know your communities need the tools to sustainably finance the necessary investment. So, we’re making changes.

Through changes agreed by the Local Government Funding Authority, we're alleviating pressure on council debt caps, which will relieve a lot of pressure on fast-growing councils.

We’re presenting a suite of options for achieving local water reform that will satisfy ratings agencies' concerns while maintaining local control of water.  

We’re also taking a hard look at a range of rules and regulations that incur costs that central government directly loads onto councils. Traffic management is a good example of an area we know desperately needs change.

And Simeon Brown will soon present more detail on our framework for Regional Deals – how they will work, what we want to enable for communities, and, most importantly, what we expect in return.

So, we’re doing our part. And I believe it’s time for local government to do theirs.

Ratepayers expect local government to do the basics and to do the basics brilliantly. Pick up the rubbish. Fix the pipes. Fill in potholes. And more generally, maintain local assets quickly, carefully, and cost effectively.

But nothing in life is free, and ratepayers expect to pay for it in exchange. But what they don’t expect to pay for is the laundry-list of distractions and experiments that are plaguing council balance sheets across the country.

The building we’re in today is a classic example. With pipes bursting and other infrastructure under pressure, Wellington City Council decided to spend $180 million of ratepayers’ money on a convention centre, which, according to public reporting, is now losing money.

It looks very nice, and it’s very nice that politicians like us have another expensive room to deliver speeches in, but can anyone seriously say it was the right financial decision or the highest priority for Wellington given all of its challenges?

Ratepayers are sick of the white elephants and non-delivery. So, my challenge to all of you is to rein in the fantasies and to get back to delivering the basics brilliantly.

Councillors often tell me that they agree with all that, but there’s a problem. They just need more help from central government, usually in the form of cold, hard cash.

I have to be honest with you – the previous government might have taken that approach, but the party is over.

There is no magic money tree in Wellington, thanks to the previous government's economic mismanagement and vandalism.

Shifting your costs onto taxpayers doesn’t save anyone any money. It means ratepayers pay more tax, and are left with less of their own money, to meet the cost of a slightly smaller rates bill.

Or it means we spend less on health and education so that councils can avoid tightening their belts exactly as Kiwi families, businesses and central government have had to do across New Zealand.

Yes, I’m sure that will be very popular among councillors, who want to spend money without raising rates to pay for it. But if any of you think those will be the terms of a regional deal, it’s time to come back to reality.

We do want to work closer together – and there will be new revenue tools for councils, where that makes sense – but the days of handouts are over.

I know some councils already well understand that new operating environment and they are taking their responsibility to ratepayers very seriously.

Thank you for those efforts, because your unrelenting focus on delivering value for money is making a real difference in your communities.

Finally, if there was any doubt about our commitment to getting local government back to basics, I have some announcements to make today on our local government work programme.

First, Cabinet has agreed to streamline the purpose provisions in the Local Government Act to get councils back to basics.

For Councils, that means abolishing the four wellbeing provisions in legislation and restoring focus on local services and infrastructure.

For ratepayers, it’s simple. The central government focuses on must-haves, not nice-to-haves, and we expect local government to do the same.

Second, Cabinet has agreed to investigate performance benchmarks for local councils, similar to the approach some Australian states apply to their local authorities.

In theory, the Local Government Act establishes the accountability of local authorities to the communities they serve. But in reality, it’s difficult to get consistent, easily accessible and comparable information about how councils are actually performing.

The performance measures we’re looking to introduce are in areas councils should already be monitoring closely, such as financial performance and customer service delivery.

But sunlight is the best disinfectant – and ratepayers deserve to know exactly what they’re getting for their rates. 

Third, Cabinet has agreed to investigate options to limit council expenditure on ‘nice-to-haves’.

In some Australian states, revenue caps are applied to non-core activities to control rates increases.

We’re interested in how a similar approach could work here in New Zealand, ensuring the right balance between ratepayers' interests and councils' financial positions.

Yes, councils need adequate revenue to fund core responsibilities like roads, rubbish and water, but the value-for-money proposition is more questionable in a range of other areas.

Councils need to examine those areas more closely, and I’m up for any tool – like revenue capping – that makes them do so.

Fourth, Cabinet has agreed to review the transparency and accountability rules that apply to councils.

It’s unacceptable that the rules as they stand today allow unelected officials, in many cases, to prevent elected members from accessing the information they need to represent their communities. We will review those settings.

There have been too many absurd scenarios in which ratepayers are effectively shut out of decision-making because elected members’ rights to access information are treated as a secondary consideration.

My expectation is we find a way to end those practices.

In conclusion, we want a productive and constructive relationship with local government – one that enables your growth and development and gives you the tools you need to pay for it.

But we expect you to spend ratepayers’ money responsibly. In short, localism comes with both rights and responsibilities.

In central government, we’re getting on with the job. We're stopping wasteful spending, shifting money from the back office to the frontline, setting clear delivery targets and expectations, prioritising what to do and what not to do, and letting Kiwis keep more of what they earn.

My parting message: it’s time for you to do the same.

Go line by line, stop the wasteful spending, remove the bureaucracy, focus on better customer service, and end the projects that aren’t delivering value for money.

Ratepayers don’t expect much – they just want the basics done brilliantly.

We’ll play our part – now it’s time for you to play yours.

I’m confident that working together, we can achieve a lot for New Zealanders – better infrastructure and more resilient communities, all at an affordable price for ratepayers.

Thank you.

ENDS

Immediately following the Prime Minister, the Labour-aligned President of Local Government New Zealand, Sam Broughton, got up and tried to put the boot into Mr Luxon.

Broughton said that criticism of local government "is not productive". That got a loud cheer from the attendees in the room. He also called on new ways for councils to tax local communities, in addition to rates! 🤦

So what do you think?  Was Mr Luxon bang on, or did he go too far? We've posted the response we sent to media over on our Facebook page. Head over and let us know what you made of the speech.

So, it seems James’ call last night (and the thousands of supporters who have already used our email tool) for the Government to adopt the policy of capping annual rates hikes is realistic. So too, is reform to ensure better transparency and accountability of how ratepayer money is being spent. 

Thanks for your support.

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

 

The Prime Minister’s speech at the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) conference this afternoon is arguably ‘the best speech on local government in a generation’ says the Taxpayers’ Union.

Speaking from the conference, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said:

“Christopher Luxon delivered a speech today that is on the side of the ratepayers struggling with the costs being imposed on them by an out of control local government sector.

“Sometimes hearing the truth hurts, and there is no doubt Mr Luxon dropped some truth bombs. But demanding financial prudence, accountability and transparency from local government rather than reaching straight for the chequebook is hardly anything radical.

“The introduction of the four wellbeing provisions into the Local Government Act is a failed experiment that gave councils unbridled discretion on how to spend ratepayers money. The results were disastrous. Scrapping these provisions is the right decision.

“Performance benchmarks will go a long way to helping ratepayers see if they are getting a fair deal. In the past the Taxpayers’ Union has been forced to pick up the slack with our annual Ratepayers’ Report but this work is limited by councils’ cooperation.

“Limiting expenditure on ‘nice-to-haves’ is exactly what is needed to force councils into investing in core infrastructure and services rather than costly vanity projects.

“We have long campaigned for councils to have the same rights to information from their councils as company directors have from companies. There is a worrying culture of secrecy and gatekeeping by unelected council bureaucrats who refuse to give elected decision makers the information they need – or wait until the eleventh hour to do so.

“Today’s speech hit all the right notes. If the Government can hold true to their word, stories of double-digit rate hikes and families being forced to sell their homes will soon become a thing of the past.”

 

Responding to news that David Seymour’s newly established Ministry of Regulation has an average staff salary of more than $150,000, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said:

“Public sector wage costs have been growing at twice the rate of those in the private sector. With new departments sprouting out of the ground paying the average staff member more than twice the median wage, is anyone surprised?

“Taking on the bureaucratic blob was always going to be an uphill battle, but this upstart Ministry seems to be running in completely the wrong direction.

“The Ministry of Regulation is Seymour’s credibility test, and we’re still a long way off slinging out the 18,000 extra bureaucrats hired since 2017. Seymour needs to lead by example, and has now set himself a tough task to demonstrate value for money from his new gold-plated department.”

 

The Taxpayer’s Union last night launched a campaign calling for a cap on annual rates hikes. This would limit annual rates increases to 3% annually, unless councils seek approval from residents for a larger increase through a referendum.

More than 4,500 people have already written to the Prime Minister and Minister of Local Government overnight calling on them to act.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Councils spending hundreds of millions of dollars on pet projects have been treating ratepayers like a magic money tree. Double-digit rates hikes have become councils’ get-out-of-jail-free card.

“This year, not a single council has managed to keep their rates hikes at or below inflation. Rates can’t keep spiralling forever, and it’s time councils learnt to tighten their belts.

“Ratepayers should have the final say over how their money is spent. Government needs to kibosh out-of-touch council shakedowns and put control back in residents’ hands.”

Responding to the Commerce Commission’s final report into bank competition, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The way to make Kiwibank a ‘maverick’ that has the drive to make the banking sector more competitive is to sell it to private shareholders.

“When it’s people’s own money on the line, they will hustle harder than any Minister to outperform the bank’s competitors to increase market share. The only way to do that is by offering a better service or lower prices.

“It’s not just banks in New Zealand that are greedy and like making money, all banks do. If New Zealand banks are making significantly higher profits than the rest of the world, there must be overburdensome red tape that makes it too difficult for new banks to open here.

“The Government should further strengthen its focus on reducing anti-competitive regulation in the banking sector that stops more competition from entering the market. That is the only sure-fire way to ensure New Zealanders are getting a fair deal.”

 

With the Reserve Bank cutting interest rates this week, there's no more important time for the Government to cut wasteful spending to ensure Adrian Orr hasn't jumped the gun and to ensure the scourge of high inflation is dealt with. 

Of course, your humble Taxpayers' Union has suggestions on just the place to start...

ACC spends $10.7 million praying away injuries 🙏🤨

Film festivals on the taxpayer dime? Great work if you can get it ✈️🎥

As if forking out millions in film-subsidies for Hollywood bigwigs wasn't enough, it turns out taxpayers are paying for their overseas holidays too!

They might not have won Lotto's $44 million jackpot, but ten lucky players C-grade "film producers" embarked on a taxpayer-funded jaunt to the French Riviera for Cannes Film Festival. The luxury getaway cost $5,000 a pop (except for poor Carthew Neal who only got $2500 😢) totalling $47,500. 

[Editor's note: the irony is that Carthew Neal looks to be the only one with any talent!]

This is the same Film Commission that the Taxpayers' Union exposed last week for spending $16,000 on leaving parties, and $500,000 golden goodbye for the CEO. Oh, and lest we forget the alcohol-fueled jaunt to the Oscars costing taxpayers $58,000 (also snuffed out by.... the Taxpayers' Union).

This trough just keeps getting deeper.

Our research team has it on good authority that the Film Commission also sent two of their own staff, Annie Murray and Philippa Mossman. No doubt they were sent there to tell other film producers about all the free money up for grabs in New Zealand...

Bureaucrat salary growth faster than the rest of New Zealand – growth the highest since records began 🚀💸

Not only are these bureaucrats getting luxury trips abroad, but it turns out they're also getting bigger pay rises than the rest of us!

