Reacting to the Government’s bill to increase the trust tax rate to 39% passing its third reading today, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“National have just passed into law yet another of Labour’s tax increases. Rather than tackling the 84% increase in spending that every single one of their MPs campaigned against at the election, they have instead opted to hike taxes.

“While we congratulate the Government on reinstating interest deductibility for residential rental properties, and reducing the bright-line test to two years, they have simply reversed two of Labour’s tax grabs while implementing another. There is no doubt that we are in challenging economic times, but the answer is to cut wasteful spending, not hike taxes.

“The National-led Government must immediately work to significantly reduce spending in all non-frontline areas to create the fiscal headroom needed to not only deliver its promised tax relief but also reverse the recent tax hikes that they have so brazenly introduced.”

Responding to the release of the 2024 Budget Policy Statement, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“We welcome today’s commitments to fiscal responsibility and reduced spending, but it must be backed up by real action.

“At the very least the Government must deliver its promised tax relief, funded by cutting back the 84% increase in spending over the last 6 years. There is so much waste to cut, there is no reason for the surplus to be pushed back yet another year.

“It also cannot be forgotten but unless the Government commits to ongoing inflation adjustments to tax brackets, the budget will simply provide temporary tax relief attached to a promise to keep hiking taxes.

“The Government has acknowledged the impact of inflation hiking up taxes by stealth over the last 14 years – if they don’t do anything to fix this, they are complicit in the thievery."

Responding to reports of a cyberattack on the Parliamentary Counsel Office and Parliamentary Service by an organisation with links to the Chinese Government, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“It’s a sad day when overseas hackers know more about how taxpayers’ money is being spent than taxpayers themselves.

“Currently, there is a strange carve-out in our official information laws that excludes politicians from the transparency and accountability that they rightly expect of all government organisations and local councils.

“Overseas scandals such as the one in the UK where MPs were found to be abusing and misusing their spending entitlements on things such as moat cleaning and duck islands for their personal homes, along with Ministerial expense scandals here in NZ highlight the need for transparency in how politicians spend their money.

“We shouldn’t need a scandal before politicians open up their spending habits to some much needed sunlight. MPs should get ahead of this latest hack and expand our official information laws to include their own expenses within our official information laws.”

Commenting on reports that out of 10 permanent speed cameras installed by the Government late last year, only one will have warning signage, Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman, Alex Murphy, said:

"The Transport Minister has time and again assured us that his Government's proposed speed camera empire will be built strictly in the name of safety, but this failure to clearly signpost speed cameras at 9 high-speed locations in Auckland and Northland once again looks to be more of a revenue-gathering exercise over effective safety policy.

"Having extensive signage around speed cameras will encourage drivers to check their speed and slow down if they are over the limit. The only reason why the Government wouldn't want to have clear warning signs would be to maximise the amount of fines it receives.

"If the Government really wants to take a safety-first approach to speed-monitoring, then signposting is imperative. This shouldn't be an exercise about catching people out to potentially gain more revenue."

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has proposed scrapping car parking spots on Cuba Street with misguided claims it will reduce emissions. This will reduce parking revenue by $200,000, plus damage already struggling local businesses. 

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

“Whanau wants to scrap car parking spots despite the fact this won’t lead to a single gram of reduced carbon emissions. Under the ETS, any reduction in transport emissions here simply frees up more carbon credits to be used by other emitters. 

“This lack of basic understanding shows why Wellington is falling apart at the seams. At every turn, the council seem to make life harder for residents and drive away trade from local businesses. 

“It’s easy for Whanau to say income can’t be the priority when, thanks to ratepayers, hers is safe. It’s the income of hardworking Wellingtonians already drowning in red tape that is on the line.” 

Reacting to reports that Worksafe is rehiring for back-office roles it disestablished in November, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“What we are seeing here is the bureaucracy making non-existent ‘pseudo-savings’. By disestablishing roles, they get to claim the credit and good favour with the responsible Minister, only to reinstate those same roles months later and hope no one notices.

“This process of firing then rehiring staff has probably ended up costing taxpayers more than not doing anything at all. We warned in January that asking Chief Executives to find savings was like asking foxes to guard the henhouse and would lead to next to no savings, or savings that arise from the most politically damaging areas rather than the bloated back-office where there is so much fat to be trimmed.

“The Taxpayers’ Union understands a similar process is happening at Te Pukenga with roles being disestablished then re-offered back to the same people to give the appearance of savings when, in reality, taxpayers are still on the hook for back-office waste. This rort needs to stop.”

Reacting to reports that Worksafe is rehiring for back-office roles it disestablished in November, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“What we are seeing here is the bureaucracy making non-existent ‘pseudo-savings’. By disestablishing roles, they get to claim the credit and good favour with the responsible Minister, only to reinstate those same roles months later and hope no one notices.

“This process of firing then rehiring staff has probably ended up costing taxpayers more than not doing anything at all. We warned in January that asking Chief Executives to find savings was like asking foxes to guard the henhouse and would lead to next to no savings, or savings that arise from the most politically damaging areas rather than the bloated back-office where there is so much fat to be trimmed.

“The Taxpayers’ Union understands a similar process is happening at Te Pukenga with roles being disestablished then re-offered back to the same people to give the appearance of savings when, in reality, taxpayers are still on the hook for back-office waste. This rort needs to stop.”

Responding to comments from Chris Hipkins’ State of the Nation speech that New Zealand’s tax system is unsustainable, inequitable and in desperate need of reform, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said:

“Chris Hipkins might be trying to conjure up the narrative that implementing new taxes will somehow lead to a more prosperous and productive New Zealand, but a quick look at the latest GDP figures will tell you that our economy needs to be stimulated – not stifled.

“Time and again we’ve demonstrated that bringing in a capital gains tax or a wealth tax is about the worst thing you could do to an already slumping economy, and in the latter’s case, would potentially bring in less tax, as all those top earners wave goodbye and move their wealth abroad.

“The Government is reeling in more tax than it has ever done before, and despite the spin from leftwing groups, is being funded almost entirely from the top quarter of earners. Hipkins would do well to pull his head out of the sand and realise that New Zealand actually needs less taxation and less government spending to get it out of this hole, not the contrary.”

This week's Taxpayer Talk presents another installment of our "MPs in Depth" podcast series, delving into the backgrounds of Parliament's newest members. In this episode, Jordan sits down with Cameron Luxton, the recently elected ACT Party MP.

Cameron Luxton is unique in that he is New Zealand's only Licensed Building Practitioner ever elected to Parliament. Prior to his political career, Luxton worked as both a builder and a dairy farmer. He shares with Jordan his personal journey, recounting his challenges in school and eventual breakthrough, spurred by a teacher and environment that diverged from the traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to education.

It's evident that Luxton's passions lie in advocating for charter schools and addressing the housing crisis. He articulates how the closure of charter schools served as a catalyst for his entry into politics, highlighting his commitment to tackling pressing issues facing New Zealand.

Cameron's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Cameron 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. 

Commenting on Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop’s speech to the New Zealand Planning Institute, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Wholesale RMA reform must be the aim, and the Government cannot lose sight of that. If we ever stand a chance of tackling the housing crisis and infrastructure deficit, New Zealand needs to take the red-tape noose off from around its neck.

“However, this will take time, and New Zealand cannot afford years more of the same anti-growth status quo. Given the impossible mess of competing priorities we currently face, plans for the reforms to prioritise property rights and freedom of choice within clear environmental limits are an encouraging sign.

“Small-but-necessary amendments to the RMA whilst a replacement is drafted should be welcomed. But when it comes to planning reform, the Government needs to keep its foot on the pedal.”

Reacting to the recent announcement that the Government plans to reduce staffing levels at the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“This fat-trimming goes nowhere near far enough. Since 2017, MPI’s bureaucracy has grown by 52%, forcing taxpayers to pay the wages of an additional 1,227 public servants. “The cries of austerity simply do not stack up when less than one in five of the additional bureaucrats are being laid off.

“The Health Ministry can also go a lot further by cutting most of its outright dumb spending and the jobs that go with it. From the $330k advertising campaign highlighting how bad the Ministry was doing to the $100k new Smokefree2025 logo, the Government is spoilt for choice for savings if it’s willing to look for them.

“While job losses in the public sector are very visible, we cannot forget that every job in the public sector costs private sector jobs, as money is sucked away from consumers and productive businesses. We cannot let fear-mongering from the self-interested PSA union get in the way of the changes this country desperately needs.”

Responding to the latest comments by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the state of the New Zealand economy, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“The IMF has rightly criticised wasteful government spending in New Zealand. Like with the last Government, they’ve cautioned this one about chucking good money after bad on policies which don’t deliver.

“The IMF is also right to warn the Government against funding tax cuts through borrowing. With Kiwis being up to their necks in almost $90,000 of Government debt per household, the Taxpayers’ Union’s New Zealand Government debt clock keeps ticking up.

“With New Zealand in recession, the Government needs to make boosting productivity its priority. That can only happen by cutting red tape and delivering tax relief, but this should be funded by slashing the bloated bureaucracy and not by lumbering Kiwis with even more debt.”

See the Debt Clock at: http://debtclock.nz

Responding to the release of the latest update to New Zealand’s GDP figures, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“New Zealand is in recession, with GDP shrinking for the second quarter in a row and GDP per capita in freefall for the fifth quarter in a row.

“As government after government sucks in more money from productive sectors and fritters it away on waste, New Zealanders’ quality of life is going to continue to nosedive.

“Kiwis cannot afford more of the same, and real growth must be the country’s priority. With our productivity already among the worst in the developed world, what will it take for the Government to wake up and smell the roses?”

Reacting to the Government’s announcement that they plan to ban disposable vapes, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman for Lifestyle Economics, Connor Molloy, said:

“Current issues with youth vaping, although they are on the decline according to the latest ASH survey, are a failure of enforcement not of policy. We welcome the proposed changes in relation to harsher penalties and enforcement for those illegally selling vaping products to minors but extending this crackdown to a ban on disposable vapes will simply drive people back towards smoking and encourage a blackmarket of unregulated vaping products as seen in Australia.

“Disposable vapes play an especially important role in helping smokers make the initial shift to vaping due to the lower initial costs and simplicity. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that vaping is significantly less harmful than vaping. This ban will simply it harder and more expensive to quit smoking, instead encouraging people to remain or revert to smoking, or to consume black market vaping products where the risks are completely unknown.

“The government needs to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and disrupt the positive progress towards our smokefree goals. The disposable vape ban will lead to higher smoking rates than there otherwise would have been, leading to worse health outcomes rather than helping people to shift away from the tar and taxes to a much safer alternative."

Responding to amendments to the District Plan which will see increased height limits for buildings in suburbs surrounding the Wellington CBD, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Even more so than the rest of the country, Wellington is neck-deep in a housing crisis which is denying young people even the chance of ever owning property in the city. Rents and mortgages alike are through the roof and climbing.

“The only way out of the crisis is building more places for people to live, and burdening the capital with incredibly restrictive height limits would only make housing more expensive.

“For a council that’s got so much wrong over the last few years, it’s a refreshing change to see them waking up to reality.”

 

Media Mentions:

NZ Herald Latest poll: Christopher Luxon’s popularity crashes after allowance blunder, now trails Chris Hipkins

Newshub Christopher Luxon's favourability tanks; Labour's support lowest since 2021 in new Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll

Newstalk ZB Afternoon Edition: 08 March 2024 – Poll (01:58)

The Post Masterton council settles with Health NZ over $90 million hospital claim

Otago Daily Times Rate hikes unaffordable – advocate

interest.co.nz The Coalition Government has delivered on its 100 day promises but faces much bigger challenges ahead

Newshub New Zealand Film Commission to spend $800k on new Dame Jacinda Ardern documentary

Newstalk ZB Chloe Swarbrick sets out her first moves in new Green Party co-leader role (05:37)

The Platform Mayor of Westland Helen Lash on Hydro Power & the Fast-track Bill – Poll

Newstalk ZB Nicola Willis: Finance Minister addresses the problems in New Zealand's media sector – Poll (05:51)

POLITIK Luxon’s brave climate change promise

Newshub Taxpayers' Union says Government should 'follow Australia's lead' in abolishing tariffs

Gisborne Herald No justification for funding ‘Jacindamania’ doco 

Stuff Chris Hipkins pushes ‘slow and steady’ message to Labour caucus

The Post Labour starts planning for a tough three years

Waikato Times Ruapehu bailout ‘corporate welfare’ says Taxpayers Union

Te Ao Māori News Fifth cash injection keeps Ruapehu Alpine Lifts in business

NZ Herald Green Party’s horror run continues with MP Darleen Tana’s suspension - Audrey Young

RNZ The Week in Politics: Landlords and tenants, the police and the minister

The Platform Inside the new $3.2million Jacinda Ardern documentary critics say is dangerously close to taxpayer-funded propaganda

Press Releases

15.8% Rates Hike Shows Tauranga Long Term Plan Must Be Delayed Until After Democracy Returns

Dunedin City Council’s 17.4% Rates Hike Unacceptable

Sorely Needed Targeting On The Way For Ailing Health Sector

Film Commission Confirms Status As Taxpayer Funded Leftie Love-In

Department Of Conservation Must Conserve Taxpayer Money

National’s Changes To Labour Trust Tax Bill Pathetic And Kicks Farmers

Taxpayers’ Union Slams Unbelievable Rates Hike From Greater Wellington Regional Council

New Zealand Should Follow Australia’s Lead And Abolish Tariffs

Climate Change Commission Insistent On Making Emissions Reduction Expensive

Ruapehu Bailout Throwing Good Money After Bad, After Bad, After Bad, After Bad

Taxpayers’ Union Celebrates Slashing Of Housing Red Tape In Wellington

Taxpayers’ Union Welcomes New Bill To Remove Unfair Union Privileges

Expedia’s Exit From Market Shows App Tax Will Reduce Competition And Raise Prices

Kāpiti Council Living Wage Will Do More Harm Than Good

Grant Robertson Interview Demonstrates Why He Should Never Have Been Finance Minister

The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024.

“Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise sent a chill down the spine of all of us here at the Taxpayers’ Union” says the group's co-founder, Jordan Williams. “After a sleepless night, the team are delighted to be able to hit pause on the ‘broken promise’ campaign.

“The coffee machine is overheating, the eyes are puffy, but our campaign team can return to normal duties.

“However, Kiwis earning the median salary of $65,479 are still paying an extra $2,285 a year in income tax compared to 2010 thanks to the inflation tax. Until Luxon gets serious about ending these stealth tax hikes by the back door, any talk of tax relief is just giving with one hand while promising to keep taking more and more with the other.”

The Taxpayers' Union's Inflation Tax calculator can be found at http://axetheinflationtax.nz

Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more than Labour lite. After hounding the previous Government for increasing spending by 67% in just six years and criticising them for introducing new taxes as an answer for every problem, the National-led Government appears to be softening voters to do just that.

“We have already seen it with the u-turns on the promise to scrap the app tax, the hiking of the trust tax rate and the delay to reinstating interest deductibility for rental properties. At every turn, the government has opted for more and higher taxes, rather than making the necessary cuts to the bloated bureaucracy and slashing wasteful spending such as the billions splashed out on corporate and middle class welfare each year.

“It is time the Government gets real with New Zealanders. Did they elect a fiscally conservative government who is prepared to cut waste and shrink the size of the state or did they elect a continuation of the tax, spend and hope policies of the past six years?”

Responding to Grant Robertson’s recent admission on a Q+A with Jack Tame that his only regret from his time in office was that he didn’t take on more debt, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Alex Murphy, said:

“Grant Robertson has now admitted that he would rather have spent more, borrowed more, and cranked up the debt level even higher if he was given another shot at managing the economy. For the rest of New Zealand, though, the fact he didn’t is about the only thing we’re thankful for!

“In just the six years he was finance minister, Robertson hiked public spending by 67% and increased government debt by 161%. Yet, despite all that extra debt, New Zealanders continue to think that our public institutions have got worse – not better.

“Robertson’s wilful ignorance might allow him to think that taking on even more debt would have solved his problem. But his failure to manage the economy had nothing to with being underfunded. His problem was that he has an addiction to wasteful, unchecked, inflationary spending.

“While debt isn’t inherently bad if used to fund long-life infrastructure, Mr Robertson was borrowing to fund reckless deficit spending and leaving nothing to show for it upon leaving office except record interest payments and 30-year high inflation.

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, Ollie sat down with National Party MP for Tukituki, Catherine Wedd. 

Catherine speaks about how, as a kid, she wanted to be a lawyer, journalist and politician, something she now describes as "perhaps the three most unpopular professions of this century" – but at the election last year was able to fill the third leg of that dream. Catherine has also worked in horticulture and been a director on the New Zealand Apples and Pears Board. Along with discussing her career before politics, Ollie and Catherine discuss her political ideology, the Public Interest Journalism Fund and which Labour Party policy she secretly admires. 

Catherine's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Catherine 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. 

Commenting on the introduction of the living wage for all employees and contractors at Kāpiti Coast District Council, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The problem with blanket living-wage policies is that they put ideology before evidence and actually lead to increased poverty. This is because when wage rates increase, lower-skilled employees are crowded out by more skilled employees enticed by higher wages. This reduces jobs available for those who are low-skilled and forces ratepayers to overpay for jobs that people would be happy to do for a lower rate, such as those seeking to gain experience in the labour force.

“For those current employees that do get a pay increase from a living wage, a significant portion of this will be clawed back by the government at the punishingly high 30% tax rate or through reductions in working for families tax credits. In some instances, it could even lead to job losses. When Wellington introduced a living wage, 17 low-skilled employees lost their jobs, harming the very people such a policy aimed to help.

“The evidence on artificially hiking up wages is clear, it harms the very people it aims to help leading to increased poverty overall. Our 2017 report, Best of Intentions, Worst of Results, outlined the case against implementing a living wage and provides a comprehensive analysis of the evidence demonstrating the disastrous outcomes of such a policy.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is urging the National Party to reconsider its decision to implement the App Tax it campaigned to repeal following reports that Expedia will remove thousands of accomodation providers from its platform when the new tax comes into force.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“New Zealanders are already seeing signs of the devastating impacts that will result from National’s app tax. With major accomodation providers pulling out, consumers will be left with less choice, less competition and higher prices.

“The affects of this tax are not limited to those who use or provide app-based services. When there is less choice and competition, traditional accomodation providers are able to put their prices up higher which will force all consumers to pay more.

“Thousands of people have already used our email tool to tell Nicola Willis to Scrap the App Tax. National rightly campaigned against this unworkable and unaffordable tax yet now they are doing the opposite of what they promised. Instead of cutting waste and providing tax relief, they continue to dish out corporate welfare and introduce new taxes.” 

The Taxpayers’ Union is celebrating the lodging of ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar’s Member’s Bill to remove the obligation on employers to automatically deduct fees from union members’ pay.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“This bill will level the playing field between trade unions and other advocacy groups that do not benefit from the current law, such as New Zealand’s largest union – The Taxpayers’ Union.

“Not only do some unions actively campaign in support of political parties, some even actively donate their members’ fees to them, it is unfair and immoral to require businesses to put up with the administrative burden of collecting membership dues when no other organisation receives that benefit.

“The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on all MPs to support this bill, it is a positive advancement for democracy, political freedom and freedom of association.”

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, Ollie sat down with newly elected National Party MP, Dr Vanessa Weenink. 

Vanessa details her life before politics including her time working as a doctor, being in the Army for more than 20 years, and even previously being a Labour Party member and helping with a local campaign.

Vanessa's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Vanessa 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. 

Reacting to today’s vote on the District Plan and the recommendations of the Independent Housing Panel, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Housing, like any market, is a simply a matter of demand and supply but unfortunately red tape and regulation has effectively made it illegal to build an affordable house in this country. Changes to zoning rules and the shrinking of character areas will allow more houses to be built in Wellington and in time will stabilise or reduce house prices and rents.

“Too often people see problems and immediately call on the government or council to step in and create more rules and regulations without realising it was interventionism that created these problems in the first place. It is good to see some recognition that if the council and government get out of the way, many of these problems will fix themselves.

“The decision to delist a number of heritage buildings, at the request of the owners, is also a victory for private property rights. We urge Chris Bishop to confirm this decision and allow owners to use their properties as they wish, rather than be forced to run them into the ground until they are unlovable and unproductive.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Government’s announcement to give Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) another $7 million in corporate welfare bringing the total value of taxpayer-funded handouts they have received to $27.35 million in just the past two years.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“This is the fifth time the Government has given this company millions of taxpayer money under the illusion that it will magically turn around this failing company. They are quite literally throwing good money after bad, after bad, after bad, after bad.

“Claiming this will save jobs and generate tourism revenue misses the point entirely. The money used for this handout has been taxed away from other productive sectors of the economy, destroying jobs there, and moving it to less a productive area.

“What does the Government have to say to people in Queenstown and Wanaka who will no longer be employed due to the Government propping up an unviable competitor? Just because a job is less visible, doesn’t mean an impact doesn’t occur. The Government should kick the habit of picking winners and instead allow the market to sort itself out.

“Taxpayers struggling with the cost of living should not be forced to dig into their pockets to ensure that people wealthier than them are able to go skiing at their first preference location. Ministers meddling in markets is bad, providing corporate welfare is inexcusable.”

Reacting to today’s release of the Climate Change Commission’s advice on the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), Taxpayers’ Union climate policy spokesperson, Connor Molloy, said:

“The advice, if accepted, would continue to keep carbon prices arbitrarily high, pushing up prices for consumers and making it more expensive to reduce net emissions for absolutely no additional environmental benefit.

“The Commission emphasises that social and economic equity must be considered as we respond to climate change while continuing to advocate for an arbitrarily high minimum price for carbon credits that does not even reduce emissions. This and the lack of any real attempt to legalise cheap international offsets makes life harder for the most economically marginalised.

“The Climate Change Commission also has it back to front when it comes to how we decarbonise. They argue that if other policies outside of the ETS reduce gross emissions, the ETS cap can be lowered to lock this in as a net emissions reduction. The Government could simply lower the ETS cap instead and the net emissions reduction will occur where it is most affordable to do so.

“Both scenarios reduce net emissions but, for some unknown reason, the Commission seems obsessed with doing things as expensively as possible through picking winners rather than allowing an efficient market.

“Today’s advice should also act as a warning for the Government. Relying on ETS revenue is not a sustainable way to deliver lasting tax relief when the revenue is so variable. The Government should instead focus on cutting waste to fund its tax relief and use ETS revenue to provide a universal carbon dividend to all taxpayers which may vary year to year.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is renewing its calls to abolish all tariffs following reports that Australia plans to unilaterally abolish nearly 500 of its tariffs.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“With the stroke of a pen, the Government could help households struggling with the cost of living by eliminating tariffs that increase the price of goods such as sunblock, clothing and leather shoes.

“Not only do tariffs make prices more expensive for consumers, they also add unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy, slowing down trade and making it more difficult for people to do business internationally. New Zealand’s tariffs cost the economy more than the measly revenue they generate. Throwing them out the window is well overdue.

“These tariffs do nothing except keep prices artificially high. We should go further than our Australian cousins and abolish all remaining tariffs entirely to help those struggling with the cost of living.”

Responding to Greater Wellington Regional Council's proposal to hike its rates by 19.8% for the 2024/25 financial year, Taxpayers Union spokesman, Alex Murphy, said:

"Time and again we see councils come up with these ludicrous rates hikes to scare ratepayers into thinking that this is just the way it has to be – but this couldn't be further from the truth.

"For a council that has a higher percentage of staff earning over $100,000 than any other, Greater Wellington Regional Council are about as primed and ready as it gets to cut down on the back-office bureaucracy and start making savings.

"Pair that with the $75 million the Council spent on consultants and contractors last year, and the $4,000 that went towards purchasing Snapper Cards for MPs to get around Wellington, and it becomes perfectly clear what areas of waste the Council could tackle first.

"The bell we keep ringing might continue to fall on councillors' deaf ears, but that doesn’t mean we should stop ringing it. GWRC need to realise that proposing a rates hike of over 4 times the level of inflation isn't just unacceptable, it's unjustifiable."

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the Finance and Expenditure Committee’s recommended changes to the proposed trust tax hike saying they barely touch the sides. Taxpayers’ Union spokesman, Jordan Williams, said:

“The recommended $10,000 income de minimis amount is pathetic. Many of those people who legitimately use trusts for asset protection and for the benefit of future generations will be left with no choice but to fork out more for a Government unable to cut wasteful spending. The very people who the Government is trying to target at the big end of town will simply rearrange their finances into company and PIE structures and end up paying an even lower rate than they are now.

“This is a kick in the guts to farmers who can’t easily change from a trust structure because the family home is within the farm, or the grandparent who doesn’t want their grandchild having total control over their inheritance until they are an adult.

“It’s a Labour tax grab that Nicola Willis promised a National-led Government would scrap. Just like the App Tax, it’s unfair, unprincipled, and muddles our tax system.

“The sensible approach would to be to scrap this hike altogether and realign the trust and income tax rates by cutting the punitive 39% income tax rate. Instead, National are locking in Grant Robertson’s high-tax legacy by aligning the Trust Tax to Labour’s ‘rich prick’ 39% tax rate.”

Responding to claims from the Department of Conservation (DoC) that they are ‘spread too thin’ and are unable to perform their functions, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The only reason DoC is spread too thin is because they are spreading their resources across an ever-growing backroom bureaucracy rather than on delivering improved conservation outcomes.

“Since 2017, DoC’s headcount has grown by a staggering 28.2%, including an additional 134 managers and at least 319 other additional staff in back-office roles.

“This is also the same department that spent almost $12,000 on a funeral for a turtle and more than $5000 on retirement gifts for its former director-general. This wasteful expenditure could have instead purchased almost 600 rat traps, DoC’s priorities clearly aren’t getting value for money from the conservation spend.

“DoC must be forced to look at their own bloat and wasteful spending before calling on taxpayers to pour even more money into its bureaucracy.”

The Film Commission is not reading the room with its ridiculous decision to pile in $800k of taxpayer money into a hero worship film about Dame Jacinda Ardern says the Taxpayers’ Union.

The Union’s film critic, Jordan Williams, said, “On the one hand, the Film Commission says the film has market confidence and will likely be a commercial success, but then on the other they give it taxpayer money anyway.”
 
“From a taxpayer’s perspective, any funding of films about politicians is questionable. Most countries call it propaganda.”
 
“‘Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Kind’ funding during a cost-of-living crisis confirms what we already know: the Film Commission is nothing but a leftie love-in and ignores any pretence of being politically neutral. It should be focused on the arts, not politics.”
 
“And it’s not the first time the Film Commission’s been to the left-wing blockbuster rodeo. This is the same outfit that pumped taxpayer money into a puff piece on Chlöe Swarbrick. This Commission lacks self-awareness and professionalism.”
 
“The Commission needs to be culled to fund real arts or balanced current affairs content. Tax take is crumbling, families are struggling, and the fourth estate is dying. There are far higher priorities than funding an adoring film on a politician.” 
 
In December 2021, NZ On Air and the New Zealand Film Commission allocated NZ$200,000 and NZ$20,000 to a feature-length documentary focusing on the political career of Swarbrick called Being Chlöe.
 
To the best of our knowledge no conservative politician has been promoted with content funded by the New Zealand Film Commission. Not even once.

 

Media Mentions:

RNZ PM Luxon claiming $52,000 accommodation supplement

1 News midday Chris Luxon collects taxpayer-funded accommodation expenses [TV only]

RNZ The Panel with Jo McCarroll and David Farrar (Part 2)

1 News at 6pm Luxon accommodation expenses

Newstalk ZB Morning Edition: 02 March 2024 (Luxon no longer claiming expenses) (1:20)

Newsroom When you hear the people sing

Newstalk ZB Nicola Willis: Finance Minister warns surplus deadline won't be reached

Press Releases

Greens’ Threat Straight Out Of Trump’s Playbook

Coalition Sticking Plasters Over New Zealand’s Infrastructure Crisis

Taxpayers’ Union Urges Masterton District Council To Prioritise Ratepayers Over Legacy Projects

Councils Can Save Money On LGOIMA Responses By Being More Transparent

Taxpayers’ Union Supports Wayne Brown’s Call For Rates On Government Buildings

Nicola Willis Needs To Explain Which Coalition Partner Vetoed Reversing The App Tax

Taxpayers’ Union Welcomes Scrapping Of Ineffective Road To Zero Campaign

Taxpayers’ Union Welcomes Draft Transport GPS, Warns Against Overzealous Tax Hikes

Scrap The App Tax: More Than 3,300 Taxpayers Contacted Nicola Willis Over The Weekend

Bigger Is Not Better Or More Efficient When It Comes To Local Councils

Taxpayers’ Union (Re)Launches National Party’s Campaign To Scrap The App Tax

National is down 2.2 points on last month's poll to 37.4%, while Labour also drops by 2.6 points to 25.3%. The Greens are up to 11.3% (+2.3 points), overtaking ACT who drop back to 10.0% (-3.7 points).

The smaller parties are NZ First on 7.4% (+2.4 points) and Te Pāti Māori on 2.5% (+0.2 points).

For the minor parties, TOP is on 2.1%, Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.3%, Vision NZ is on 0.8%, Democracy NZ is on 0.4%, and others on 1.5%.

This month's results are compared to the last month's Taxpayers' Union – Curia poll

National is down 1 seat on last month to 48 while Labour is down two seats to 32. The Greens overtake ACT with 15 seats (up four) to the latter's 13 (down four). NZ First is up 3 seats to 9 while Te Pāti Māori is unchanged on 6 seats.

This calculation assumes that all electorate seats are held. A Parliament on these figures would have an overhang of 3 seats and a total of 123 seats.

The combined projected seats for the Centre-Right of 70 is down 2 from last month while the Centre-Left is up two seats to 53.

On these numbers, National and ACT would require the support of NZ First to form a government.

Christopher Luxon's net favourability drops significantly by 16 points to -5% while Chris Hipkins drops 2 points to 2%. Seymour is unchanged on -8% while Winston Peters improves by 10 points to -12%.

More detailed results, including net 'country direction' data and our new 'government approval' rating, which both turn back negative this month, are available on our website.

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, Ollie sat down with ACT Party MP Laura Trask. 

Laura is one of eleven ACT MPs elected at the 2023 General Election. Prior to entering Parliament, Laura worked as a pharmacy technician and in the health and safety industry. 

Trask discusses her career in helping people navigate bureaucratic red tape and her desire to make it easier for people to live their lives and do business. She also highlights the often 'unintended winners' from regulation, namely big businesses who benefit from higher costs and barriers to entry leading to reduced competition from smaller players.

Laura's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Laura 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 the Government’s announcement that five key outcomes-focused health targets are set to be introduced, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Taxpayers’ Union – Curia polling last year showed that 70% of New Zealanders believed the health system had got worse since 2020. Given Labour spent their time in Government running from accountability by scrapping public sector targets at any opportunity, that should come as no surprise.

“Health spending has increased by over 45% since 2020, but all the while health outcomes have been plummeting. The last Government’s policy of blindly chucking billions into its own bureaucratic mess and hoping for the best was destined to fail from the start.

“A return of effective health targets should be welcomed across the board. There is no other policy area where bang-for-buck is as important as healthcare, and hopefully this signals a renewed focus on outcomes.”

Responding to Dunedin City Council’s proposal to hike rates by 17.4% for the 2024/25 financial year, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman, Alex Murphy, said:

“The false argument that time and again gets thrown out by councils is that these monstrous rate hikes are the only way to combat debt – but that is simply rubbish.

“According to our 2023 Ratepayers Report, the Dunedin City Council Group employs a whopping 1673 full-time staff, 372 of which earn over $100,000 a year and employs 20 staff just for communications and marketing.

“As is the same with many other councils across New Zealand, Dunedin City Council has got a spending problem – not a funding problem. If the Council wants to address its debt monster, it should tackle the bloated back-office rather than once again forcing ratepayers to front up.” 

Responding to news that Tauranga City Council is proposing a 15.8% rates hike, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“With the Taxpayers’ Union’s latest Ratepayers’ Report revealing Tauranga City Council had 190.5 FTE Managers on a median salary of $263,700 and an annual spend on consultants and contractors of over $15 million, it’s clear to see where the Council’s priorities have been over the last few years.

“Years of waste on a bloated bureaucracy are coming back to bite ratepayers. The Council needs to hold its hands up and start making the necessary back-office cuts before it considers taking even more from residents struggling through the cost-of-living crisis.

“Tauranga’s commissioners are far too used to not being accountable to ratepayers at the ballot box. If residents needed proof that their long-term plan must be delayed until after democracy returns to Tauranga, then they don’t need to look any further than this latest cash grab.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Green Party co-leader James Shaw’s extraordinary threat to investors in regional and national projects of significance under the proposed new fast-tracking consent process announced by the Government earlier today.

1News are reporting: Any companies taking advantage of the fast-track process would be exposed to scrutiny “next time there is a change of Government,” said Shaw.
This could include loss of the consent without compensation.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Jordan Williams is slamming the comments as economic sabotage:

“Threatening utu - and deliberately undermining regulatory stability and compensation for loss is nothing less than economic sabotage. Shaw knows full well that his comments will send chills down the back of the very people we need to be investing in New Zealand to build infrastructure and green investments.

“Shaw is supposed to be the reasonable end of the Green Party. For him to make threats like this is straight out of the Trump playbook and puts New Zealand’s interests second to his own seeking of a very expensive headline.

“We too have concerns about the Government’s approach. But the opposition can fight a law without resorting to economic vandalism. James Shaw should be ashamed."

Responding to the Coalition Government’s announcement of a fast-track consenting process for major infrastructure projects, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Clearly red tape is holding New Zealand back, and the Government should be commended for recognising that out-of-date consenting regulations are choking the economy. But this is a sticking plaster solution which will still leave the RMA stifling development and keeping house prices unattainably high.

“The key to growth is getting bureaucracy out the way. That means prioritising work on the Government’s planned wholesale reform to replace the RMA with something fit for purpose that protects private property rights and encourages productive investment.”

This email is longer than usual, but is the most important email I've sent in a long time.

It relates to what many of us would consider the critical issue facing New Zealand: which direction the Government takes in terms of ‘Treaty principles’, democratic accountability, and so-called ‘partnership obligations’. 

It is becoming clear the new Government is continuing down Labour's path of undemocratic and costly co-governance due to pressure from the bureaucracy who are using incorrect or misinterpreted legal advice to force co-governance into our democracy.

I am asking for your support so the Taxpayers' Union can mount a public campaign calling on the new Government to do what the last Government wouldn’t: release the legal advice underpinning this nonsense. New Zealanders need to know what reasons, if any, underpin the Wellington consensus. The people need it to discuss, analyse and debate whether the Treaty of Waitangi should really trump democratic decision making.

The legal assertions that led to Three Waters 'co-governance'

In recent years, opportunistic politicians (cheered on by captured Government officials) have claimed that the question of who “owns” water in New Zealand has become vexed.

Recall that the whole basis of Labour’s Three Waters policy was the claim by Nanaia Mahuta that she had received advice from Crown Law that said Three Waters-style ‘co-governance’ was required for the Crown to comply with its obligations under the Treaty.

To say that this legal interpretation was a departure from the historical norm that the Crown is sovereign (and therefore Parliament has full rights to decide the laws that will govern natural resources) is an understatement. 

Last year, the Taxpayers' Union raised funds to support the Water Users' Group request to the High Court for a declaration of what the law actually says about the alleged partnership. The then Labour Government threw the kitchen sink at us. They even tried to get a court order suppressing further public reference (including in court) to Ms Mahuta’s claims about the legal advice on co-governance. That could have stopped us from talking to you about it. .

The Water Users’ Group asked the court to order disclosure of the advice, at least to the lawyers and the court, though it was information that every New Zealander should be free to see. The two KCs pointed out that Ms Mahuta had publicly disclosed not just the fact of the advice but the alleged conclusions to justify Three Waters. On conventional reasoning that had waived her claim to legal privilege. The Court refused to suppress mention of what had been Nanaia Mahuta's Three Waters Cabinet papers. After all, she had authorised making them publicly available on the Beehive website.

But {{recipient.first_name}}, it became clear that we would be throwing good money after bad to continue to support the judicial review. The High Court expressed no interest in seeing the advice, despite the ramifications on New Zealand's democracy! Nor did the Court of Appeal. And from reviewing some other recent decisions of senior courts, the Water Users’ Group lawyers could not be confident that orthodox and historical legal principles would prevail against the new judicial activism on the Treaty.

Nevertheless, supporting the legal case did at least force media and political attention to the potential corruption in the Three Waters governance proposals.

And eventually, National, ACT, and NZ First all committed to scrapping Three Waters.

Now the new Government appears to be falling into the same trap.

While we all hoped that Christopher Luxon's Government would decisively reject the path towards race-based rights that undermine democratic accountability of public services and natural resources, I’m sad to report that simply isn’t the case.

The legal underpinning and justification for Three Waters co-governance, weaponised by Labour and its allies in the media and bureaucracy, has not gone away. In fact, it's getting worse.

The Government is set to keep co-governance of fresh water: rivers, lakes, and rules for agricultural run off will be subject to 'te Mana o te Wai'

As far as we know this is not yet in the public domain, but the Taxpayers’ Union has been informed by a very reliable source within the Government that the reason the new Government has not repealed David Parker’s unworkable fresh water National Policy Statement is because ministers have been advised that changing the race-based (and impossibly high) water standards cannot be done without iwi consent.