New data from Stats NZ shows that while average New Zealand wage growth has pulled right back, the salary increases in the public sector are sky-rocketing up by 7.1% – almost twice that of the private sector. For the bureaucrats in Wellington, this is the fastest wage growth since 2002 when they first started keeping records. You're the one paying for it. 

Shortly after the figures were released, Nicola Willis (as Minister responsible for the Public Service) rushed out her 2024 Workforce Policy Statement that outlines her new "expectations" for bureaucrat pay and getting the public sector under control.

It's six months later than what we'd have preferred, but otherwise we can't complain. It outlines expectations that pay of Chief Executives needs to start being tied to delivery of improved outcomes, and that future pay increases should not be backdated (those outside of the self-entitled bureaucracy will be surprised to learn that's the norm in Wellington!) and that they should be funded from existing baselines, (i.e. through finding new savings within departments). 

The proof of the pudding will be in the eating when the next figures are released by Stats NZ later this year.

Amalgamation is not the magic bullet for rising rates 📣🗳️

While Central Government seeks to find further savings, it seems Councils are looking for a magic bullet. 

With double-digit rate hikes plaguing the country, some mayors have suggested amalgamating councils as a way to find efficiencies and drive down expenses.

It may make sense for councils to combine some of their operations, but full amalgamation should be a decision for local ratepayers who are ultimately the ones who will be paying for a new structure.

We have cautiously warned against diving headfirst into amalgamations without first thinking it through. We've seen what happened with Health NZ and the polytechnics when Labour tried a centralisation experiment – it doesn't always go as planned. 

And one does not need to know much about the so-called "Super City" that when it has come to Auckland Council, bigger has not meant cheaper!

As these ideas spread around the country, it is vital that we make clear early that there should be no amalgamations without referendums in the affected communities first.

✍️>>> Sign the Petition <<< ✍️

Media Mentions:

The Platform Taxpayers' Union's Jordan Williams on ACC’s $10.7m Spend on ‘Rongoā Māori Healing’

The Post David Seymour's new Ministry of red tape hiring a $168k-a-year spin doctor

531 PI Pacific Mornings David Farrar, Political Pollster

Newstalk ZB Heather du Plessis Allan Drive Full Show Podcast: 15 August 2024 [42:30]

Local Matters Lengthy delay for Penlink bridge

Responding to reports that TVNZ is set to start charging for some content, including sports subscriptions and pay-TV, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“TVNZ has already shut down what were arguably its only two hard-hitting current affairs and investigative journalism shows. Trust in its news reporting is plummeting, and now they want to start charging people for their content. What’s the point in still owning TVNZ?

“The TVNZ model no longer works in today’s rapidly changing media landscape, where people can access content from almost anywhere in the world at the click of a button. The current model offers very little public benefit, while taxpayers are left to cover poor performance with no real incentive for the shareholding Ministers to push TVNZ to turn a profit.

“TVNZ is already competing with the likes of Netflix and Amazon, and people are voting with their feet. More and more New Zealanders are choosing to pay for better content elsewhere rather than stick with TVNZ’s declining offerings, despite it being free.

“It’s time for the Government to make the call and sell TVNZ while it’s still worth something. Perhaps a commercial operator can turn it into something people actually want to watch.”

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with ACT Party MP, Dr Parmjeet Parmar.

Parmjeet has a PHD in Biological Sciences, is a businesswoman and former broadcaster and was also formerly a National Party MP from 2014 to 2020. In 2023 she ran for ACT at the general election and was successfully elected to Parliament.

In this podcast we discuss Dr Parmar's upbringing and background before politics, why she changed her political allegiance and her excellent member's bill that would require unions to collect their own fees rather than the status quo which forces employers to it on the unions' behalf. 

Follow Parmjeet on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

Responding to reports that the Ministry for Regulation is hiring a ‘principal adviser, engagement and communications’ with a salary of up to $168,000 year, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Jordan Williams, said:

“This Government, but particularly ACT, was elected to slash waste, but recruiting five communications staff at what should be our leanest Ministry tells another story.

“The Ministry for Regulation needs more people with twink deleting the onerous rules and regulations that stifle productivity, not someone to ‘enhance the Ministry’s reputation’.

“The Ministry’s reputation will be enhanced when they cut off tentacles of red tape choking our economy, not when they put out a polished press release telling you what a great job they’re doing.”

The Southland District Mayor has proposed a significant shakeup to local government by suggesting a merger of the four existing Southland Councils into two unitary authorities.

Mayor Rob Scott claims the amalgamation could see savings of $10m each year by improving cost efficiencies and reducing duplication across neighbouring councils.

Local Government Campaigns manager for the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, Sam Warren, said:

“We’ve seen across local government that bigger doesn’t always mean better. The evidence across the country shows that size isn’t a reliable indicator of the cost of running a council, what we really need is councillors making sure they run a tight ship.

“It may be the case that there are some areas where economies of scale could be found. In those instances the question should be what services to amalgamate rather than diving in head first to full amalgamation of all four councils.

“Central to any amalgamation proposal must be local voice. It is important for Southlanders to be consulted on such significant changes to their structure of local government and be persuaded whether or not any cost savings will actually be realised.”

Responding to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision to reduce the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 5.25%, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Adrian Orr is betting that the next inflation announcement will see inflation within the target band of 1-3 percent, and the Government must act quickly to cut wasteful spending to ensure that bet pays off.

“Today’s announcement will bring a sigh of relief to homeowners, but if inflation remains outside the target band this will simply drag out the pain of the cost-of-living crisis.

“If Adrian Orr isn’t going to regret his decision, slashing government waste needs to be the name of the game. With public sector wage costs still growing at twice the rate of those in the private sector, Nicola Willis isn’t short of targets.”

 

A few weeks ago, we emailed about some of the ridiculous funding that is being handed out by the Royal Society of New Zealand through the "Marsden Fund" – which is supposed to be for the crème de la crème of New Zealand academia, showcasing the highest standards of scholarly excellence and innovation.

As a reminder, according to the Society's website the Fund "Supports excellence in science, engineering, maths, social sciences and the humanities in New Zealand by providing grants for investigator-initiated research" and gave out $83.5 million of taxpayer money last year alone.

Like last time, you be the judge of these latest projects our team have uncovered...

Researching the "Big Things"

Ever seen those roadside sculptures, and thought "someone should really study those"? You'll be delighted to learn that $360,000 has been spent to do that very road trip, I mean research! 🗿🗿🗿🚐

Grant ID: 22-VUW-021  Recipient: Dr M Zonjic, Victoria University of Wellington Big Things, Complex Shadows: investigating intersecting stories of place, identity, and erasure through large roadside sculptures in Aotearoa "During the 1980s economic recession, struggling small towns across Aotearoa started building large roadside sculptures – or "Big Things" – to sell unique provincial identities and attract passing motorists. Currently, more than two dozen "Big Things" are peppered across the country's landscape, contributing to the production, performance, and tourism marketing of particular places and identities. But whose stories do these novelty structures tell? And which narratives are obscured by their literal and proverbial shadows? This project brings a critical gaze to the privileging of Pākehā-centred narratives in current research on roadside "Big Things". Adopting a transformative epistemology, it attends to the ways in which "Big Things" can be an apparatus of forgetting settler-colonial histories, to provoke a new way of thinking about hegemonic constructions of colonial objects and the way these obscure land dispossession. Weaving together feminist, participatory, and filmic geographies, this project seeks to re-centre alternative stories currently hidden in the Big Things’ shadows, culminating in a scholarly monograph and six short films - one from each field-site. Internationally, this research provides a timely Antipodean contribution to contemporary scholarship examining the complex negotiations of decolonising public spaces, and the role that statues, however innocuous they may seem, occupy within them." Approved funding: $360,000

"Big things" indeed! 👀

Climate change is big thing. As is its impact on oceans. This creative academic, Dr BJ Etherington, has heroically managed to shoehorn disability studies and poetry to feast at the climate change trough research pool! See if you can make sense of this one:

Grant ID: 23-VUW-025  Recipient: Dr BJ Etherington, Victoria University of Wellington Literatures of Environment and Disability from Oceania "A diverse range of environmental impacts is hitting Oceania in this current moment of climate change, and disabled people, especially disabled Indigenous people, are increasingly at risk from those impacts. Yet the stories these people tell are often overlooked by literary researchers. It is imperative to highlight disabled people’s stories from Oceania as those who live here face progressively volatile environmental situations. These literatures emerge from contexts where military and extractive contamination often cause disabilities, and where disabled people are considered collateral damage during disasters, including the Covid-19 pandemic. My project analyses novels, short stories, creative nonfiction, and poems from Aotearoa, Guåhan, Hawai‘i, Sāmoa, West Papua, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji, establishing how such stories resist ableist narratives and theorise and advance disability-centred ways of creating sustainable and just environmental futures. This project argues that we cannot emphasise climate justice and account for those living in precarious environmental conditions without also prioritising the stories of disabled peoples. These literatures offer strategies for caring for one another and our environments as we all, abled and disabled, grapple with diverse ecological conditions once considered deviant. Approved funding: $360,000

Frankly, I'm astonished there is more than a handful of poems and stories about disabled pacific people taking on climate change. But then again, if I was given 360 grand, I'd travel through the Oceania hotspots to go looking! 🛫🏖️👋

How often do you see the words "alcohol", "dark sludge" and "Māori methodologies" together? This one feels like Massey University has been making use of its random word generator again. 

Grant ID: 23-MAU-022  Recipient: Associate Professor T Huckle, Massey University Dark nudges and sludge: big alcohol and dark advertising on social media We will 1) explore alcohol industry dark nudging and sludge [using cognitive biases to make psychological resistance more difficult] on social media; 2) investigate the experiences of dark nudging and sludge among rangatahi/young people; 3) build theory around these practices to advance knowledge within a rapidly developing digital world. We will explore the experiences of dark nudging and sludge among rangatahi Māori and Tangata Tiriti aged 16-24 years using an approach grounded in young people’s online worlds and real-time experiences. We will draw on Māori methodologies and approaches. Our research will produce ground-breaking knowledge and establish Aotearoa, New Zealand at the forefront of this new research area. We will also be the first to extend public health and social science theory into the “darkness” of current alcohol-industry exploitive tactics and transform global debate on unhealthy industry practices that restrict individual autonomy for informed choice in an unregulated digital environment." Approved funding: $861,000

An alternative name for this $861,000 research could be "Breaking News: Advertising encourages people to buy stuff".

Speaking of $861k, how about this grant look at a couple of fisheries across the world and what they tell us about "imperial" borders and governance of the ocean. Really?  🎣

Grant ID: 23-UOW-057  Recipient: Dr FE McCormack, University of Waikato Marine inequality and environmental demise: Identifying imperial borders in ocean governance "By foregrounding the role of ‘border imperialism’ in institutionalising marine exclusions, the research draws critical attention to the relationship between environmental decline, social inequality, and the longue durée of imperialist ideologies in ocean governance. The project’s field sites are four island nation states: Aotearoa, Hawaii, Iceland and Ireland, each of which has a distinct marine culture as well as historically diverse fishing economies and livelihoods. Each too has a different history of colonialism alongside a rich legacy of anti-colonial resistances and other forms of social movements, broadly rooted in claims to the commons. This research proposes that these oft-contentious histories are uniquely patterned in their ocean economies and regulatory regimes. Employing a comparative ethnographic approach to investigate four case studies—marine aquaculture in Aotearoa, the wild, angler and farmed salmon fisheries in Iceland and Ireland, and the aquarium fishery in Hawaii—the research will generate fundamental knowledge to support ongoing imperatives to decolonise ocean worlds." Approved funding: $861,000

Who knew "ocean worlds" (i.e fish) are racist colonisers? 😮

Note too the reference to "field sites". That's code for Ireland, Iceland, Hawaii round the world business class travel – sorry, research.