These are the water quality standards that are so high that, according to expert advice to the last Government, it is not even certain rivers inside the national parks will meet them! Prior to the election, the parties now in Government committed to abolishing the standards (which also contain the race-based provisions) .

The Standards require regional councils to create plans that promote “te Mana o Te Wai” (literally meaning, ‘the Mana of the water’).

It's not even a disguised version of co-governance. Local council plans must allow tangata whenua to be "actively involved in decision-making processes relating to Maori freshwater values" as defined by relevant tangata whenua. Regional councils must also "work with tangata whenua to investigate the use of mechanisms ... such as transfers or delegations of power [and] joint management agreements."

It's not often the Taxpayers' Union march to the defence of local councils, but the requirements put them in an impossible position.

The social and economic wellbeing of communities who collect and use the water must come second to whatever a local iwi says upholds te Mana o Te Wai.

These obligations, introduced by the last Government, remain in place. That means regional councils up and down the country are spending millions of ratepayers' money to create these new policies that implement te Mana o Te Wai.

The election gave a very clear democratic mandate that these anti-democratic water provisions would be gone within the first 100 days. But officials are telling Ministers "you can't do that". 

Ministry for the Environment officials told Ministers that Cabinet and Parliament cannot act unilaterally because iwi have property interests in water.

To put it simply: Just a few months into the new Government, Ministers are effectively being overruled by officials because officials are still asserting an apparent Treaty obligation that fresh water must be co-governed.

We can not allow what is just an assertion to become repeated enough so that it becomes "the truth"

A few weeks ago, Chris Hipkins made a claim on TVNZ’s Q&A that 

“Māori have a legally established interest in the water, they went through the court process to do that. So the 50/50 co-governance model that we were proposing for the water entities was one way of recognising that.”

Chris Hipkins' claim is misleading at best. But there is a real risk that it becomes accepted as a (false) "fact". While there may have been recognition of the possibility or likelihood of interests in a limited number of water bodies, our lawyers tell us that there has been no legal establishment of rights that would equate to anything as radical as the race/ancestral privileges that were to have been conferred under the Treaty or euphemism known as co-governance.

Nevertheless, we now know that Ministries in Wellington believe it is the law and are using the assertion to overrule the new Government's democratic mandate. 

I am asking for your support {{recipient.first_name}} to mount a fight for democratic control of water, before it is too late.

The constitutional crisis Wellington don't want us to talk about

I do not think it is an exaggeration to state that there is a quiet constitutional crisis going on in Wellington – just who has sovereignty? Are officials responsible for carrying out the wishes of Parliament, or are they bound to some sort of supreme Treaty law or co-governance framework? I am sad to say that we are becoming more aware of areas where officials are operating under the latter.

{{recipient.first_name_or_friend}}, all roads lead back to the infamous Three Waters advice which the public has still not seen. Will you help us force the new Government to make public the advice? Only then can New Zealanders can have the debate, and challenge the 'accepted wisdom' in Wellington that water must be co-governed.

The spring from which this co-governance concept was hatched was the original piece of Crown Law advice that Nanaia Mahuta referred to in her Cabinet Papers to claim that Three Waters co-governance was necessary for the Crown to comply with the Treaty. We say that New Zealanders ought to know what the Government is hearing from its own lawyers on the alleged Treaty Partnership obligations – especially now that the same argument is being used to undermine the promises made by the Government prior to the election.

I don't really care whether Nanaia Mahuta was telling the truth or not. This is much more important than political point scoring. If she over-egged or misled her Cabinet colleagues about the contents of the Crown Law advice, that would be a great first step in rebutting this nonsense! That's just one reason why we need to mount a public campaign to force the new Government to release it.

If the advice is as radical as Ms Mahuta, Mr Hipkins, and the bureaucrats all claim, then we must uncover the anti-democratic arguments to expose them for what they are: inconsistent with liberal democracy and democratically accountable government.

Unless we show that the arguments lack a real legal foundation, the assertion that the Treaty trumps the ability of Parliament to regulate water will soon become accepted as ‘law’. The public need to see the advice so there is a chance to offer counter-arguments.

And the key issue: what role should lawyers play in determining whether and how fast New Zealand’s democratic principles go down the river? Whatever the answer, it should be done in the open, not within Crown Law suppressed from public scrutiny.

Just like Three Waters, we need to force the politicians and media to ask the tough questions. Unless the Taxpayers’ Union do it, who else will?

The tough conversation New Zealand needs to have

{{recipient.first_name_or_friend}}, you’ve seen the way the media (and, sadly, Christopher Luxon’s National Party) are desperate for New Zealand to avoid the so-called ‘Treaty Principles’ debate. Like you did for Three Waters, will you support the Taxpayers' Union so we can go where the media will not?

Christopher Luxon has little interest in furthering what he perceives to be a vexed race-issue in a media environment where it will not receive a fair hearing. Why would Mr Luxon go out on a limb, when what the media will term the “expert legal advice” could well force him to take a stand? That's why, ironically, the Prime Minister needs third party groups like the Taxpayers’ Union to lead this – just like we did for Three Waters. To do that, I am relying on your generous support.

Release the advice: Who owns water in New Zealand?

{{recipient.first_name_or_friend}}, if you agree that this is an important issue, I’m asking you to stand with the Taxpayers’ Union once more. 

Left to fester, undisturbed and unchallenged, it's only a matter of time before the lawyers within the Government embed co-governance to rust away at our democracy. 

To support our campaign to force the officials to “Release the Advice”, to save democratic accountability, and ensure the control of fresh water remains under democratic control, click here.

For the sake of the future of our country, I hope you’re with us.

Peter Williams Financial Supporter and Former Board Member New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

ps. Like Three Waters, this is a political fight as much as a legal one. Just like Scrapping Three Waters, it won't be easy to force the media to ask the right questions. Your support means the Taxpayers' Union can mount a grassroots effort to protect democratic accountability and slay the dragon of co-governance' which is threatening democratic accountability.

pps. The Taxpayers' Union is a grassroots-funded effort. Without your support, it's clear the new Government will be on its own and the officials and special interests will win out with their plan to implement co-goverance for fresh water (and whatever follows).

 

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling for all options to be on the table in terms of having a Premier house fit for purpose. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Even fiscal hawks would agree that we need a Premier residence suitable to host dignitaries. But a $30 million price tag for repairs to the current Premier House is excessive.

“We can’t have yet another situation where ‘historic building’ zealots are allowed a blank cheque to do up a cruddy building, when a new one would be better value for money.  Nor should taxpayers be tied to the status quo. Premier House used to be out in the Hutt.  If finding a new location and building for the Prime Minister to live in and host events offers better value for money, then so be it.

“But the status quo is unacceptable. Right now, taxpayers pay for a Premier House, but it’s not in a fit state for the PM to use it. The more dithering, the more this is costing.”

 

Commenting on Masterton District Council’s plans to demolish the town hall and municipal building to build a new hall, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“The Council’s plan to spend a combined cost of $49 million on demolishing and rebuilding the town hall, municipal building and expanding Waiata House is yet another example of wasteful spending on nice-to-haves by councils at a time when ratepayers are staring down the barrel of a 9.3% rates hike.

“The logical option is to demolish the town hall and municipal buildings and retain Waiata House and Queen St premises, which would cost only $3.35 million, saving Masterton ratepayers’ $45.65 million which would otherwise be funded by eye-watering rates hikes.

“We commend the council for putting out this less costly option to ratepayers for consultation but it should not simply be a box-ticking exercise for a predetermined decision of the Council’s preferred more expensive option. During consultation, we urge the Council to consider the needs of the large number of ratepayers struggling with the cost of living, rather than just the wishes of special interest groups willing to use other people’s money on the project.”

 

NztuReacting to reports that New Plymouth District Council is establishing a dedicated Local Government Official Information Act (LGOIMA) officer as part of a restructure, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“While putting transparency and accountability to ratepayers front of mind in the council should be applauded, the Council should be taking this further and proactively publishing as much information online as possible, removing the need for people to request official information in the first place.

“As the largest user of the OIA in the country, the need for many of our requests could be eliminated entirely if, for example, all expenses were proactively published online. Councils already centrally collect and code this information, it would simply be a matter of exposing it to some much-needed sunlight.

“This is not a rare model internationally. Many US states publish all expenses and contracts online allowing citizens to analyse and identify waste from home while also increasing the likelihood that frivolous spending is caught out, often preventing it from happening in the first place."

Responding to calls by Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown for rates to be charged on Government buildings and to share GST on new-build houses, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Government-owned properties require the same infrastructure as privately-owned properties. There’s no reason why local ratepayers should be forced to pay the full infrastructure costs associated with properties that are intended to benefit the country at large.

“We have long called for GST sharing on new-builds to help ensure that infrastructure funding is linked to development compared with the status quo where central government reaps the benefits of new construction while local ratepayers bear the cost.

“Simplifying the rating system and ensuring that additional funding is linked to growth is vital for putting good incentives on councils to allow development rather than stifle it with bureaucratic red tape to allow core infrastructure to catch up.

 

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Nicola Willis to front up and explain which coalition partner vetoed National’s pre-election policy to reverse Labour’s App Tax after her comments on Newstalk ZB yesterday that the U-turn on the policy was “one of those ones that has really just been sacrificed at the altar of coalition government”.

Both the ACT and NZ First coalition documents state that “The National Party priorities agreed to be progressed in this term are set out in its… Fiscal Plan… with the exemptions as set out…” in the agreements. National’s policy to reverse the App Tax is included on page 8 of its Fiscal Plan yet neither coalition agreement makes reference to the policy.

Taxpayers’ Union Head of Campaigns, Callum Purves, said:

“There is no reference to scrapping National’s policy on the App Tax in either the ACT or NZ First coalition agreement yet Nicola Willis blames the formation of the coalition government for the U-turn on the policy. If this really is the case, the Finance Minister needs to front up and explain to New Zealanders which of National’s two partners is responsible.

“The coalition documents as published back in November suggest that National’s reversal of the App Tax was still on the cards, but just a few weeks later, both the Prime Minister and Finance Minister said the new tax was here to stay. Did the new government simply forget this major policy when drafting the coalition agreements? Or did the U-turn come after the ink had already dried?

“Scrapping the App Tax was a specific promise made by Nicola Willis before the election. She should be transparent on who, apparently, forced her hand.

“Breaking such a strong pre-election promise – and in such a haphazard way – is a serious matter. Kiwis deserve answers.”

 

Responding to the Government’s proposal to replace the Road to Zero campaign with new safety objectives, Acting Social Media and Field Operations Coordinator, Alex Murphy said:

“From the beginning, it was clear that the Road to Zero campaign was nothing more than another vanity project with unrealistic targets"

“What’s worse, is that tens of millions of taxpayer dollars were wasted on producing fear-inducing campaign videos that only looked to soften New Zealanders up for lower speed limits and promote the previous Government’s agenda.”

"We welcome the Government’s change of approach to road safety that implements realistic targets based on behavioural change instead of just promoting government policy through another vacuous campaign message."

Reacting to the Government’s release of the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Reducing road user subsidies of walking and cycleway improvements and capping funding for rail at the level of revenue from Track User Charges should be welcomed. For too long, motorists have been used as cash-cows for political pet projects unrelated to road use.

“It is concerning to see that there are plans to hike fuel taxes and the road user charge equivalent by over 20 cents (including GST) per litre over two years starting 2027. We will be keeping a close eye on this to ensure it is needed for road upgrades and improvements and not simply to be raided for other non-roading projects as it currently is.

“With public transport continuing to receive significant subsidies from private road users, much of the tax hike could be avoided if this was instead funded mostly out of the general taxpayer fund.

“The Taxpayers’ Union will spend the next few days going over the documents to ensure there is no devil hidden in the detail and looks forward to submitting on the plan.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is delighted that more than 3,300 New Zealanders over just two days have asked Nicola Willis to stick to her pre-election promise and Scrap the App Tax via emails sent at AppTax.nz.

Campaign Spokesman, James Ross, said:

“The App Tax is unfair, unworkable, and a broken promise from the National Party.  New Zealanders are waking up that this 15% tax on Bookabach rentals and part-time uber drivers will drive up the costs of living at the worst possible time.

“National were elected on the back of promises to cut wasteful spending and deliver tax relief.  Locking-in Labour’s legacy by U-turning on the App Tax is simply taxing more in one area to later create the illusion of tax relief elsewhere.  Kiwis aren’t fools.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is cautioning against Wellington rushing into its own version of a ‘Super City’, pointing to the lack of evidence that bigger councils reduce cost.

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

“The annual Ratepayers’ Report - an annual league table of local government performance - shows that bigger doesn’t mean better when it comes to local councils. Whilst councils should work together on sharing services and infrastructure where this leads to cost savings, Auckland’s Super City goes to show that supposed leaning down of the back-office bureaucracy certainly isn’t guaranteed.

“Wellington last had this debate just over a decade ago. Back then, Hutt City Council commissioned TDB Economics to look at the evidence on the ideal local council size in terms of the average cost. Its conclusions broadly matched the Ratepayers’ Report, showing that economies of scale turn into diseconomies of scale once a council hits about 200,000 in population.

“Questions also need to be asked about giving Wellington City Council an easy off-ramp, by forcing the debt caused by their mismanagement of the city on to ratepayers across the wider region.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is today launching a campaign to stand up for Kiwi taxpayers facing tax hikes on accommodation, takeaways, and rideshare trips provided over digital platforms.

Policy Manager at the Taxpayers' Union, James Ross, said:

“National campaigned hard against Grant Robertson’s App Tax when they were the Opposition and specifically promised to repeal it. When they needed New Zealanders’ votes, they were happy to talk big about scrapping unfair tax hikes. But now that they’re in Government, it appears to be a different story.

“This unworkable, unaffordable tax is an unkept promise from National will see small-scale Bookabach hosts and Uber drivers earning below the $60,000 threshold singled out for special punishment. They’ll be forced to pay GST, even when no other industry is required to register for GST when earning below the de minimis threshold.

“When in opposition, National’s Nicola Willis said the App Tax was dumb, complex, and slapped hardworking families with a massive cost increase right in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. All of those arguments still apply.

“A Government elected to deliver tax relief, then adopting Labour’s tax hikes to fund it is nothing more than a fiscal sleight of hand. The Government need to hold true to their word and swipe left to Scrap Labour’s App Tax."

New Zealanders are encouraged to send Nicola Willis a message at www.AppTax.nz

Ministry of Education needs a first-grade lesson in budgeting 🧮

Earlier this week, you may have heard another classic take from the Chris Hipkins spin machine: that the Government’s cuts to the Ministry of Education are putting tax cuts ahead of building classrooms for kids. This comes after the Ministry of Education claimed to only be able to reduce its staffing levels by two percent before it would have to cut it's school property bill.

However, a simple glance at the growing bureaucracy in the Ministry will tell you it's the staff rooms – not the classrooms – which desperately need to be stripped down.

In the last five years, according to Public Service Commission workforce data, the number of full-time-equivalent staff at the Ministry of Education has increased by a whopping 48%. There's now 65% more managers, 46% more policy analysts, and 53% more information professionals – all of which work out of the back-office.

And...the average FTE salary at the Ministry is now $103,800, up 17% from $85,600 in 2018.

The simple fact is that the last Government lost control of public spending, and now the hives of bureaucrats are circling the wagons trying to protect their mates by fear-mongering the prospect of major cuts to core operations.

There is absolutely no need to cut frontline services to find savings. When you hear stories like this in the media, we’d all do well to remember that it is the back-office officials in Wellington drawing up the cost-cutting plans, and often their jobs depend on making cuts look as painful as possible.

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

In the media: 

interest.co.nz Rates levied by local governments have been flat for a century, even as central government taxation has more than tripled, according to S&P Global Ratings

RNZ $2m surge in election campaign spending by third-party groups

RNZ Checkpoint: Lobby groups spent 13 times more campaign cash compared to 2020

The Post You don’t need to be a real estate expert to see the flaws in city council plan

Newstalk ZB The Huddle: What is Stuart Nash trying to prove?

Kiwiblog The Atlas conspiracy theory continues

RNZ PM Luxon claiming $52,000 accommodation supplement

Media releases:

Wellington Council’s $5 Million Spin Doctor Spend Papering Over The Cracks

Christchurch City Council’s New Monstrous Rates Hike Unacceptable

Potential Changes to Trust Tax Hike shows Government is Lawmaking on the Hoof

OCR Shows National Need to Get Serious About Slashing Waste

Newshub Closure Puts Democracy At Risk

Taxpayers’ Union Slams Let’s Get Wellington Moving Zombie Bureaucracy

Reading Cinema Handout Will Cost Ratepayers Millions

Punishing Rates Hike From Environment Canterbury Unjustified

Reacting to news that Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) still has almost all of it’s staff on the payroll as a zombie bureaucracy, despite the project being killed months ago, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: 

“It is no wonder that LGWM has failed to deliver any projects other than a pedestrian crossing when they can’t even handle their own disestablishment.

“A simple ‘turn the lights off on your way out and don’t come back’ would have sufficed, instead more and more public money is disappearing into the bureaucratic black hole.

“The Minister must demand an end to the LGWM gravy train immediately, we simply cannot afford to keep pouring more money into vanity projects that don’t even deliver any vanity.” 

Commenting on the announcement that Newshub is set to close, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Diversity of news is always important, but particularly so in New Zealand’s case given the way in which our public broadcasters are choking the country’s media landscape.

“Allowing TVNZ to suspend paying dividends is anti-competitive, screwing the scrum towards government-backed media to the detriment of the private sector. The implicit promise of Government bailouts also means it can make business decisions not available to other broadcasters. If this isn’t changed, the country is almost guaranteed to see more and more commercial newsrooms fail to stay afloat, eventually leading us in the direction of a state-run media monopoly.

“The Public Interest Journalism Fund has already fuelled a perception that Governments use taxpayer funding to push political agendas, and long-term the only way to avoid this is to get Government out of the news game entirely.” 

Responding to the release of details surrounding Wellington City Council’s proposed purchase of the land under the Reading Cinema, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: 

“Despite the Council spin that this deal won’t cost ratepayers anything, ratepayers are still being lined up to subsidise a multinational company with property valued at half a billion to the tune of millions of dollars. 

“Loaning at well below market rates means that ratepayers are taking on the risk, and the opportunity costs of sinking tens of millions into this corporate subsidy are enormous. 

“If the Council can sell assets to fund a bung, it can sell land to invest in crumbling roads and leaking pipes instead. Whilst basic infrastructure falls apart, the Council are choosing to waste Wellingtonians’ money on ludicrous corporate handouts rather than clean up their own mess.” 

Reacting to Environment Canterbury’s proposal to hike rates by 24%, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Hiking rates by almost a quarter is simply inexcusable when there’s still so much waste in the council. 

“Environment Canterbury has 722 staff, a third of which are paid more than $100,000 per year. The 32 communications and marketing staff is also overkill. The council should be clearing out the bloat before reaching into ratepayers’ pockets.

“Other areas of waste are not hard to identify either. Spending almost $3 million a year on a ride-share scheme that is ratepayer subsidised by $11 for every trip is simply ludicrous. 

”The Council must go back to the drawing board and present a serious proposal that cuts waste, rather than shovelling even more costs onto struggling ratepayers.”

Responding to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision to hold the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 5.5%, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Kiwi families are struggling, but with the OCR looking likely to climb even higher at the next review, things may get a whole lot worse. The Reserve Bank will have to continue hammering mortgage owners with sky-high interest rates to try and undo the inflation caused by governments' inability to rein in wasteful spending.

“Inflation has been well outside of the target range for 32 months. Until the Government gets serious about cutting back the bureaucratic bloat, Kiwis will be left drowning in the deadly combo of high inflation and high interest rates.

“Both Labour and National have proved themselves incapable of making the tough calls and slashing wasteful public spending. Wellington bureaucrats continue to see their wage growth far outstrip wages in the private sector, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.”

Responding to Christchurch City Council’s (CCC) proposed rates rise of 13.24% for the 2023/24 financial year, Taxpayers’ Union Researcher, Alex Murphy, said:

"Over the last several years, Christchurch City Council has developed a shambolic reputation for its poor leadership and wasteful spending.

"Time and again, CCC have failed to deliver even the most basic of projects on time or under budget. There is no reason why Christchurch’s ratepayers should be forced to cough up more and more money to keep bailing their council out.

"And with well over 5000 full-time staff – a third of which are on salaries over a hundred grand – it’s evident that the potential savings are there in abundance – the councillors just need to find them."

Responding to reports that the Finance Minister wants to exempt some trusts from paying the new 39% trust tax rate, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“What is clear is that this tax hike has never been properly thought through and as a result we are seeing bad policy that is rushed, unfair and frankly unworkable. The mooted changes, while potentially alleviating some of the fairness concerns, will still punish some of those who use trusts for purposes other than tax reasons such as farmers and small business owners.

“What’s more, if these changes go ahead, the change could generate almost no revenue but will add significant cost and complexity onto New Zealanders. The Trust tax hike will not hit the big end of town who will simply restructure their assets into companies and PIE funds – leaving them paying an even lower rate than they do now.

“Nicola Willis must, at the very least, put this tax hike on hold until the full implications are properly understood and dealt with. Even better would be to focus on what she promised to do and cut spending rather than hiking up any taxes at all."

 

Responding to news that Wellington City Council has 54 members in its comms team, with a total annual budget of over $5 million, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Pipes are bursting, roads are crumbling, and rates are rising. To try and convince ratepayers that all is fine and dandy, rather than fix the issues, the council is papering over the cracks with dozens upon dozens of spin doctors.

“Council officials apparently don’t like Wellingtonians grumbling about our city and think spending millions on shutting them up is justified. But ratepayers won’t have the wool pulled over their eyes by a t-shirt campaign.

“If the council did its job and stopped wasting hundreds of millions on vanity projects like multi-million dollar corporate handouts, funded by cuts to core community services and rate hikes, there would be no need for a fleet of propagandists. The results would speak for themselves.”

 

Remembering Efeso Collins 🕊️

Like those across the political spectrum, we were very saddened to learn of the untimely passing of former Auckland Labour Councillor and Green Party MP, Efeso Collins. One of Efeso's strengths was that he tended to reject the polarised politics of the modern age. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time. You can read our statement of tribute here.

NZTA to clobber Kiwis with millions more road fines 📸🚙

Over the next decade, the New Zealand Transport Agency is planning to expand its speed and traffic camera fleet from around 150 to potentially 800 – meaning that millions more New Zealanders could be whacked with speeding tickets each and every year.

NZTA has said this is all in the name of safety. Last year they even made a big song and dance about their 'safety cameras' only be designed for upholding 'safety' protocol and not for enforcement or revenue-gathering purposes.

But we know a rat when we see one – and from the looks of it, this appears to be nothing more than another cheap attempt to exploit the average Kiwi for some extra dosh.

No one is denying that safety on our roads is of critical importance, but this proposal is poorly targeted. The vast majority of New Zealanders aren't reckless drivers – and we've all seen speed traps appearing in dangerous lucrative areas.

And these new cameras NZTA are looking to get monitor much more than speed and safety. The Agency's own Privacy Impact Assessment reveals that 'advanced features' such as heat monitoring will be used to enforce compliance of transit lanes – a traffic issue that has no safety impact at all and will solely be used to generate revenue!

After seeing Auckland Transport make fortune on ticketing Aucklanders, it appears NZTA is trying to get in on the action.

Tell Simeon to ensure his transport agency is focused at improving roads, not raising revenue 🗣️

We all know from the state of our highway network that NZTA isn't doing its job. It seems unable to complete projects on time, on budget, or even at all. Now officials are, yet again, distracted from their core purpose, and attempting to grab even more funds from the average Kiwi.

If, like us, you can see that this proposal from NZTA will unfairly target New Zealand motorists while doing little to improve safety, take a minute to send Mr Brown an email to tell him to get his agency back in its lane.

--> Click here to send Simeon Brown an email <--

You read it here first: Robertson Remov[ed] 🚚💸

As revealed by your humble Taxpayers' Union back in November, Grant Robertson’s scored a cushy $620,000 new gig as Vice Chancellor of Otago Uni.

In 2021, Grant Robertson’s place in New Zealand political history was cemented when we awarded him the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in government waste at our Jonesies Waste Awards. It was no mean feat to achieve such recognition, but sadly the joke is on taxpayers who will be left to pick up the pieces and pay his bills for generations to come.

It is with some sense of irony that while Mr Robertson left the new Government with a mountain of debt, he too is inheriting control of a university riddled with its own disfunction and growing debt pile.

LEAKED: a former senior Treasury official on Robertson's legacy 😬

Your humble Taxpayers' Union was accidentally CC'd into an excellent appraisal by a former senior Treasury official we ought not name. 