Now we move on to end-of-life experiences, and asking that age old question of whether end of life experiences are determined by astrology?

In the world of our crème de la crème research grants, death is indeed linked to the stars! ✨

And thank goodness too that some of this 'science' money is going to be used to "make a documentary" (a whole new take to high school science, no doubt). 🤯

Grant ID: 23-MAU-090  Recipient: Associate Professor NA Tassell-Matamua, Massey University Kua whetūrangihia koe. Linking the celestial spheres to end-of-life experiences. "What compelled Māori to link the celestial sphere with death, and what continues to inspire narratives, rituals and practices that reinforce this link? This first of its kind to explore this question, this study will gather accounts of death-related phenomena via an online tool and use interviews to further explore how Māori make meaning from these experiences and link them to the celestial sphere. Innovatively mapping death-related experiences onto the annual movement of Matariki over time, we will examine whether linkages exist between the timing and features of such experiences and Kōkōrangi Māori (Māori astronomy), and share our findings via a short documentary. In doing so, we will create opportunities to rekindle the ancient connection to the stars and re-imagine the meaning of death, while also advancing understandings about the practical application of Māori astronomy in contemporary times." Approved funding: $861,000

These five grants alone amount to $3.3million. And with $83.5 million in annual taxpayer funding each year just for Marsden, this trough is large. 

The media aren't doing their job. This nonsense needs to be exposed.

I wish we were making up these research grants! It's exposing the wasteful spending which the media aren't that is the reason David and I founded the Taxpayers' Union. Who else will hold these taxpayer funded quangos and academics to account?

Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and the only thing that will prompt MPs and Ministers to take on the vested interests and return science funding to, well, science.

Few would resent paying taxes for genuine scientific research. But every week we're uncovering more nonsense at Marsden/the Royal Society, the Health Research Council, and our universities.

This work is only made possible by the New Zealanders who chip-in and allow us to keep the lights on (and keep digging to expose wasteful spending). To make a confidential, secure donation, click here.

Thank you for your support.

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Wellington City Council for blowing $84,208 on a bike rack that sees an average of just 2.7 bikes per week.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, James Ross said:

“With the Council spending $84k on a single rack for bikes, it’s no wonder the cost of the Town Hall project has blown out by almost eight times the original budget. Wellington can’t run projects cost-effectively.

“The council blames bad weather on low uptake. If people are only biking when it’s sunny, what’s wrong with simply having a piece of metal people can chain their bike to?

“Everything in Wellington ends up gold-plated, except for anything that people actually need – like core infrastructure. The city spends $84k on a bike rack and $150k per raised road crossing, but has water pipes that leak like a sieve.

“The Council’s prioritise-bikes-at-any-cost agenda is costing ratepayers significantly. The Council seems to think ‘if you build it, they will come’ but the evidence clearly shows otherwise.”

Responding to announcements that the Government intends to allow the introduction of congestion charging in councils nationwide, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Congestion charges are an effective way of controlling demand, but only if they’re not used as a way to wring revenue out of motorists. Luxon needs to definitively rule out congestion charges becoming the latest money grab.

“The Prime Minister is already talking about spending the extra money the government will rake in from drivers more effectively than the last lot did. If that’s the plan, National have just announced yet another new tax.

“Any cost increases from congestion charges need to be offset by slashing fuel taxes and road user charges, and the money raised from drivers needs to be properly ringfenced so that it can only be spent on our roads.”

 

This week we farewell the CEO of Wellington Water, reveal the latest extravagant taxpayer-funded party(s), expose the Ministry of Education's wayward priorities, and share our exclusive intel collected from the National Party's conference... We will also give you an update on the Government's unwinding of Labour's Three Waters policy.

Film Commission partying away taxpayer money 💸🎈

Government adopts key aspects of Taxpayers' Union Three Waters alternative 💦💦💦

On Thursday, the Government released the latest update in its Three Waters reforms and it's good news, Friend. 

The relentless advocacy, campaigning, policy work and legal drafting is finally paying off.

The Three Waters replacement will include many of they key principles and proposals of our alternative we spent the last two years developing.

Our Economist, Ray Deacon, wrote about the latest updates in an opinion piece for Wellington's The Post published on Friday:

Decades of poor asset management, combined with the tendency of councils to raid money intended for things people can’t see, like pipes, to fund the politically expedient things people can see like convention centres and town halls, have led to the situation we find ourselves in today...

Yesterday’s announcement from the Government is a lifeline for New Zealand’s water infrastructure. It incorporates many of the proposals from the Taxpayers’ Union’s technical advisory group.

I was part of that group. Joined by a team of experienced experts in infrastructure, local government, and economics, we set out to develop comprehensive legislative drafting instructions for a future Government to pick up.

Continue reading over at The Post.

Key points from Thursday's announcement: 

• Councils, jointly or individually, are able to set up council-controlled organisations (CCOs) with ring-fenced revenue for water infrastructure (so it can't be used to hide stealth rates increases to fund pet projects as some councils currently do). 

• CCOs can borrow for long-term investment in core infrastructure with that cost more fairly shared across all users over the infrastructure's lifetime, rather than lumped on the ratepayers of today – or worse, using borrowed money for day-to-day wasteful spending (or not undertaking the capital work at all).

• Drinking water safety and quality will continue to be regulated by the new water regulator, addressing the core issue that caused the Havelock North water crisis back in 2016.

• Small shared domestic water schemes will be exempted from the regulations preventing them from being required to deal with the same level of expensive red tape as our largest cities. This is a huge win. Under the current rules, farmers connecting just two dwellings (such as a farmhouse and shearers quarters) were to be regulated like a town-supply utility!

• The regulator must consider the costs imposed on suppliers before imposing ineffective or impractical regulation where the cost far exceeds the benefits, preventing engineers from being totally risk adverse or gold-plating (no matter the costs).

• Economic regulation, enforced by the Commerce Commission, will require CCOs to publicly produce economic, service performance, and management data, ensuring they are properly managing their assets and future investment. This is standard around the world and is already in place for electricity lines companies.

As Ray summed it up:

Our solutions to the nation’s water woes focused on tackling the core issues rather than using the reforms as a Trojan horse for pushing ideological changes – namely, expanding co-governance and centralising control, as the previous Government did.

Friend, all of this work was made possible thanks to the thousands of our supporters who backed the Taxpayers' Union against all odds to first stop, and then scrap, Three Waters.

We were up against what, at face-value, was an unwinnable battle: A single party majority Labour Government, a media unwilling to report fairly on Three Waters, an opposition unwilling to be vocal and a multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded propaganda campaign to scare the public into supporting their proposals. 

But with people power, grassroots activism, roadshows, TV and newspaper ads and hundreds upon hundreds of banners we slowly turned the tide and won convincingly. Take a bow Friend.

Wellington Water boss quits 👋

The same day as the Government's Three Water's announcement, Wellington Water's Chief Executive, Tonia Haskell announced her resignation – effective the very next day.

Credit where it's due for Ms Haskell for falling on her sword following the organisation's incredibly poor (and expensive) performance.

Wellington Water recently admitted overlooking a budget error, forcing ratepayers to fork out an additional $51 million to plug the holes. 

Earlier in the year, a damning report highlighted the skyrocketing costs of fixing the city's leaks, and over the summer ratepayers were forced onto water restrictions as the region was losing almost half of its drinking water to leaks.

A serious shakeup is needed at Wellington Water. The Board must work quickly to find a strong replacement who is able to bang the right heads together and get things done. 

A similar approach would be useful in central government too...

Time to pull the plug on taxpayer-funded EV chargers 🔌

Last week, Rhys, one of our young researchers, uncovered that the Ministry of Education is pumping millions of dollars into taxpayer-funded EV chargers for their staff. Since 2022, they have spent almost $2.2 million on 297 chargers, only four of which are on properties owned by the taxpayer. For the avoidance of doubt, this isn't car chargers at schools, it's mostly chargers at offices and carparks that aren't even owned by the Ministry.

There’s not even any environmental benefit either. As I explain here, these policies don’t make a dent in emissions.

If government departments were wasting taxpayers’ money installing petrol pumps in their basements it would rightly be called ridiculous. Paying millions to install EV charging points is no different, except it comes with a hefty sprinkle of middle-class welfare for Wellington bureaucrats plugging in their Teslas.

This $2.2 million is just one Ministry’s contribution. Other departments are almost certainly at it too, on top of the tens of millions already splurged on public EV chargers by EECA.

The Ministry needs to use every cent to fix our broken education system. It’s time to pull the plug on this nonsense. 

>>> Pull the plug on taxpayer-funded EV chargers <<<

So while it's open-season when it's taxpayer money, when politicians are spending their own money the story is slightly different...

Frosty reception at the National Party conference 🥶

Earlier this month, the National Party had their annual conference in Auckland.

We're always keen to keep our ears close to the ground, and picked up a scoop or two – but when one of our staffers in attendance reported one little thing he overheard, we couldn’t help but laugh.

Conference-goers had a frosty reception when the National Party apparently refused to put the heating on, saying it would cost the party too much money!

This from the same people running a government spending programme which is spending even more than Grant Robertson was!

So now we know, politicians can indeed be frugal – at least when it’s their money they’re having to spend, not that taken from hardworking taxpayers…

Now take that approach to Wellington please.

Media Mentions:

Newstalk ZB The Huddle: Are we being too hard on the C2 500 crew?

The Post A lifeline for New Zealand’s failing infrastructure

The Post Auckland mayor’s plan to ‘dethrone’ errant Auckland Transport

Kiwiblog Why I have resigned from the Research Association of New Zealand

RNZ Mediawatch for 11 August 2024 [16:34]

Media releases:

Fun Police Need To Stay In Their Lane

TVNZ Must Be Sold Before It’s Too Late

TVNZ’s $1.5M Rebrand A Smokescreen For Poor Performance And Declining Trust

Time To Pull The Plug On EV Charging Rort

Taxpayers’ Union Welcomes Progress On Three Waters Replacement

Nicola Willis Promises To Tackle Bureaucrats’ Rocketing Wage Growth

Second Aratere Ferry Incident Highlights Need To Sell Interislander

Government Wasted $2.2 Million On Ministry Of Education’s EV Chargers, Needs Lessons In Climate Policy

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Katie Nimon.

Katie was elected as the MP for Napier at the 2023 General Election. Born and raised in Hawke's Bay, Katie has had experience working in, and eventually running, the iconic family bus company Nimon and Son before becoming the transport manager at the regional council. Katie has a Bachelor of Design with honours and an Executive MBA, and has also worked in the advertising industry.

A passionate advocate for all things Hawke's Bay, Katie shares her story before politics, what drives her and why she wanted to become an MP. 

Katie's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Katie on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that the Ministry of Education and EECA have spent $2,159,815.62 (including GST) installing 297 electric vehicle charging points on Ministry of Education sites since 2022. Almost half of this expense was incurred in the most recent financial year.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“If government departments were wasting taxpayers’ money installing petrol pumps in their basements it would rightly be called ridiculous. Paying millions to install EV charging points is no different, except it comes with a hefty sprinkle of middle-class welfare.