Robertson’s departure is a reminder of how much worse what seems like everything has become under his watch – monetary policy mess ($12 billion lost and inflation to boot) including pathetic RBNZ appointments, neutering the Productivity Commission, banning gas and oil exploration, making us more dependent on Australian coal, fiscal balance in “structural deficit”, spending up by about 6% of GDP since 2017, net core Crown debt up by about 22% of GDP, working age welfare dependency up alarmingly, school truancy and under-achievement, hospitals an organisational mess, nurses and others fleeing to Australia, GP shortages developing, tertiary vocational training a shambles, 6 years on RMA a wasted effort, Treasury looking anaemic. Perhaps $30 billion to buy overseas carbon credits to 2030, while major countries will not keep to Paris Agreement net zero targets.  No material difference to climate change, so at a major cost of NZers material wellbeing. Add to that the destablising’ co-governance that increasingly really meant a co-sovereignty ‘partnership’. And this guy apparently wanted a wealth tax.

To what extent was he a restraining influence? I have no idea.

But he and Labour MPs will now jeer at this government for failing to fix these problems fast.

While we seldom agreed with Mr Robertson, we hope does a better job turning around Otago University’s dire financial situation than he did with New Zealand's economy. He certainly has experience of running an organisation with deficits!

Out with the old, in with the new: Labour's New Finance Spokesperson, Barbara Edmonds 🌹

We are delighted that Labour Party has appointed someone who actually knows a thing or two about tax to be its new finance spokesperson.

Barbara Edmonds, is a former specialist tax lawyer, and is known by some to be a big believer in the broad base, low rate orthodoxy that underpins New Zealand’s tax system – something we wholeheartedly support.

Insider sources have told us that Ms Edmonds was furious with Labour’s GST fruit and vege "policy boondoggle" (credit: Grant Robertson) going into last year's election as she was acutely aware of the cost, complexity and ineffectiveness of creating carve-outs and exemptions in sales taxes. 

Unfortunately, back then Edmonds lost the argument and was forced to publicly defend the unworkable policy. But her new more senior position should enable her to inject more intellectual rigour and practicality into Labour’s tax policy to help create a true battle of ideas. We live in hope. 

And to give Barbara her due, she has also proved willing to engage with those who might disagree with her – a valuable trait for any political leader. When first entering Parliament, she joined us on our podcast, Taxpayer Talk, where we were impressed by much of what she was saying. In particular, she said that her first interest in tax was learning about how overtaxation was one of the contributing factors to the fall of the Roman Empire – Barbara is always welcome to join theTaxpayers’ Union!

We will be writing to Ms Edmonds offering to work with her in her new role on areas where we might agree and to help promote tax policy that boosts New Zealand's productivity and prosperity and leaves taxpayers with more money in their pockets.

Golden Goodbye: Three Waters Chief Executives receive $710,000 payout package 👋👋👋

Last year, even when Three Waters looked dead in the water, the Department of Internal Affairs' agenda-pushing bureaucrats were beavering away behind the scenes to make the water reforms even harder to unwind.

This week saw the latest example of these underhand tactics exposed. It was revealed that two Chief Executives hired to implement the reforms, Jon Lamonte and Colin Crampton, were signed up to contracts entitling them $710,000 in golden goodbyes when Three Waters was eventually canned after just 10 months in the job.

There's no excuse for redundancy packages worth nearly 11 times the median wage to be handed out at any time. But given these CEOs were on salaries 4.5 times as much as Members of Parliament, and with there being widespread public opposition to the reforms, this costly package was all the more unreasonable.

Sadly, as the new Government navigates through with the backwash of the previous Government's reforms, we can only imagine the redundancy rort is about to get a lot bigger.

And as has been evident from the knots that officials tried to tie around Three Waters, we know the policy fight isn’t over yet either. We'll be working hard this year to make sure the new Government's alternative isn't just Three Waters 2.0.

Taxpayers' Union Investigation: Local Government Commission wastes a hundred grand on new branding 🔥📺

Documents obtained by the Taxpayers' Union reveal that the Local Government Commission (LGC) has wasted $99,000 on a new logo and website at a time when the Government has been asking departments to cut down on their spending.

It seems to have become common practice in recent years for government agencies to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on rebrands and logo changes – even when they can't afford them. But the agencies that undertake these massive rebrands are also doing so against official guidance from the Public Service Commission making it clear that departments should be doing the opposite:

"New agencies, or existing agencies looking to re-brand, should adopt a logo mark that is in keeping with the NZ Govt Identity logo mark. Agencies are also encouraged to consider adopting other elements of the Identity in their branding review or development, helping to create a common Public Service visual identity"

From what we can tell, the Local Government Commission website change happened just weeks after the general election, which also happened to coincide with the Government's strict instruction for agencies to cut their spending. This is a kick in the teeth to the millions of hard-working taxpayers that have been forced to fund this rubbish.

Prior to its makeover, the Local Government Commission was actually one of the few government departments that complied with the guidance!

The new Government has talked extensively about the importance of having a less wasteful public sector. It's about time these costly rebrands are banned for good, so agencies can get their priorities straight and stop funnelling millions into their image.

Taxpayer Talk – MPs in Depth: Dan Bidois

And this week on Taxpayer Talk, we present another episode from our MPs in Depth series where Jordan sits down with newly re-elected MP Dan Bidois.

In this episode, Dan talks about his chaotic life before politics where he went from being a school dropout, to a butcher, to fighting cancer – all before deciding to study economics!

Listen to the episode on our website | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio

That's it for this week.

Yours aye,

Callum Purves Head of Campaigns New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Media mentions: 

Crux Confusion, deception then panic - documents reveal QLDC financial mismanagement

Stuff By the numbers: Rising rates adds more pain

Newstalk ZB Afternoon Edition – Monday, 19 February: NZTA Speed Cameras (03:05)

The Spinoff Yup, say voters, just like we told you

Waikato Times Take your pick on rate rises, Aucklanders

Waatea News Tributes flow for Fa’anana Efeso Collins, a good man

Newsroom ‘Go now, in peace’ – Efeso Collins

RNZ Midweek Mediawatch – A clash of polls (08:50)

interest.co.nz The Coalition Government has missed its own honeymoon but has held onto its Election Day support

The Post The candidates who scored the biggest campaign donations

NZ Herald Audrey Young: Top 10 maiden speeches by 2023′s new MPs

Bowalley Road Democracy Denied.

 

Responding to a report showing that public sector wage growth is the highest on record, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Despite a Government elected to trim the bureaucratic fat, public sector wage growth continues to far outstrip wage growth in the private sector.

“Government employees are taking a larger and larger slice of the pie, and the rate at which they suck in taxes from hardworking people is only accelerating.

“Productivity is failing to keep pace and yet despite this, Government wages keep skyrocketing. It's long past time Wellington bureaucrats started justifying their cost to hardworking taxpayers.”

 

Wellington City Council is set to decide in secret whether to use $32 million of ratepayers’ money to buy the land under the Reading cinema from its current owners - a multinational firm with real estate holdings valued at over half a billion dollars worldwide - and lease it back to them.

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

“The Reading cinema’s owners are doing just fine all over the globe, so why in Wellington are residents being forced to fork out for a $32 million corporate handout whilst their city’s pipes crumble, rates are hiked and community centres are shut down?

“Whether meetings are in the Council chamber or over a $1,400 luxury meal paid for by hardworking ratepayers, secrecy is always the name of the game when it comes to this dodgy deal.

“Wellington City Council’s culture of secrecy isn’t hiding this rort from anyone, and Councillors need to front up to the public over how they’re wasting Wellingtonians’ hard-earned money.”

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, Jordan sat down with newly re-elected National Party MP, Dan Bidois. 

Dan first became an MP after winning the 2018 Northcote by-election before losing the seat to the red tide of 2020. Now Dan is back in Parliament after reclaiming his seat and speaks with Jordan about his life before politics being a school dropout, a butcher and fighting cancer before deciding to study economics. Dan has had an interesting life and it is clear the challenges he has faced have shaped him into the person he is today. 

Dan's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Dan 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 news that two Three Waters Chief Executives have received a combined $710,000 in redundancy payments, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Golden handshakes worth almost 11 times the annual median wage combined after just 10 months of work are just one example of a culture of waste in Wellington. Bureaucrats continued to sign away vast sums of taxpayers’ money well after it became clear unpopular, divisive mega-projects like Three Waters and Let’s Get Wellington Moving would be scrapped.

“Public sector fat cats already earning almost 4.5 times as much as an MP should not be entitled to enormous redundancy payments straight from the back pockets of hardworking Kiwi taxpayers.”

Taxpayers' Union pays tribute to Efeso Collins

Commenting on the news of the death of Green MP, Efeso Collins, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams said:

“While we may have had different politics, Efeso was always a councillor I - and the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance - could call and have a constructive conversation with. One of his strengths was that he tended to eschew the polarised politics of the modern age.

“On behalf of the Taxpayers’ Union, and our sister group, the Ratepayers’ Alliance, our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time. He will be missed.”

 

According to information obtained under the Official Information Act, The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Local Government Commission – the body responsible for overseeing the structure of New Zealand's councils – has spent $99,000 on a new logo and website rebrand despite the Government having recently told agencies to cut back on wasteful spending.

Taxpayers’ Union Researcher, Alex Murphy, said:

“The Local Government Commission (LGC) has almost no interaction with members of the public. The only sort of promotion it is tasked with is when it runs consultations on local government reorganisation proposals. The fact they’d waste a hundred grand on a rebrand stinks of self importance.

“Ironically, when public departments were in the firing line last year for breaking away from standardised government branding, the LGC was actually one of the few departments sticking with the basic format. But it seems they just couldn’t help themselves.

“This spruced up website doesn't improve the life of a single taxpayer. In fact, it only makes government messaging less consistent and identifiable for those who rely on it. CEO, Penny Langley, needs to front up and explain this wasteful spend.”

 

Commenting on a recent $50,500 pay rise for the Kāpiti Coast District Council Chief Executive, Darren Edwards, Alex Murphy, Taxpayers' Union Researcher said:

"For a council that's ratepayers are already staring down the barrel of a 17% rates hike, a pay rise of over $50,000 for its Chief Executive is simply unacceptable, and it's just as ridiculous to justify this salary boost on the basis that the Chief Executive is not getting paid as much as his already overpaid counterparts.

"The Council only recently was exposed for spending $1 million on grants and loans to subsidise flights from Air Chatham, and just last year, a residents' survey showed 51% of respondents did not believe the council was demonstrating value for money.

"It's clear that Kāpiti's ratepayers have had enough of a council that continues to demonstrate little to no value for money. KCDC urgently needs to review its spending to strip out the waste to reduce the rates burden on its residents."

 

Commenting on NZTA’s proposal to expand the stock of its road safety cameras from 150 to potentially 800 over the next ten years, Taxpayers’ Union, Researcher, Alex Murphy, said:

“There’s no doubt that having safer roads is critically important, but this ploy from NZTA to potentially triple the number of tickets brought in per year seems more like another revenue-gathering exercise than effective road safety policy.

"How is buying cameras with heat-mapping technology to monitor the inside of a car consistent with a strictly safety-first approach?

“The Transport Minister needs to be much clearer with NZTA that their job is to deliver the most effective road safety policy – not introduce a stealth tax on New Zealand motorists."

New Government locking-in Labour's mega-spending? 😳🔒💸

In the lead up to the election, all three Coalition partners campaigned strongly against the astronomical increase in public spending under the previous Government, and promised they would rein in the public service departments to cut out waste.

On the campaign trail, Christopher Luxon time and again picked on the massive staffing increase at the backroom Public Service, which collectively has grown by 15,000 since 2017.

And as National put it in its pre-election fiscal plan (our emphasis):

Labour inherited a very tidy set of books from National in 2017. But since then, Labour has increased spending by 80 percent and seen debt blow out from $5 billion in 2019 to $104 billion in the latest forecast.

Yet, despite all that pre-election signalling, the new Government's only proposal to address Grant Robertson's monumental growth in the costs of Wellington is to cut the budgets of [checks notes] some Public Service departments by 6.5% or (in a limited number of cases) 7.5%...

Worse still, Finance Minister Nicola Willis is tasking the departmental CEO’s to lead the process and deliver ‘proposals’ on how best to reduce their budgets. That is akin to asking the foxes to guard the hen house and is politically dangerous.

We need only see recent news reports to see how bureaucrats can (and will) threaten politically sensitive frontline services to understand how they will protect their patches – and the empires the same CEOs have created...

Tell Nicola Willis to ignore the media and special interests: ✂️ Grant Robertson's spending back to an affordable level 💰

If you agree that Ministers (not the CEOs/officials responsible for the fiscal mess!) should be going through line by line spending to determine exactly what savings can and should be made please take 30 seconds to send Ms Willis an email using our online tool here.