“There is no climate argument for this either, as transport emissions are covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme. Net carbon emissions won’t reduce by even a single gram, but at least Tesla-driving officials get their bumper subsidy to travel in luxury.

“The Ministry should be putting every cent towards boosting our plummeting education standards. No doubt the teachers’ unions will join New Zealand’s largest union in being up in arms over this bureaucratic waste if they’re worth their salt.”

Responding to reports that the Aratere ferry has crashed into a wharf while berthing in Wellington, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Kiwirail couldn’t run a bath let alone a safe and reliable ferry service. It is time to sell it to someone who has the financial incentive to ensure the service runs smoothly and without incident.

“It was only last month that the same ship ran aground because staff couldn’t figure out how to turn off the autopilot.

“Taxpayers should not be on the hook for this incompetence.”

Responding to recent announcements by Nicola Willis of plans to rein in runaway public sector pay increases, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“It shouldn’t seem like a tall ask for an organisation to take account of the state of its books when planning for wage increases, but apparently even that has been asking too much of government departments over the last few years.

“StatsNZ announced yesterday that even despite a few thousand lay-offs, the cost of public sector labour has increased 6.9% in the last year alone. With this increase 50% greater than the growth in private sector costs, hats off to Nicola Willis for trying to end the gravy train.

“There’s already a massive public sector pay premium. The public service unions need a reality check if they think its “cruel and unworkable” to stop expecting mum-and-dad taxpayers to empty out their pockets so officials don’t have to cut back on a few luxuries.”

Responding to the Government’s announcement that they intend to improve access to finance for water council-controlled organisations (CCOs), Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The Government is listening to New Zealanders who overwhelmingly opposed Labour’s expensive, bureaucratic and undemocratic Three Waters reforms.

“It is fantastic to see them delivering on this promise, incorporating many of the proposals recommended by the Technical Advisory Group formed by the Taxpayers’ Union. Increasing the ability of water service providers to take on long-term debt will ensure that the cost of water infrastructure is more fairly spread across all users over many years, rather than being lumped on the ratepayers of today – or worse, not undertaken at all.

“Additionally the changes to the Water Services Authority | Taumata Arowai make sense. Requiring them to consider costs imposed on suppliers is a significant step forward that will prevent the gold-plating that drives up costs while delivering at best marginal benefits to consumers.

“The removal of the requirement to uphold Te Mana o te Wai will ensure our water regulator focuses on delivering safe and efficient water services at an affordable price rather than trying to figure out how to comply with a concept which is about as fluid as the water it’s trying to regulate.”

EXPOSED: Taxpayers continuing to fund "white privilege workshops" for MBIE mandarins 🚫🤦🏻‍♀️

Do you remember when the new Government insisted they were going through departmental spending line-by-line?

Well someone should have gone to Specsavers if our latest waste exposé is anything to go by.

On Sunday, your humble Taxpayers' Union blew the whistle that Government departments continue to splurge money on [checks notes] "white privilege" workshops for bureaucrats and government contractors.

Earlier this year, we got a tipoff that MBIE had spent $650,000 on these workshops over the past four years, and this story is just what we've uncovered so far.

As splashed in the Sunday Star Times:

MBIE says the workshops help staff address unconscious bias which helps them better serve NZ but the Taxpayers’ Union says it’s “wasteful spending”.

Almost $22,000 has already been spent so far this year on nine different sessions. Five more are booked in.

The Taxpayers’ Union said the workshops needed to be “on the chopping block” and every government department needed to look at its “wasteful spending”.

"Workshopping for government departments with more money than sense has fast become a mega-industry, with organisations, no one has ever heard of being bunged hundreds of thousands of dollars from the taxpayer year after year,“ said James Ross, policy and public affairs manager for the Taxpayers’ Union.

Figures released under the Official Information Act show since 2020, MBIE has contracted The Wall Walk and Courageous Conversations for 58 workshops run across the country for its staff. The Star-Times requested the contracts but were denied their release because it would have taken too much work to compile.

The Wall Walk is run by criminologist Dr Simone Bull (Ngāti Porou) and is described on its website as part theatre, part study, part kōrero and is designed to “raise collective awareness of key events in the history of New Zealand”.

Its sessions cost between $529.87 and $7105.45 - the majority of the sessions were less than $5000.

Bull said she couldn’t speak to procurement processes but her workshop was unique.

“It’s not possible for any agency or business to get multiple providers to tender for a unique service,” she said.

“I like to think that it’s popular because generations of people who call Aotearoa New Zealand home want to know about our country’s history (including the policies that were introduced and why) but were never taught it and the way we teach it is designed to uphold the mana or dignity of the people involved and their descendants.”

Courageous Conversations is run by South Pacific Institutes and its website says its mission is grounded in Te Tiriti and aims to “elevate racial consciousness through interracial dialogue”. Its most frequently contracted workshop to MBIE is called ‘Beyond Diversity’.

And sadly, the Minister is nowhere to be seen...

Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee is responsible for MBIE and said the workshops were an operational decision and the ministry had a responsibility to support its staff who are from a diverse range of backgrounds.

And it's not just MBIE. Our research team has so far uncovered 19 other government agencies that have also been spending taxpayer money on these workshops, pumping thousands of bureaucrats through these courses. The Sunday Star Times continues:

At least 19 other public agencies - including police, ESR, MPI, the Commerce Commission, the Retirement Commission and Cancer Control Agency - have references in recent publications to providing the workshops. Most include it under their cultural or diversity plans.

The Taxpayers’ Union said MBIE was just the “tip of the iceberg”.

“Bureaucrats across government need to front up on the scale of this rort and let the public decide for themselves what they think of their hard-earned money being spent like this,” said Ross.

The Ministry of Education began offering the Beyond Diversity workshops to its staff since 2018 but was criticised for it in 2021 by National and ACT when they were in opposition.

Then National leader Judith Collins said officials were being taught “to feel guilty” about being white and ACT leader David Seymour called the “white privilege” workshops “entirely inappropriate”.

Internal emails from the time show Secretary for Education Iona Holsted had the expectation that all staff undertook the training.

Continue reading over on the Stuff.co.nz.

We say forcing government staff to take off the better part of the day to calculate their 'white privilege score' is not a good use of taxpayer money. 

If you agree, drop a note to Melissa Lee (the Minister responsible for MBIE) and ask her to tell officials to put a stop to this nonsense.

TVNZ's $1.5 million rebrand a smokescreen for poor performance ✨🪩

Last week we revealed that taxpayer-owned broadcaster, TVNZ, wasted $1.5 million rebranding their online streaming platform from 'TVNZ on Demand' to 'TVNZ+'.

No prizes for guessing why they're expecting a $28 million loss this year...

This extravagant expenditure comes at a time when TVNZ is plagued by poor management, declining revenue, and a growing mistrust among viewers.

With people increasingly getting their news from other sources, available instantly thanks to the internet, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify state ownership of TVNZ. We should sell it – if we're lucky, it might still be worth something. 

If you haven't yet signed our petition to sell TVNZ, please add your name so we can ramp up the pressure on the Government to act before it's too late.

Forced to choose between continuing to prop up the John Campbells and Maiki Shermans of this world or paying down debt and delivering meaningful tax relief, I know what I'd choose...

Tax 'relief' giving with one hand, taking with the other 💸🤫

Councils must set, and achieve, savings targets 🎯✅

And it's not just the Government that needs to do a better job of ensuring Kiwis can keep more of what they earn.

With households and businesses across the country tightening their belts and finding ways to do more with less, it's time councils did the same.

With average rates hikes of more than 15%, many ratepayers are at risk of being forced to sell or remortgage their homes just to pay the bills. 

When the Government came into power, they demanded 6.5-7.5% savings from almost every department  – it's great to see them finally urging local councils to do the same.  

We recently also wrote to every Mayor and council asking them what efforts they are making to cut back on costs and whether they have set savings targets to keep rates under control. Unfortunately, the responses we've received have been underwhelming, to say the least. We'll report back once we have all of the council's responses.

Hastings District Council pays $1m for a building. Sells it for $150k two years later 🏗️🤯

Cutting back on wasteful spending in local councils doesn't mean reducing core services. Axing the silly and incompetent spending will go a long way to balancing the books in the first instance. 

At my hometown council in Hastings, one doesn't have to look far. The Council bought a building just two years ago for $1 million, now they've decided to sell it for a mere $150,000.

No private individual or business would make such a wasteful "investment". If you need any more evidence that nobody spends somebody else’s money as carefully as they spend their own, look no further than Hastings. 

I wrote to the Mayor, and every Councillor, demanding an explanation. What I got back from the Mayor was some carefully crafted PR spin that avoided many of the questions asked. Not a single councillor responded – we have heard from our well-placed sources that councillors were instructed by officials not to respond to the questions posed by the Taxpayers' Union!

This isn't local democracy nor is it accountability. And this certainly won't be the last Hastings District hear from us about it. 

You can read my letter here and judge for yourself whether the Council's response is a good faith attempt to answer my questions here.

Report waste at *your* local council👮🔬

Many of our best government and local government waste stories come directly from supporters like you, or from those with their boots on the ground working in the 'belly of the beast' as elected representatives or council officials. 

If you are aware of waste at your local council that could use some sunlight exposure, please report it via our confidential tipline and our team will investigate and expose it.

🔎 >>> REPORT WASTE HERE <<< 🔎

Media Mentions:

RNZ Mediawatch for 28 July 2024 [25:46]

Interest.co.nz The Coalition has delivered on its promise to cut taxes without extra borrowing but still needs to convince voters it won’t come at the cost of frontline staff

Pacific Mornings 531pi Richard Pamatatau, Political Commentator [9:16]

Greymouth Star Westcoast Rates Compared [Print only]

The Spinoff Get ready, your much-hyped tax cut is almost here

Rural News Out of control

Newstalk ZB Jordan Williams: Taxpayers' Union Executive Director on the Film Commission spending over $16,400 on celebrations

NZ Herald NZ Film Commission spends $16,431 on CEO parties amid budget cuts

Interest.co.nz Nicola Willis says she will use fiscal drag to help pay down public debt, despite calling it a flaw in the tax system

Rural News Full-Court Press

NZ Herald Government wants ‘line-by-line’ review of council spending and floats asset sales

NZ Herald Rethink needed on council funding - Nick Clark

Manawatu Standard Nothing slushy about support for Manawatū events

NZ Herald National Party Conference: party president Sylvia Wood sets goal of mid-40s in the polls

The Post Christopher Luxon returns to the National Party faithful

Sunday Star Times Government still spending thousands on ‘white privilege’ workshops

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with New Zealand First MP, Andy Foster.

Andy is a former mayor of Wellington and also served nine terms as councillor making him one of New Zealand's most experienced local government politicians. In 2023 he was elected to Parliament on the New Zealand First Party list. Earlier in his career, he has also worked in investment finance, taught economics, and was even a parliamentary researcher for the National Party.

Andy explains what drew him to local and then central government politics, why he shifted from National to New Zealand first and what he wants to achieve during his time as an MP. 

Andy's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Andy on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

Following the opening of a new taxpayer-funded EV charging hub in Tauranga, the Taxpayers’ Union is renewing calls for the government to pull the plug on taxpayer funding for EV chargers that do not reduce NZ’s net emissions and only serve to line the pockets of the already wealthy.

ChargeNet, who built the Hub, has received more than $7 million in corporate welfare while one it’s directors and shareholders was actively involved in campaigning against National at the last election based on misleading claims about the impact of EVs on the climate through his sock-puppet charity Better NZ Trust.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Simeon Brown knows that transport emissions are already governed under the Emissions Trading Scheme. Any reduction in transport emissions will simply free up carbon credits to be used by other emitters elsewhere. The net effect on the climate is zero.

“Why then, is he continuing to pump millions of dollars into the pockets of the very people who campaigned against him when there is no absolutely no reason to do so? We wouldn’t expect the Government to subsidise petrol stations when cars were first invented, EV chargers shouldn’t be any different.

“It’s time for the Government to acknowledge that their policy to build 10,000 EV chargers is a poor use of taxpayer money and instead focus on things that will bring the cost down such as cutting the red tape stopping more EV chargers from being constructed privately.”

The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that TVNZ spent $1.5 million on rebranding their online streaming service from TVNZ OnDemand to TVNZ+

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, says:

“This extravagant expenditure comes at a time when TVNZ is plagued by poor management, declining revenue, and a growing mistrust among viewers. It is time to reconsider the future of TVNZ.

“Taxpayers would be right to question whether TVNZ’s rebrand is actually a commercially prudent decision or if it is merely a smokescreen, diverting attention from its deeper issues.

“Only two of it’s top 10 streamed shows on TVNZ+ in June were local content. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify state ownership, it’d be far better to sell and put the money to better use such as paying down our eye-watering debt.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the government to sell off TVNZ before it’s too late following reports that the state-owned broadcaster faces a $30 million shortfall.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The world is changing, we need to change with it. When people can access information from anywhere in the world at the click of a button they are of course going to increasingly turn away from traditional TV.

“With viewership, revenue and trust all falling, it won’t be long until TVNZ isn’t worth anything at all. TVNZ should be sold while it’s still worth something.

“A private operator will be able to innovate and adapt a lot more easily that a state-owned broadcaster. With less and less Kiwis watching the news anyway, there is simply no justification for keeping it in state ownership.

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Government to axe its $5 million Regional Events Promotion Fund labelling it as nothing more than a corporate welfare slush fund. 

“If people really want to attend these events, they can buy tickets and go themselves. With the cost of living still punishing many families, it is odd that the Government is choosing to prioritise photo opportunities for politicians over delivering meaningful tax relief or paying down debt to secure our economic recovery. 

“Forcing the taxpayer to subsidise tattoo, drag and music festivals - along with a myriad of other obscure sporting and food events - will always make the taxpayer worse off than if they had been left with that money to spend as they wish. 

“Politicians will try to argue that this draws people into the region for these events. What they neglect to mention is that they are drawing them, and their money, away from other areas and businesses where it would have been spent on productive businesses instead.

“The recent tax changes barely adjust for half of the stealth tax hikes caused by inflation since tax brackets were last set 14 years ago. Cutting back on propping up festivals that apparently no one would spend their own money on to buy a full price ticket is exactly the kind of waste that needs to be cut to put more money in Kiwi’s pockets.”

Responding to reports that the Police have commissioned a ‘study’ advocating raising alcohol taxes, lifting the legal purchase age from 18 to 20 and introducing restrictions on alcohol advertising and sponsorship, Taxpayers’ Union Executive, Jordan Williams, said:

“This is yet another example of the fun police trying to take away people’s enjoyment of life rather than actually focusing on dealing with crime.

“Prohibitionists lost the argument a long time ago but are now trying to bring it in by stealth. The policy interventions they recommend simply won’t work and could end up making alcohol-related harm worse.

”It is also a constitutional disgrace. The Police’s role is to enforce the law, not lobby to change it. Someone ought to buy Andrew Coster a copy of the Peelian Principles which modern policing is supposed to be based on. For those who still care for an impartial Police force that does not involve themselves in making or advocating for legal changes, as previous Commissioners have understood, a strong drink is in order.

“Instead of trying to slap more taxes and restrictions on the vast majority of people who safely consume alcohol, the focus should be on targeted interventions at those people causing the most harm, while allowing everyone else to get on with their lives.”

The Taxpayers’ Union slams Wellington Water after a recently released report by Roy Baker and Kevin Jenkins highlighted a failure to report a significant capital budgeting error to their Board in a timely manner.

The report notes that the budget accuracy was not checked, with one paragraph stating: ‘In our view the critical over-riding factors impacting the detection of a reporting abnormality is the organisation’s loose control environment (see Section c.), the absence of clear and publicised responsibilities (canvassed throughout this Report), and inaction, quite probably due to the organisational climate and a culture that is not aligned with its core values. This does suggest Wellington Water continues to profile symptoms of “learned helplessness” (see Section c.).’

Commenting on this, Taxpayers' Union economist, Ray Deacon, said “it is a basic function of a senior leadership team to ensure that the control environment (financial, process, procedures, accountabilities and risk) is adequately managed. It is one of the most basic functions of a Board to make sufficient enquiries to satisfy themselves that this is so.

”Baker and Jenkins report a culture in a state of ‘learned helplessness’ of not wanting to hear or present bad news. Deacon says “clearly, such a culture works to prevent effective and timely corrective actions and will ultimately corrode all aspects of the organisation’s performance. It must be a paramount action of the Board and senior leadership to correct this.”

“What is so totally damning is that this appears to be a repeat of the fiasco surrounding the lack of fluoridation in parts of the network in 2021. The Martin Jenkins consultancy reported on this in June of 2022. The Baker and Jenkins report has identified the same problems in this new report.  Clearly, very little corrective action has been taken. Why is this?”

“It is no wonder that Councils and local ratepayers (who fund this dysfunctional organisation) have so little confidence in Wellington Water. But who is going to be held accountable for their abject failures?”

 

Tax 'relief' this week (if you can call it that)

No doubt the big story the Government will want the media focus on this week is their tax reductions finally coming into force. 

But sadly, it's not really tax relief when New Zealanders are still paying a higher average rate of tax than under the early years of Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson.

Thanks to the failure to adjust tax brackets for inflation since 2010, Kiwis have been forced into higher and higher tax brackets – even when earnings haven't changed in "real" (inflation-adjusted) terms. This is called "bracket creep" or "fiscal drag".

It has meant, for the average Kiwi worker, they're paying $49 per week more in tax, despite being no better off.

$49 is what Nicola Willis needed to deliver for the average worker. Unfortunately she is shortchanging New Zealanders giving them less than half of what is needed to make up for 14 years of stealth tax hikes.

So while this week's changes are welcome, the Government must go a lot further and faster to cut wasteful spending and deliver more meaningful tax relief. 

Yet another failed mega-merger 🏥💸

Remember when the Labour Government decided to centralise the health system into a bureaucratic monolith in the middle of a pandemic?

Well it won't come as a surprise to anyone after seeing the boondoggles with the centralisation of our polytechnics and the attempted Three Waters power grab that the new health mega-bureaucracy is burning money at a rate of knots.

Overspending by $130 million every month, Health NZ was on track for a $1.4 billion deficit – $700 for every household in the country. 

Despite the billions spent, and 3000 extra backroom paper pushers hired, health outcomes continued to decline and report after report slammed the bureaucratic mess the Government had created.

Rather than sitting on his hands, credit must be given to Health Minister Shane Reti for sacking the Board and putting in a commissioner to sort out the agency's finances and turn its performance around. 

And it's not just central government bleeding cash... 

Ratepayers fork out for 'Rebel Business School' rort 🕴️

If you're wondering what your council is spending money on that necessitates a double digit rates hike, you may want to check if they're funding the 'Rebel Business School'. 

What sounds like a formidable educational institution to teach people how to run a business is drenched in controversy. Their 10-day unaccredited course has optional attendance for "graduates" and has consistently failed to meet delivery and attendance targets.

Taking money from productive businesses through higher rates, only to give it to (and this is a generous description in the circumstances) a "pop-up business creche" is not how you create a vibrant local economy. 

Even Christchurch City Council's economic development wing is questioning the group's value, and has withdrawn funding "due to delivery targets not being met." Other councils should follow suit.

Auckland Council spent $280,000 on this grift, Napier City Council spent $29,000 and taxpayers have stumped up more than $1.35 million! Rather than pay for "optional attendance" qualifications certificate printing, councils and government would have been better off slashing red tape that makes just getting a business off the ground such a bureaucratic nightmare in the first place.

Check if your council is funding these grifters here.

With councils seemingly desperate to spend ratepayer money on anything except core business, one MP has decided to do something about it. 

MP wants to stop councils from considering emissions in consenting 💰🔥 

Sick of seeing councils waste millions of dollars on unsuccessfully trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ACT MP and farmer Mark Cameron has told councils to 'get in behind'.

Mr Cameron has lodged a Member's Bill that would force councils to stop considering emissions (which is a central, not local government responsibility) when making consenting decisions.

The Taxpayers' Union support the Bill as it rightly recognises that reducing emissions is the role of central government and, due to how our Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) works, almost anything councils do in the climate change space is completely pointless (see below).

The ETS sets a fixed cap on the amount of emissions that can occur each year. This cap is based on the total amount of emissions (from things like car exhausts) minus any removals (such as from forestry). If one council decides to block the consent on a new factory because it would be powered using a coal boiler, that simply means someone else can emit more instead. I explain this in more detail here. 

Speaking of getting councils back under control...

No, 1News, referendums are not a 'legal loophole' 🤯🔦

In some sad news following the Tauranga election that one of the newly elected councillors was undergoing medical treatment at the hospital, one reporter decided to insert anti-democracy propaganda into the story.

The reporter stated that the ability for local residents to petition against and hold a referendum on the introduction of a Māori Ward was a 'legal loophole'. This implies that a technicality in the law allowed this to happen and that it wasn't intended – that's simply not the case.

In fact, it was explicitly written in the law before Nanaia Mahuta hijacked local decision-making and removed the ability for local communities to decide their own electoral arrangements. 

This biased and misleading reporting is exactly why people are losing trust in the media. To top things off, here's what was written in small text at the very bottom of the story: 

"LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air"

Seriously, taxpayers are the ones paying for this drivel. 

Fortunately, the new Government is in the process of restoring local democracy – watch my tussle with Willie Jackson on the matter here.  

Media Mentions:

Newstalk ZB Capital Letter: NZ Herald's Georgina Campbell on Interislander poll, further bullying allegations

Chris Lynch Media Inflation Drops to 3.3% in July, but what does that mean for cost of living crisis?

The Leighton Smith Podcast Jordan Williams of the NZ Taxpayer's Union argues the benefits of Estonia's tax regime

Newstalk ZB The councils with the highest rates rises, and why

The Platform Michael Laws Questions Māori Influence in Local Government Decisions [1:57]

Sunday Star Times Inside the Beehive: 10 minutes with Casey Costello

Kiwiblog Who is hiking rates the most

Stuff Rates more than double over 10 years

Newstalk ZB The Huddle: Do we need regulations for PayWave fees?