👉 📧 Click here to send Nicola Willis a personalised email 📧 👈

RIP Three Waters 💦🪦 

In case you missed the news this week (or the death notice in today's Weekend Herald) Three Waters was finally scrapped with the passing of the third and final reading of repeal legislation this week.

It took a gruelling two and half year campaign, more than 50 campaign events, hundreds of thousands of signatures to our petition, and 65,000 printed, hand-delivered submissions to the Select Committee, but together we forced Wellington to Scrap Three Waters.

To mark the success of what is probably the biggest people-power policy victory so far – and protecting local democratic control of ratepayer funded assets – we are holding a (tongue firmly in cheek) Three Waters funeral and wake (complete with traditional tea, coffee and biscuits) at 4pm on Monday at our Wellington offices to mark the passing of Higher Water Costs, More Bureaucracy, No Local Control, and Less Democracy.

For those unable to make it, we've also launched an online book of condolences for you to send your regards to the now deceased Water Services Entities Act. Click here to add your comments to the official Three Waters book of condolences.

On a more serious note, thank you to you – and, quite literally, the hundreds of thousands of Kiwis – who said "No" to Nanaia Mahuta's outrageous attempt to take ratepayer-owned local water assets and put them into unaccountable co-governed entities.

Wellington Mayor’s secret meeting with multi-millionaire cinema owners a boozy affair 🍾

Last year it was revealed that Wellington City Council's Mayor Tory Whanau and Chief Executive Barbara McKerrow were having secret meetings with the mega-wealthy foreign owners of the Reading Cinema complex just weeks after the Mayor was sworn in to office.

Those secret meetings led to ratepayers funnelling $32 million into purchasing the land underneath the now abandoned building with Reading being allowed to renovate and continue to operate the property.

But according to new information ratepayers were picking up the tab! Wellington seafood restaurant, Oretga, left ratepayers footing the bill for a whopping $1,400 buffet – with almost a quarter of the final bill made up of alcohol.

Taking international mega wealthy entertainment and property tycoons out for dinner to give them corporate welfare handouts is bad enough. Having ratepayers pick up the food and grog tab is salt into the wound.

No wonder the Council is in financial turmoil.

Should websites be taxed for linking to NZ media websites? 🤔

On Thursday, our Policy Manager James Ross submitted on the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill, which aims to crackdown on big companies such as Google and Facebook who link to news sources online.

Members of the media are flocking to defend this planned shakedown of the big digital platforms, despite already being able to opt out of having their content shared if they want to. It's clear this isn't about fairness, it's about Media CEOs and big wigs deciding their slice of the pie isn’t large enough.

Dr Eric Crampton wrote about the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill back in August, showing how a similar attempt to screw the scrum in Canada went down (hint: not very well).

With the new Minister, Melissa Lee, shouting about how poor this bill was before the election, most assumed it was as dead as a dodo. But if there’s one thing we’ve learnt here, it’s that you can never expect too little from the Government. 

If it passes, the Bill is so poorly defined that even your humble Taxpayers’ Union’s newsletters could be forced to wind up! Linking to leftwing news websites like The Spinoff or even just Stuff and the NZ Herald websites would see us taxed to subsidise their newsrooms.

Watch James' submission here.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Media mentions: 

Waikato Times Mayor admits proposed rate hikes ‘not sustainable or affordable’ for many in community.

The Platform David Farrar Discusses Latest Political Polling

Chris Lynch Media Proposed rates hike: ‘irresponsible financial management’

Stuff Mackenzie pensioners feel rates heat, consider selling homes

The Spinoff A vital and perilous day for the news media in New Zealand

The Press Media bosses plead for help in arm wrestle with internet giants

RNZ Media bosses urge MPs to 'level playing field' with big tech

BusinessDesk News publishers plead for online news bill rescue

NBR Use law to get tech giants to stump up or we’ll be gone: media

Stuff NZ politics live: Will the Government make tech giants pay for news?

NZ Herald Niwa committed to low emissions despite $700k spend on four ‘luxury’ utes

Stuff What minister said as media leaders stated case for making tech giants pay for news

Duncan Garner Podcast 'The Week That Was' with Damien Grant and Cassie Roma

The Platform Mihi Forbes and the great Atlas conspiracy

NewsHub Niwa defends buying four Chevrolet Silverado utes valued at $172,000 each

Stuff ‘I’m not involved,’ says Conscious South Canterbury campaign contact

 

The Taxpayers' Union lambasts Hutt City Council's recent unveiling of a Low Carbon Acceleration Fund as a misguided venture. Promising up to 50% co-funding for carbon-cutting projects in Lower Hutt, the initiative splashes cash in the face of common sense and the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

Oliver Bryan, spokesperson for the Taxpayers’ Union, said, “The council's Low Carbon Acceleration Fund takes a wild swing and misses by a country mile, embodying the epitome of feel-good, virtue-signalling politics without the payoff. This venture into environmental finance is an expensive folly, blatantly ignoring the ETS's comprehensive strategy for reducing emissions efficiently through a market-driven approach.”

“This initiative not only misunderstands the mechanics of meaningful emissions reduction but also squanders taxpayer money under the guise of local action, which, thanks to the ETS, ends up redundant. It’s crucial to underline that with the ETS's nationwide cap on emissions, the fund's local reductions will make no reduction to net emissions or be of any benefit to the environment. Meanwhile, Hutt City residents are left to ponder the value of their skyrocketing council rates, which surged over 12% between 2022 and 2023.”

 

Commenting on a lavish $1,400 seafood dinner between Wellington City Council Mayor Tory Whanau, Chief Executive Barbara McKerrow, and the heads of Reading Cinema - Ellen and Margaret Cotter - which was part of a secret business meeting for the Council to purchase the land under the Reading Cinema Complex, Taxpayers’ Union Researcher, Alex Murphy, said:

"It was outrageous enough to find out that Whanau and McKerrow had flown the Cotter sisters out to Wellington for a secret business meeting just 4 days after the Mayor was elected, but it’s made all the more embarrassing to now discover that thousands of ratepayer dollars - a quarter of which was just spent on booze - was splashed around to seal the deal.

"And while the cost of this dinner is wasteful enough, the upshot from that meeting will be even more painful for ratepayers, with the Council set to spend $32 million on purchasing the land under Reading Cinema. It was clear from the Town Hall debacle that the Mayor didn't understand sunk costs, but surely even she could have figured out that investing a few thousand ratepayer dollars into a dinner didn’t mean she had to buy the whole property!

"Wellington City Council’s leadership has time and again shown itself to be irresponsible with ratepayer funds. It’s about time the books are opened, and Wellington's council heads are held to account for their continued wasteful spending and underhanded behaviour."

 

Commenting on the Government’s three-stage legislation plan to replace Three Waters and the appointment of a Technical Advisory Group, Taxpayers’ Union Head of Campaigns, Callum Purves, said:

“We welcome the clarity on how exactly the new coalition proposes to repeal and replace Three Waters with an alternative that retains democratic accountability and local control.

“From what we’ve seen, the Government’s approach is very similar to our own work and model, developed by our earlier Technical Advisory Group, chaired by former Local Government New Zealand CEO and adviser to Communities4LocalDemocracy, Malcolm Alexander. We look forward to working collaboratively on improving the delivery of local water services while both achieving affordability and retaining democratic accountability."

Commenting on Wellington City Council preparing to vote on a number of cost-cutting measures, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Councils have a favourite little trick. When it comes time to justify enormous rates hikes, they start hacking away at frontline services to plead poverty. Wellington City Council is no exception.

“Slashing away at library services, community centres and ramping up parking fees whilst hundreds of millions of dollars are still being wasted on revamping the Town Hall is a cheap ploy that ratepayers can see right through.

“At last count over 450 staff at Wellington City Council are on over $100,000 a year. Before the council starts cutting services, it should be scrapping its enormously wasteful pet projects and trimming back its bloated bureaucracy.”

 

National is up 2.6 points on our last poll in November 2023 to 39.6% while Labour drops marginally to 27.9% (-0.4 points). ACT is up significantly to 13.7% (+5.6%) while the Greens are down substantially to 9.0% (-4.8 points).

The smaller parties are NZ First on 5.0% (-1.0 points), Te Pāti Māori on 2.3% (-1.1% points), and others combined were on 2.5%.

This month's results are compared to the last Taxpayers' Union – Curia poll conducted in November 2023.

National is up 3 seats on November 2023 to 49 while Labour is unchanged on 35 seats. ACT has jumped up 7 seats to 17 while the Greens are down 6 seats to 11. NZ First is down 2 seats to 6 while Te Pāti Māori is unchanged also on 6 seats.

This calculation assumes that all electorate seats are held. A Parliament on these figures would have an overhang of 3 seats and a total of 123 seats.

The combined projected seats for the Centre-Right of 72 seats is up 8 from November 2023 while the Centre-Left is down 7 seats. This is the biggest gap between blocs since Sep 2021 when the Centre-Left led by 27 seats.

On these numbers, National and ACT could form a majority government on their own without the support of NZ First.

Christopher Luxon drops 4 points on November 2023 to 29% in the preferred Prime Minister stakes. Chris Hipkins is up 1 point to 19%.

David Seymour increases 6 points to 10% while Winston Peters is up 1 point on 6%. Chlöe Swarbrick is also on 6% unchanged from November 2023.

More detailed results, including 'country direction' data and our new 'government approval' rating, are available on our website.

In this week's Taxpayer Update, we celebrate another Taxpayer Victory that ensures your money isn't being spent on creating conflict and reveal, yet again, more issues at Wellington City Council. 

But first, after a post-election Summer break, our exclusive Taxpayers' Union – Curia poll is back!

NEW POLL: Big boost for ACT sees Nats and ACT able to govern alone 🟡📈

February's Taxpayers' Union – Curia poll was conducted over the period including Waitangi Day. ACT's proposed Treaty Principles Bill might have been receiving a lot of heat in the media, but it doesn't seem to have done the party any harm in the polls. In fact, these results suggest the opposite.

National is up 2.6 points on our last poll in November 2023 to 39.6% while Labour drops marginally to 27.9% (-0.4 points). ACT is up significantly to 13.7% (+5.6%) while the Greens are down substantially to 9.0% (-4.8 points).

National is up 3 seats on November 2023 to 49 while Labour is unchanged on 35 seats. ACT has jumped up 7 seats to 17 while the Greens are down 6 seats to 11. NZ First is down 2 seats to 6 while Te Pāti Māori is unchanged also on 6 seats. Parliament would have 123 seats as it does now due to an overhang created by the Māori electorates.

Victory for the taxpayer: NZ Government pauses funding for UN agency linked to terrorism in Gaza ⏸️💰

Last week saw a quick taxpayer victory following a fast response campaign from the Taxpayers' Union after news broke that UNRWA employees are not just implicated in the 7th October massacres in Israel, but – according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal – 10% of UNRWA employees are linked to terrorist groups including Hamas.

While minds may differ on the Gaza conflict, when an agency we as taxpayers are funding is being accused of funding terrorism, it's certainly right to hit pause and take a proper look! The Government agreed. Within a day of our campaign, the Government announced it was pausing taxpayer funding for UNRWA until it can be confident that the relief agency's staff are not linked to terror activity.

The New Zealand Government now joins Australia, Canada, Britain, the EU and others in looking to divert funding away from UNRWA to organisations like the Red Cross and World Food Programme.

Thanks to those who added their voice, wrote to Ministers, and reminded the Government that Kiwis expect our foreign aid budget to be spent working for humanitarian relief, not fuelling the conflict.

More Chaos in Wellington City Council ✂️

Last week, Wellington City Council proposed a number of cost-saving measures to free up funds for its ailing water infrastructure.

Unfortunately, it seems the Council is going after core services people value such as the libraries before the glaringly obvious vanity projects are put on the chopping block.

Take, for example, the news Wellington City Council is spending an ‘undisclosed’ amount of money to install bilingual parking meters:

Wellington City Council has decided to replace its parking meter system at a cost it will not disclose, despite paying $1.5 million to install a new sensor network as recently as 2016.

The new pay-by-plate meters that went live this month are a paperless system that uses a vehicle licence plate number, rather than a numbered car park, to record parking time and payment.

The meters also offer the choice of English or te reo Māori instructions, which the council says supports its commitment to Pōneke becoming a bilingual city.

[continue reading on the NZ Herald here]

Your humble Taxpayers' Union has had to use the new meters (they are right outside out office). The 'new' meters are clunky, and clearly a step down from the old ones. Instead of an off-the-shelf solution, the boffins at the City Council had these custom build so that you can pay your parking taxes using te reo prompts.  Strangely, we're yet to meet a Wellington ratepayer saying ka pai! 👏

And Wellington Water can’t be trusted either… 🚰

At about the same time, a scathing report into Wellington Water’s operational performance shambles was released. It shows Wellington Water is incapable of delivering its services efficiently, failing to sufficiently report on the quality of its operations, failing to meet key contract obligations with Wellington City Council. Despite spending 71% more on maintenance year on year, the quality is getting no better!