Hansard Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill — Second Reading

RNZ Interislander: More opposition than support for ferry project cancellation, poll finds

The Press The Press letters to the editor: Thursday July 25

Kiwiblog Guest Post: Economics 101 for RadioNZ, Guyon Espiner and Professors Janet Hoek and Chris Bullen

Bassett, Brash & Hide PETER WILLLIAMS: The costs of Te Mana o te Wai are worse than we thought

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Government for celebrating the opening of a taxpayer-funded experimental vineyard saying they should be pruning back corporate welfare, not championing it.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The Government is loading the risk of this experiment onto taxpayers while allowing private businesses to reap any benefits. If winemakers and viticulturists aren’t willing to stump up their own money to fund this experiment, why should taxpayers?

“Corporate welfare like this sends a message to the private sector not to bother funding their own research and innovation, taxpayers will fund it for them.

“This will create a lot of sour grapes from other industries who are successful in their own right without government handouts. Corporate welfare to special interest groups only invites more lobbying and develops a culture of handouts for wealthy commercial interests that should have been left in the 1980s.

“The Taxpayers’ Union is hearing through the grapevine that government ministers are divided over the issue of corporate welfare. Those in favour must come forward and explain how New Zealanders are better off by taking money from productive businesses and hand it to those who can’t stand on their own two feet.”

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with National Party MP, Dana Kirkpatrick.

Dana defines herself as staunchly East Coast, having been born and raised in Gisborne, and has been the MP for the East Coast since the 2023 General Election. She comes from a farming family, has worked in journalism, local government, and the health sector, and has previously been involved with a number of community organisations.

Dana shares what drove her to become an MP, what she hopes to achieve during her time in Parliament, and gives an insight into what she enjoys doing outside of politics, namely gardening. 

Dana's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Dana on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the reporting of a Talbot Mills poll claiming that there is more opposition than support for the government’s decision to cancel the iReX ferry project.

The poll question refers to a $551 million contract for the new ferry purchases but fails to mention that the total cost would have been around $3 billion when considering that the new ferries would be useless without a significant rebuild of the Picton and Wellington Ports.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Heck, if the cost were just $551 million, maybe even the Taxpayers’ Union would support the purchase. But the reality is the true figure is almost six times that and Kiwirail’s incompetence leaves little to the imagination as to whether that would be the extent of the taxpayer liability.

“Instead, the better decision would be to sell the Interislander service to a private operator. This would let taxpayers off the hook, bring in much-needed revenue to pay down debt and would likely lead to a better run service.

“Taxpayers’ Union - Curia polling showed 43% of Kiwis support selling the Interislander compared to 38% opposed. It’s time for the Minister to put forward a case for the sale which will no doubt sure up support even further.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Hastings District Council for purchasing a building for $1 million only to sell it for $150,000 just two years later.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“This appears to be yet another case of a council not doing its due diligence before forking out ratepayer money to pay for the latest boondoggle.

“Either the council significantly overpaid for a derelict building or they effectively gave a $1 million handout to a property developer while local ratepayers stare down the barrel of a 19% rates hike. Either way it reeks of bureaucratic incompetence.

“Ratepayers deserve an explanation as to how this was able to occur. Instead the Council has used a confidentiality clause to shield themselves from embarrassment rather than risking taking some accountability for their poor decision making.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on councils and government agencies to cease funding of Rebel Business School after it was revealed using offical information laws that almost $2 million of taxpayer and ratepayer money has been spent on the scheme.

Rebel Business School provides unaccredited certificates and training for those wanting to start their own business via a ten-day course. But already, complaints are emerging over delivery targets not being met, poor attendance, and ambiguous outcomes despite $1,946,131.50 being spent on the programmes.

New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:

“Schemes like this are a wasteful money-go-round where money is taken from productive sectors of the economy, swirled through the bureaucracy, and then gambled away on courses offering dubious value.

“The level of spending by both central and local government over the last few years to feed Rebel Business School’s swindle is beyond belief. More publicly funded organisations need to follow in ChristchurchNZ’s footsteps and withdraw funding after the school’s failure to perform.

“The idea that a ten-day programme - which doesn’t even require full attendance - offering a certificate which would provide the necessary skills to start a business is absurd. If councils and the Government want more people getting into business, they would be better off focusing on slashing some of the onerous red tape that make just getting off the ground such a bureaucratic nightmare.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union congratulates Tauranga Mayor-elect Mahé Drysdale and the rest of the Council on a successful campaign and welcomes the overdue return to democracy.

Taxpayers’ Union Local Government Campaigns Manager, Sam Warren, said:

“After being stripped of democracy in early 2021, and then again being shamefully denied the right to a democratic election in 2022 it is great to see democratically accountable representatives back in charge.

“The new Council must work hard to build the trust of the city, treating every ratepayer dollar as if they had earned it themselves. Mahé and his team must focus on getting the basics right, not continuing the attitude of the power-hungry commissioners who were more concerned with ideological pet projects than doing the basics well.

“Mahé has some experience making the boat go faster. He must carry those lessons into council, working as hard as possible to do more with less rather than taking the easy option of shouldering ratepayers with even higher rates in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the sacking of the Health NZ Board who have failed to meet performance expectations but says the blame should also sit with the previous Government.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Centralising and restructuring the health system into a bureaucratic behemoth was never going to deliver its promised efficiencies. Instead, taxpayers have been left with deteriorating health services and eye-watering cost blowouts.

“It is clear the board has failed to perform, but ultimately the responsibility must sit with the Government who decided it was a good idea to restructure in the middle of a pandemic.

“The health reforms have cost households thousands of dollars each, but they are left with nothing to show for it. Today’s announcement is simply more evidence that Wellington-knows-best centralisation simply doesn’t work and that a decentralised model with choice and competition would not only deliver fa

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Food Safety Minister, Andrew Hoggard, to reject calls for further red tape requiring plain packaging for infant formula products.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“This Government, but particularly the ACT Party, was elected to cut red tape, not create even more. Plain packaging rules for infant formula would undermine intellectual property rights, stifle innovation and shift manufacturing offshore to those countries with less burdensome regulation.

“There are already laws prohibiting making false claims on packaging. More red tape simply makes it harder to do business in New Zealand for very little public benefit.

“At a time when the country’s finances are in a shambles, it would be reckless to impose further regulatory taxes that drive away businesses who contribute so much to our economy.”

Responding to calls from universities for the Government to renew a ‘one-off’ funding increase, the Taxpayers’ Union is telling the universities to tackle the bloat in non-academic staff in order address their financial challenges.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Research from The New Zealand Initiative has shown that New Zealand universities have around 40% more non-academic than academic staff. Tackling this bloat should be top priority.

“We know that the large number of non-academic staff isn’t necessary because in the US, Canada, UK and Australia the ratio of non-academic to academic staff is significantly lower.

“Spending on non-academic staff is almost half of NZ universities’ salary expenditure. Cutting this back would go a long way to fixing their funding woes.

“The Government must not give in to calls for further funding from universities who have not made a real effort to sort themselves out first. Any government involvement should be targeted at cutting red tape and changing the pricing model to bring more market discipline into our universities.”

Responding to reports that Ministers are already working on new savings initiatives for Budget 2025, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“New savings initiatives and the axing of programmes that do not deliver value to the taxpayer should be axed as soon as they are identified. Waiting until next year’s budget simply forces the taxpayer to stump up for billions of dollars in wasteful spending on projects that are already destined to be wound up.

“We don’t want bureaucrats pushing paper for the next 10 months just to find out all their work is getting lumped on the scrap heap at next year’s budget. We have given Nicola Willis a list of savings initiatives that could be actioned right now, so there’s no reason to wait before getting on with the job.

“Right now, wasteful spending is keeping inflation much higher than it needs to be. Kicking the can on cutting wasteful spending to next year will only keep inflation and interest rates higher for longer, robbing Kiwis and making life tougher.”

 

This will be the last time you'll hear from me as Head of Campaigns – it is with a heavy heart I'm letting you know that this is my last week at the Taxpayers' Union (see the very end of this email). But first...

Exposed: Councils hiking rates at more than 3X inflation

This week, we launched the 2024 Rates Dashboard, to compare your council's proposed rates hike with those of others around New Zealand. Click here to see how your council compares. 

But make sure you're sitting down. The short point is our councils are out of control. We've uncovered that the average for city and district councils is an eye-watering 14 percent hike this year – and that’s on top of the 15 percent rate hikes at regional councils.

Central government cost-cutting is only half the battle. Town halls need to catch up with economic reality and trim back office fat, can pet projects, and focus on core services.

And before you hear the squeals from Local Government New Zealand about 'needing' more money for infrastructure, when we've looked at growth in local government in previous years, we've found that at nearly every council, the proportion of spending going to capital items (roads, pipes, pumps, etc.) has actually been reducing compared to the proportion going to operating expenses (i.e. staff payroll and back-office bureaucracy). 

Our policy wonk, James, was on Radio NZ on Monday talking about our findings.

But it's not just local government getting its priorities wrong...

Adrian Orr's latest pet project: Digital cash

Remember when Reserve Bank Governor, Adrian Orr, spent $400,000 on a sculpture of Tānē Mahuta? Or when he decided a key function of the Reserve Bank was fighting climate change? How about when he spent $100,000 on a rebrand? Let's not forget his $6000 per household loss on his failed LSAP scheme.

Well in all his genius, Mr Orr has decided his latest pet project is to create digital cash for New Zealand. What?! Isn't this essentially what the private sector banks are already providing?

Do you really trust the man who has failed to keep inflation within its target band for 37 months in a row to complete such a project without costing taxpayers an arm and a leg, let alone deliver something that is actually safe, secure and useable?

We say government-backed digital cash isn't needed when the private sector already has plenty of options. And with the Governor failing at his actual job, he is hardly in a position to be taking on more responsibility. 

We've launched a petition calling on the Reserve Bank to scrap their strange digital cash project before they get it off the ground and end up costing taxpayers even more (real) money. 

Speaking of the Reserve Bank...

Last week, the Reserve Bank was boasting on its LinkedIn page about how their staff spent the day doing arts and crafts and playing games in celebration of Matariki.

Long-time Taxpayers' Union supporter and central bank critic, Damien Grant put it best: 

Paul Goldsmith's shakedown of Meta for his media mates

More than 6,000 New Zealanders have already used our tool to email Paul Goldsmith telling him to ditch Willie Jackson's media bill.

Last year, National spoke strongly against Willie Jackson's media bill in Parliament. Melissa Lee slammed it as "effectively another tax", "a shakedown" and that it's an "ideological thing" because Willie Jackson "wants to support his mates in the media."

Who's supporting whom now? 

Watch National's pre-election comments on the Bill here

"People in New Zealand can't see this content" 

If Paul Goldsmith and Willie Jackson have their way, you'd better get used to reading messages like this. As it turns out, the media were the ones who benefited most from links to news stories being shared on sites. So when they tried to get help from politicians to shakedown likes of Facebook, the tech giant simply pulled the ability to access news. 

This is what users see in Canada if a news item appears on their Facebook feed:

Our new Communications Officer, Alex Emes, lived this firsthand in Canada before moving to New Zealand – seeing the disastrous effects of a similar law change there led by one Justin Trudeau.

He has issued a warning to New Zealand, and points out that Willie Jackson got the mad idea from the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (and it didn't work out there).

Watch Alex's video here.

Media Mentions:

Newstalk ZB The Mike Hosking Breakfast: Full Show Podcast: 12 July 2024 [20:50]

NZ City Chris Luxon's taken a leap as preferred Prime Minister -- according to a Taxpayers' Union Curia poll

Newstalk ZB THE RE-WRAP: How to Silence Your Critics [4:00]

Newstalk ZB National, Luxon surge as Labour tumbles in new poll

The Post Labour’s support drops in latest Taxpayers' Union poll

Stuff Labour down, and more good news for Christopher Luxon, in latest poll

The Country Barry Soper talks to Jamie Mackay [1:20]

RNZ National, Luxon make gains in TPU-Curia poll

Otago Daily Times National, Luxon make gains in latest poll

Stuff Masterton fares best in region for rates rises

RNZ The Panel with Paula Penfold and Ben Thomas (Part 2) [8:42]

Rural News 'Science' spend

Greymouth Star Westland rates among steepest in NZ [Print only]

Greymouth Star Coast’s cheapest, dearest rates revealed [Print only]

Responding to this morning’s Consumer Price Index inflation announcement, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy said:

“For the 37th month in a row Adrian Orr and the Reserve Bank have failed to keep inflation within the target band, punishing New Zealanders and driving up the cost of living.

“But monetary policy needs fiscal friends. The consistent stream of wasteful spending is pumping more cash into the economy, driving up prices and keeping non-tradable inflation higher than it needs to be.

“Nicola Willis must take strong action to curb government spending, starting with the shopping list of suggestions we have already provided to her. The hundreds of millions in film and video games subsidies, unscientific research funding, and corporate welfare dressed up as climate action are just some of the areas that are ripe for the picking.

“It is not enough to tinker at the edges, Nicola Willis must tame the inflation beast.”

This week on Taxpayer Talk is another episode in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Connor sat down with New Zealand First MP, Tanya Unkovich.

Tanya was elected on the New Zealand First Party list at the 2023 General Election. Tanya is a seasoned public speaker, is a published author, life and business coach, and started her career as an accountant. 

Tanya shares her experiences of her early life an upbringing, her significant challenges and overcoming her grief before eventually using her story to help others in their own lives. Having built a strong personal brand prior to entering Parliament, Tanya shares why she decided to enter the crazy world of politics and what she wants to achieve during her time as an MP. 

Tanya's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Tanya on Facebook here.

To support Taxpayer Talk, click here

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] 

You can also listen to Taxpayer Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio and all good podcast apps. 

Wellington land rates review should focus on bringing rates down

Responding to discussions in Wellington around the introduction of rates based on the underlying value of land rather than developments built on top, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Rather than trying to chuck $32 million at its multinational owners of the Reading Cinema to get them to do something with a massive CBD plot, land value-based rates would encourage development. But Wellington’s rates problems run much deeper than that.

“Wellington’s main problem is that its rates are just too high. With the highest commercial rates in the country, businesses can’t afford to keep their doors open. One way or another, Wellington’s ending up with an empty CBD.

“Any rates review which considers land rates needs to finally scrap the 3.7x commercial rates differential and kill conversations about the vacant lot super-rate as well. Changing the tax is no use if the burden stays just as cripplingly high.”

Taxpayers’ Union releases 2024 Rates Dashboard

The Taxpayers’ Union is today launching the 2024 Rates Dashboard, allowing ratepayers to track and compare how much their council is planning to hike rates again this year.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“The average district council rates hike this year is over 14%, and these double-digit tax hikes are quickly becoming the norm. Kiwi families have been getting more and more strapped for cash, and if you’re wondering why then look no further.

“More and more money is pumped into vanity projects and social media gurus. Until councils can start delivering value for the money they take from ratepayers, we should be seeing rates rises in line with inflation and no more.

“Cutting central government waste is only half the battle. Households are having to tighten their belts, and councils need to be doing the same by trimming the back-office fat and canning gold-plated pet projects.”

NB: This is not the annual Ratepayers’ Report, which will follow separately in the coming weeks.

It's been a recess week at Parliament this week, but even with some of the top political leaders out of the country, the scourge of government waste persists ...

At the same time, good news for the Government (and Mr Luxon) in this month's exclusiveTaxpayers' Union – Curia Poll (see below).

NZQ-Ay?! Yet another expensive rebrand we've uncovered 💸🤬 

Given the dire state of New Zealand's education system, you'd think department heads would be steadfastly focused on ensuring that kids are actually at school and learning.

But why improve education when you can just do a rebrand?

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (the agency tasked with ensuring young people are getting quality teaching, accurate educational records, and internationally transferable qualifications) has instead decided to blow $2.9 million on a flashy rebrand and a website upgrade.

Exposed by your humble Taxpayers' Union, this rebrand involves a new logo, and a change to the colours of the agency's website. Impressive stuff.

Of course, it is sometimes necessary to make technical upgrades to ensure websites function properly but too often government departments seize the 'opportunity' to blow hundreds of thousands of dollars ‘refreshing brand identity’ (whatever that means). We say this nonsense has to stop and there is an easy solution: having one standardised logo for government agencies as they do in the UK:

$365k golden goodbye for gross incompetence and failed CEO 👋🏻🤑

The $365,000 payout to outgoing Kāinga Ora (the Government's Homes and Communities agency) Chief Executive, Andrew McKenzie, is nothing short of a reward for failure.

Rather than being able to sack McKenzie – as would be justified in just about any other country – the Board of Kāinga Ora had to both pretend that Mr McKenzie 'resigned' and pay him a $365k golden goodbye. The news comes after a damning report earlier this year about mismanagement by the agency.

Calling it a 'resignation' is about as credible as an email from a Nigerian prince. But it shows the real issue here: under New Zealand employment law, it's extremely difficult to sack even those who are clearly failing. While some may argue we need laws to protect vulnerable workers, making it nigh on impossible to get rid of lousy CEOs on $700,000+ means many boards and businesses are stuck with duds unless they get out the chequebook. An ACT MP has a proposed solution applicable for smallbusinesses, but as this example shows, it's also big organisations paying dearly to get rid of people who clearly aren't performing.

We sent our friendly mascot Porky-the-Waste-Hater down the road to Kāinga Ora head offices to present Mr McKenzie with this great 'gift' from taxpayers. 

But wait, there's more... 🤦🏻‍♂️

Sadly – for taxpayers anyway – this wasn't the only big taxpayer payout in the news. In fact, it wasn't even the biggest. Not to be outdone, our friends (I use that term rather loosely) over at the Film Commission paid their Chief Executive out more than half a million!

In her great investigative piece in Wednesday's NZ Herald, Kate MacNamara explains that David Strong was forced to go on a paid leave of absence when a television programme, The Pilgrim, in which he had an ongoing personal interest came up for funding. This clearly presented a conflict of interest as the Commission distributes funds to such projects. An independent review of his conflict-of-interest disclosures found that:

"The board and David Strong both had opportunities to better handle the disclosure and management of his conflicts of interest. Inadequately documented decisions and discussions, gaps in the implementation of these decisions, breakdowns in communication and information flows, and blurred accountabilities were significant contributing factors to the events that unfolded."

Despite this 'strong' criticism, Strong not only received $100,000 in pay while he was on leave but also a $438,700 payout in compensation when he left the job permanently. Our policy guru, James, has slated this decision, saying that "bureaucrats already earning more than ministers shouldn't be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars more not to do their jobs."

You can read Kate's full piece with James's comments over on the NZ Herald website.

Policy Victory: Local democracy defended! 🗳️💪🏻

Back in 2022, we raised the alarm about about Nanaia Mahuta's 'Review into the Future for Local Government' – a follow-on from Three Waters and another Labour pet-project that looked to radically change the way our local councils operated and de-couple them from local democratic accountability.

You might remember that we set up a submission tool to make it easy for New Zealanders to have their say on the draft recommendations and more than 14,000 of you made your views known, accounting for the vast majority of responses. Sadly, the hand-picked panel ignored these and ploughed ahead anyway. 

The final recommendations included things like lowering the voting age to 16, enabling unelected 'Te Tiriti-based appointments' to councils, changing the voting system without a referendum, introducing so-called citizens' assemblies (erm, what does that make councils then?), and much more. 

Well, there's some good news. The Local Government Minister, Simeon Brown, has put the review on the policy bonfire, labelling the proposals "ideologically-driven". He has even instructed officials to down tools so we won't waste money preparing a formal response to the report. Result!

Christchurch spends $800,000 on... graffiti 🎨🖌️

Speaking of councils, our Local Government Campaigns Manager, Sam, was quick to call out Christchurch City Council’s last-minute allocation of $800,000 for so-called street art initiatives from a capital endowment fund meant for things like water pipes and improving roads. This comes after Christchurch agreed to an almost 10 percent rates hike, which is about $320 extra a year for the average Christchurch household.

Families up and down the country are tightening their belts, and we think councils should not be exempt from practising restraint. Now more than ever is the time to shelve nice-to-have art projects and prioritise responsible spending decisions to fund core council services and keep rates as low as possible.

No more taxpayer cash for KiwiSaaS 💵🛑

Grant Robertson loved chucking money at whatever corporate special interest group had the shiniest lobbyists, and so far it’s a habit the new Government has found difficult to kick.

But Judith Collins has bucked the trend. After a media campaign led by your humble Taxpayers’ Union, the Minister has decided not to renew $11.2 million in handouts to KiwiSaaS, a tech sector lobbying group.

Now, compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars of your cash that are given out in corporate welfare, this is small fry, but it’s a step in the right direction.

So we just wanted to take this opportunity to say bravo, Judith Collins. It’s a great start, now it’s time to tell the rest of the crony capitalist industry (I'm looking at you, video game subsidies!) to take a hike.

Media Mentions:

NewstalkZB Morning Edition: 02 July 2024 – Kāinga Ora Golden Goodbye (01:58)

The Platform James Ross on Waka Kotahi's $5.2M App Failure & Selling the Interislander

NewstalkZB Barry Soper: ZB senior political correspondent on the Government advancing an amended version of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill (03:49)

RNZ The Panel with Peter Field and Niki Bezzant (Part 2) – Sam on $800k for Christchurch Graffiti (09:07)

Indian Weekender NZ Business Confidence Hits The Skids

The Post Crossings and traffic lights may stall commuter bus benefits

The Post Is rebooted fast-track a law written by the Government’s cronies?

Bassett, Brash & Hide JORDAN WILLIAMS: Luxon wants to curry favour with mainstream media

The Press Council turns to private sector for EV charging infrastructure

Greymouth Star Whatever! – Darleen Tana [print only]

Chris Lynch Media Green Party faces pressure to release investigation report on Darleen Tana

NZ Herald Former NZ Film Commission boss David Strong paid over half a million dollars’ leave and severance for nine months’ work

The Huddle The Huddle: Do we believe NZ First's theory about the Aratere grounding?

NZ Herald New poll shows Kiwis divided over whether to sell Cook Strait Interislander service

NewstalkZB Paul Goldsmith: Justice Minister talks new Ministerial Advisory Group for victims of retail crime – Interislander Poll (03:19)

The latest Taxpayers’ Union – Curia poll for July shows National up 2.2 points on last month to 37.6% while Labour drops 3.5 points to 25.9%. 

The Greens are relatively static on 12.5% (-0.2 points) while ACT drops marginally to 9.1% (-0.6 points). 

New Zealand First is up 1.7 points to 7.3% while Te Pāti Māori is down 0.5 points to 3.5%. 

For the minor parties, TOP is on 2.4% (+1.6 points), Outdoors & Freedom is on 1.0% (-0.3 points), and the combined total for all other parties is 0.8%.

This month's results are compared to the last Taxpayers' Union – Curia poll conducted in June 2024.

National is up three seats on last month to 47 while Labour is down three seats to 33. 

The Greens are unchanged on 16 while ACT is down one on last month to 11 seats. 

New Zealand First is up two seats on last month to nine while Te Pāti Māori is unchanged on six.

The combined projected seats for the Centre-Right of 67 is up four on last month. The combined seats for the Centre-Left is down three to 55.

On these numbers, National and ACT would require the support of NZ First to form a government.

This calculation assumes that all electorate seats are held. A Parliament on these figures would have an overhang of two seats and a total of 122 seats.

More detailed results, including preferred Prime Minister scores and government approval ratings, are available on our website.

A new Taxpayers’ Union – Curia poll has revealed that a plurality of New Zealanders support selling the Interislander ferry services to a private operator. 43% of respondents supported the sale compared with just 38% opposed. The remaining 19% were unsure.

Voters were asked: “There are two companies that provide passenger and freight services over Cook Strait. The government-owned Kiwirail which operates the Interislander ferries and the privately owned StraitNZ which operates the Bluebridge ferries. Would you support or oppose the Government selling the Interislander ferry services to a private operator?”

The full polling report, including demographic breakdowns, can be found here: www.taxpayers.org.nz/poll_interislander_sale

Commenting on the poll, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Kiwirail has demonstrated that they are too functionally and financially incompetent to run an efficient ferry service. With a private operator already successfully operating a second ferry service without taxpayer backing, there’s no reason that the Interislander should remain in public ownership.

“Selling the Interislander would ensure that the service runs efficiently and reliably with a private owner having strong incentives to keep up with regular maintenance and renewals. It would also mean that taxpayers aren’t on the hook paying for Ministers’ and bureaucrats’ ideological projects that make no financial sense.

“It’s time to take back control from Kiwirail’s wayward autopilot and hand it to market forces that care about running a cost-effective service that people trust and are willing to use."

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to discuss tax policy with Estonia which has ranked number one on the Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index for 10 years in a row. Estonia’s world-leading tax policy has led to significant economic growth, far outpacing New Zealand's.

World Bank statistics reveal that between 1995 and 2020, Estonia’s economic growth was 160.59%. Over the same period, New Zealand’s economic growth was significantly less at 95.85%.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Estonia has the best tax code in the OECD. It ranks first overall and second (behind neighbouring Latvia) for corporate tax. Whilst New Zealand ranks highly overall, our corporate tax ranking is near the bottom at twenty-ninth.

“A key reason for the stark difference in economic performance is Estonia’s tax system. In 1994 Estonia introduced a flat tax rate on all personal and corporate income which was further reduced to 20% in 2015. Corporate profits are only taxed when distributed to shareholders – profits reinvested in the corporation are not taxed.

“Our Prime Minister would do well to discuss the impact of Estonia’s tax policies on economic growth when he meets with their prime minister, Kaja Kallas, in Washington.”

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has once again held the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 5.5%. Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Sky-high interest rates are punishing Kiwi families and stunting economic growth. New Zealanders will keep getting relatively poorer until the OCR starts coming down, so the Government needs to be doing much more to get the inflation genie back into the bottle.

“The Government needs to get serious about slashing wasteful spending, but so far it’s done anything but. More spending, a bigger deficit and heaps more debt were the name of the game in May’s Budget.

“People demanded a return to sound financial management at the ballot box on 14th October. Kiwis’ wallets are squeezed, and this Government needs to give people what they voted for.” 

The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) framework released for consultation today that will reduce the cost of emissions reduction in New Zealand.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The Government should be agnostic about where reductions in net emissions come from, whether that be through not emitting in the first place or through capturing and storing carbon by using technology or forestry. Today’s consultation announcement is a good step in the right direction.

“The recognition that New Zealand’s emissions are capped under the Emissions Trading Scheme is a welcome one. This CCUS policy will not reduce emissions any further or faster but will make it cheaper to meet our agreed targets.

“The best emissions reduction policy is to have a simple and well functioning ETS that sets the cap on emissions and then gets the government out of the way. The consultation’s request for insight on regulatory barriers to CCUS uptake is a welcome one.

“It’s just a shame the government can’t be consistent across all other areas of their emissions reduction policy – let’s hope Simeon Brown pulls his Climate Change Minister in for an ETS crash course.”

The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Children’s and Young People Commission has spent $61,474 on refreshing their brand identity when the structure moved from a Commissioner to a Commission with a board.

The information was revealed through the Official Information Act and now, with news of a change back to a single commissioner role, the Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the organisation not to waste even more money on a second rebrand.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The Commission is meant to ensure the safety and well-being of children. Instead, they are spraying money on expensive redesigns that do nothing to improve the poor outcomes many young people face.

“Time and time again we have called for government agencies to revert to standard branding with the Coat of Arms - even offering to do this design work for free - yet they continue wasting tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars on unnecessary rebrands.

“Private organisations spend money on branding in order to stand out against their competitors. Unfortunately, the government doesn’t have any, so there’s no need to continue to splash the cash on woke rebrands like this.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is dismissing concerns from EV lobbyists that there aren’t enough EV chargers in New Zealand, arguing that they are not necessary for emissions reduction but will be built anyway with private funding so long as the Government keeps its grubby fingers away.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The main point that EV lobby groups, who often have strong financial interests in the sector, miss is that we already have a functioning Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that limits the amount of net emissions than can be emitted.

“Any reduction in emissions from increased EV uptake won’t actually do what the policy sets out to achieve and reduce New Zealand’s net emissions. It will simply free up room under the fixed limit on emissions for someone else to emit instead.

“The Government didn’t need to own petrol stations when cars first started appearing on our roads so why would EV chargers be any different? As the ETS drives up the cost of fuel over time and electric vehicles become more attractive, the private sector will provide more charging points. The most effective way the Government could help would be by cutting red tape to make it easier to build more EV chargers.” 

Wellington City Council has given Peter Jackson’s Stone Street Studios exclusive rights to 50 publicly owned and funded car parking spaces for just $1 a year since 2010. 

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Wellington Council is tearing up car parks left-right-and-centre for the rest of us, with around 800 planned to be removed across the city. Unless you’re a Hollywood superstar of course, then the Council will roll out the red tarmac.

“Wellington’s favourite corporate welfare recipient has been given 50 parking spots since 2010, all for $14 total. That’s less than what the rest of us have to pay for parking in just one spot in the CBD for 3 hours.

“Nothing sums up Wellington City Council’s attitude to the hardworking mum-and-dad ratepayers who pay their wages more than subsidising billionaires to park whilst paying millions of dollars to make everyone else walk.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the Government’s review into how workers in the gig economy are treated and backs calls to protect the freedom of contract and allow Uber drivers to remain as contractors.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Services like Uber offer drivers the ability to be their own boss. They get to decide when and where they want to work, for how long, and can accept and refuse jobs as they wish.

“This flexibility enables more people to become drivers such as retirees, those with young kids, students, or anyone wanting a side-hustle to top up the bank account at the end of the week.

“This flexibility benefits drivers while also keeping costs down for passengers and ensuring there is always someone available to offer a ride. Attempts to usurp the freedom of contract will make it harder for people to become drivers while also driving up the price for consumers.

“If those four drivers taking Uber to court are upset at their contractor status, they are more than welcome to quit and work for a taxi company instead. Of course, they won’t because this is nothing more than a shakedown and an attempt to gate-keep the rideshare industry.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Government’s decision to continue MBIE’s Endeavour Fund without narrowing the funding criteria to exclude areas where there is clear private benefit and incentive to invest in research and development.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“This is the same fund that previously spent $1 million for research into reducing the sound of ‘scraping chairs, running upstairs and high heels on hard floors’ and another million on work to increase the shelf life of seafood.

“There are countless examples of the Endeavour Fund handing out money for research that simply pile all of the risk onto taxpayers while the benefits accrue to corporate elites.

“We have already seen the kind of nonsense funded through Marsden grants and the Health Research Council – it’s time the government focused all science funding on those areas that cannot attract private investment and that deliver tangible benefits to all New Zealanders, not just the wealthy few.”

The Taxpayers’ Union was gobsmacked to find out that the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) spent $2,867,937 on website redevelopment of which $114,386 was spent on rebranding, including a new logo and colour palette.

Information released to the Taxpayers’ Union under the Official Information Act also shows that the website maintenance has jumped to $206,880 per year, a significant increase from the $86,561 that they told the Education and Workforce Committee just three months ago. 

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy said:

“It’s no wonder that more and more schools are moving away from from NZQA’s preferred NCEA system when they waste money on extravagant pet projects like website refreshes while core software such as for digital examinations continues to fail.

“Parents, students and teachers just want a simple website that works as intended so that kids can get the first-class education system they deserve. Instead, they are stuck with flashy rebrands that focus more on the new ‘visual identity’ then ensuring students are well equipped for learning and working in the 21st century. 

“This rebrand is almost seven times more expensive than the Human Rights Commission’s new website that we revealed last year. The Minister must urgently issue a ‘please explain’ to NZQA who are not even able to provide a cost breakdown of where this money went. 

“There is a worrying trend across government where departments use the need to make technical changes to a website and then use it as an opportunity to do a complete makeover. This adds unnecessary cost for no benefit to taxpayers and must be stopped.”

Today’s NZ Herald reports that the Government is considering providing funding to enable the purchase of land, to build a marae or cultural hub, and ‘assistance resolving concerns’ about the use of the name Tūroa for the ski field.

Responding to these reports, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

 “If the issue is really about concerns with the trademark over the Tūroa family name, then the simple solution is to change the name. There is no reason for the Government to hand over millions of dollars in apparent ‘compensation’ for using the name.

“A name change to something as straightforward as the ‘South-West Ski field’ would suffice and is unlikely to give rise to any trademark issues. But unfortunately, this Government is developing a reputation for appeasing any group with an itch that they want scratched. This was the modus operandi of the previous Government, and it simply has to stop.”

Responding to a Green Party announcement that Darleen Tana has been asked to resign following the completion of a report into allegations made against her, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Public funds were used to pay for the report, and so the public have a right to see what’s in it. It’s as simple as that.

“Taxpayers have also been on the hook for Tana's salary to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars as this investigation dragged on for month after month. The public need to know why the facts took so long to dig up, so taxpayers’ money won’t be wasted like this again.

“Ms Swarbrick claims the Greens punch well above their weight in holding the powerful to account. Now’s their chance to put their money where their mouth is and let the public hold them accountable.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Statistics New Zealand to replace RDC Group’s Doug Craig given new information has come to light showing that the same person reviewing Stats NZ oversight has in fact previously contracted to Stats NZ to advise on their risk management and governance oversight.

The investigation came as a result of allegations that census data was misused and abused for political purposes.

According to an OIA response published online, Mr Craig previously lead Statistics NZ’s Strategic Advice and Governance Review into risk management and governance oversight.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Jordan Williams said,

“Mr Craig might have the necessary expertise for the investigation, but he is clearly conflicted. In effect, he’s been asked to mark his own homework.

“It is disgraceful that Stats NZ ever thought this appointment was appropriate. If Mr Craig slams Stats NZ’s systems, management will point straight to Mr Craig’s previous review as being at fault. It’s a terrible situation.

“If Stats NZ can’t see the problem, it’s high time the Minister of Statistics stepped in and demanded a proper independent investigation - what the public was promised weeks ago when the John Tamihere allegations first arose.”