It’s now evident that the water provider needs a complete overhaul to get its priorities straight and spend its money efficiently.

Our replacement to the last government's Three Waters can't come soon enough!

And the Council secrecy continues… 🤐

Long time readers will recall the endless tales of cloak and dagger with Wellington City Council, where Council officials have hidden critical reports and key information from elected officials. True to form, officials tried to bury the bad news and refused provide a copy of the draft Wellington Water report to councillors who had previously only been shown parts of it on a screen during a closed workshop.

To state the obvious, how can we expect good governance at local town halls, when those who are supposed to be in charge (and accountable to ratepayers at the ballot box) are being drip fed information. Here at the Taxpayers' Union, we are working with some of New Zealand's most respected councillors to give elected officials more rights to go round their CEOs and access information (even if it isn't welcome news). More to come on this...

Nearly 15,000 Signatures on Petition for Media to Return Taxpayer Funding 📝

With the pandemic over, and most media companies back in the black, we say they should do the right thing and return their Public Interest Journalism Funding (PIJF) to protect their independence and the public's trust.

While people hold a range of views as to whether this funding undermined the actual independence of newsrooms, what is undeniable is that the perception of independence was certainly eroded. 

Our petition calling for the media to help restore public trust and confidence in their profession by paying back all taxpayer funding has almost hit 15,000 signatures. If you haven't already signed, add your name here so we can get it over the line.

MPs in Depth: National MP Greg Flemming🎙️

The latest episode of Taxpayer Talk is another edition in our MPs in Depth podcast series where we get to know Parliament's new MPs. In this episode, Jordan sat down with newly elected National Party MP, Greg Fleming. 

Greg tells us about his journey into politics and how he formed his political ideology, starting with an egg business at age nine and eventually leading to his founding of the Maxim Institute think tank. 

This podcast gives a fascinating insight into what makes Greg tick and is well worth a listen. 

Listen to the episode on our website | Apple | Spotify | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio

Other News in Brief ⏰

• We challenged the Government to go further and faster in reducing the size of the public service to help get inflation and interest rates under control. We also slammed them for asking department CEO's – the same people responsible for staff numbers ballooning by up to 50% – to identify cost savings rather than having Ministers going through with a fine tooth comb to identify those wasteful projects that the CEOs don't want cut. 
• ACT called for a simpler and flatter tax system with fewer income tax brackets. We responded by urging them to be more aspirational and aim for a flat tax instead which would be simple, fair and encourage productivity while allowing people to keep more of their own money.
• Nicola Willis's app tax was dealt a blow when it was revealed that she had not read a joint letter from the large app-based service providers requesting an urgent meeting to discuss how unworkable the new tax will be. We told National to focus on cutting waste, rather than hiking taxes on summer holiday Airbnbs.  

That's it for this week.

Yours aye,

Callum Purves Head of Campaigns New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Media mentions:

NZ Herald Act Party supports calls for Tauranga’s commission to act in caretaker role

SunLive ACT backs call to make commissioners "caretakers"

NewstalkZB The Huddle: Why haven't MFAT pulled their funding from NRWA?

Kiwiblog Taxpayer funded conspiracy theories

BusinessDesk Business of Government: marking your own homework, silo mentalities and more ...

Newsroom Nats’ summer slumber lets ‘rabid dog’ run amok

NZ Herald Napier City Council indicates possible record rates rise for Napier

Wairarapa Times-Age Lobby group's wages war

Newstalk ZB Morning Edition: 02 February 2024 – Selwyn proposed rate hikes (02:27) 

BusinessDesk On the Money: Milky bonds, flamboyantly dressed accountants and more ...

Newstalk ZB The Huddle: What else can we expect ahead of Waitangi Day

NZ Herald Act launches Treaty principles referendum campaign to twist National’s arm

NZ Herald Treaty of Waitangi: Christopher Luxon cannot stop voters having their say on Act’s bill

Waikato Times Hamilton rate hikes set to ‘crush’ whānau, MP warns

Press Releases:

Taxpayers’ Union Calls On Public Service Cuts To Go Further, Faster

Income Tax System Should be Flat, not ‘Flatter’

Taxpayers’ Union calls on NZ Government to follow international counterparts and pull UNRWA funding

Wellington Ratepayers Reliant on Leaks for Info on Leaky Pipes

New Zealanders elected a Government to cut waste, not have Ministers take lazy route and delegate to CEOs

Taxpayers’ Union Welcomes New Zealand Joining EU & International Partners in Pausing UNRWA Funding

National Party U-Turn Robbing Kiwis of a Summer Holiday

Double-Digit Rate Hikes Across Councils Cannot Become The Norm

New Zealand Must Advocate For Tobacco Harm Reduction At COP10

Government Could Reduce Prices With The Stroke Of A Pen

Red Tape Won’t Keep Rooves Over Wellingtonians’ Heads

Hamilton City Council’s Never-Ending Rate Hikes Are Unjustifiable

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming today’s news that the Police and Te Whatu Ora Health NZ allocated a $60,000 legal war chest to fight a Wellington pub owner – all for the sake of a bar having to close an hour earlier.

“CBD crime is growing, our health system is a shambles, yet these zealots within the bureaucracy see fit to play morality police and try to scapegoat responsible hospitality operators,” says Connor Molloy, the Taxpayers’ Union lifestyle economics spokesman.

“This is bullying of a small business, pure and simple. And it’s not like it is a one off. For years, the Police – the Wellington Police in particular – have ignored the constitutional convention that the Police are there to enforce the law, not lobby. The Police use their considerable power and resources to browbeat the Council and District Licensing Committee.

“Given this outrageous example, we will be seeking a meeting with both the Police and Te Whatu Ora leadership to urge them to pull their head in, ensure taxpayer money is going to core services, and officials are staying in their lane.”

Responding to Hamilton City Council's proposed increase of 25.5% for the 2024/25 financial year, and subsequent 14.1% rate hikes for the following four years, Taxpayers’ Union Head of Campaigns, Callum Purves, said:

“While Hamilton City Council might be trying hard to sell the idea that there is no other choice when it comes to funding its water infrastructure, it’s evident that the financial crisis it now finds itself in has been driven by years of wasteful spending.

“Just last year, our 2023 Ratepayers Report revealed the Council had spent over $315m on contractors and consultants – more than three times that of Auckland Council – and pays nearly a quarter of its staff salaries over $100,000. It’s that there is still plenty of fat the Council could trim to allow investment in vital infrastructure while protecting ratepayers from eye-watering rate hikes.

“Double-digit rate hikes have become a worrying trend across New Zealand’s local councils and now you’d be hard-pressed to find any council with a rate increase below the level of inflation. It’s high time our local authorities start cutting back on the nice-to-haves and stop expecting ratepayers to keep bailing them out."

Wellington City councillors have been given advice recommending they alter the district plan to prevent housing intensification across huge swathes of the city.

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

“Wellington is deep in a housing crisis, and whether you’re looking to buy or rent there simply is not enough to go around. Prices are skyrocketing, and the only solution to this is to build more homes.

“Red tape has stifled development for decades. The crisis won’t end without serious RMA reform from central government, but that doesn’t mean the council can’t make it worse. The advice given to councillors would push Wellington’s housing market to breaking point.

“Wellingtonians need rooves over their heads, and so the city needs to build up and build out. As much as the council might like to try and bury its head in the sand, not building at all is not an option.”

 

Responding to calls for the Government to scrap New Zealand’s remaining import tariffs, Taxpayers’ Union Policy & Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Tariffs are a tax on consumers, and if there’s one thing Kiwis don’t need during this cost-of-living crisis it’s the Government increasing the price of goods even further.

“As well as driving up prices and the costs of doing business in New Zealand, our tariffs quite literally cost the Government more to administer than they raise in revenue. They are a millstone around our country’s neck stifling competition and holding back growth.

“The folly of import tariffs is clear, and cash-strapped shoppers should be jumping with joy at any attempts to follow Singapore’s example in becoming a free trading nation.”

 

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on New Zealand’s delegates to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) to oppose dangerous calls for further regulation and taxation of reduced-harm alternatives to smoking.

Speaking from Panama, where the Tenth Session Conference of Parties (COP10) to the WHO FCTC is being held, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager and spokesperson for Lifestyle Economics, Connor Molloy, said:

“New Zealand is a success story in terms of getting smokers to quit. A big part of that is allowing consumers to choose less harmful alternatives to smoking.

“New Zealand’s delegates must oppose all attempts by the WHO to equate the harm of traditional cigarettes with that of alternatives that are scientifically proven to be safer such as vaping, heated tobacco and snus. The delegates must be commended for acknowledging the role that evidence-based harm reduction measures have played in reducing New Zealand’s smoking rates, but we are concerned they are not going further to publicly challenge the WHO’s dangerous opposition to reduced-harm products.

“Supporting, or accepting, WHO proposed rules to restrict reduced-harm alternatives would be a step backwards. Ironically, these proposals would play into the hands of “Big Tobacco” and are totally counter to New Zealand’s Smokefree 2025 aspiration.

“The only reason the New Zealand Government would go along with the WHO’s proposals is to keep more people smoking and collect more tax. That is morally wrong.”

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, Jordan sat down with newly elected National Party MP, Greg Fleming. 

Greg tells us about his journey into politics and how he formed his political ideology, starting with an egg business at age nine and eventually leading to his founding of the Maxim Institute think tank. 

This podcast gives a fascinating insight into what makes Greg tick and is well worth a listen. 

Greg's maiden speech can be watched here. Follow Greg 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 Selwyn District Council for proposing a 16% rate hike in the first stage of a cumulative 45.89% rates hike over three years.

“Yet again we are seeing a council completely fail to be prudent with its spending proposals, and is now asking its already-burdened ratepayers for an extra arm and a leg to bail them out,” Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, says.

“From a council that just last year was able to keep its rates increase under the level of inflation to now looking at dropping double-digit rate hikes for the next three successive years is an unacceptable turn of events that has blind-sided Selwyn’s ratepayers.

“The council should be tightening their belt like households all across the district are forced to do when costs rise. This includes trimming the fat in the Council’s back office bureaucracy, letting go of gold-plated vanity projects and seriously considering the sale of under-utilised or unnecessary assets.”

Commenting on the news that Nicola Willis’ office failed to respond to a joint letter from accomodation providers requesting an urgent meeting over plans to introduce an App Tax from April this year, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:

“A bit of backbone from the National Party wouldn’t go amiss. Their own campaigns from last year prove that they know how damaging the App Tax will be to Kiwi consumers and businesses alike.

“Whether the meeting request got lost in an administrative mix-up is irrelevant. National’s own messaging shows that they already knew the facts laid out in this letter.

“It’s easy to sling stones from opposition, but National protecting Labour’s unsustainable high-tax legacy is failing the voters who put their faith in the party at the ballot box.

“Rather than taxing hardworking Kiwis out of being able to afford a summer junket, the Government needs to get serious about slashing Wellington’s over-bloated bureaucracy to plug the fiscal gap.”

 

The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the Prime Minister’s announcement that New Zealand’s latest round of UNRWA funding is being suspended pending the results of a UN inquiry.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman, Jordan Williams, said:

“Overnight reports from the Wall Street Journal suggest that 10% of UNRWA staff have connections to Hamas and other militants. Kiwi taxes have been directly funding terrorism.

“The decision to join our international partners including the European Union in pulling the plug on UNRWA pending investigation was the right one.

“Funding can now be reallocated to New Zealand’s other partner organisations working in the region including the Red Cross and World Food Programme. Kiwis expect our foreign aid budget to be spent working for peace, not fuelling the conflict.”

 

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the approach of Government Ministers asking public sector CEOs to find just 6.5% of savings and is telling Ministers to do what they promised: go through their departments’ spending with a fine tooth comb and ensure value for money.

“The Government is asking the foxes to guard the hen house,” said Taxpayers’ Union spokesman, Jordan Williams.

“In many cases, the Government is tasking the very same CEOs who increased staff numbers by more than 50% under the last government to now find savings.

“This 6.5% across the board reduction is pathetic. Ministers were elected to go through spending and ensure value for money.

“It is also politically dangerous. CEOs will find savings in politically painful areas like frontline services to justify no further cuts. In reality, Minister’s should be taking to Wellington’s back offices with an axe. Relying on CEOs to achieve an arbitrary target is lazy and dumb.”

 

Responding to news that Wellington Water has requested $2.5 billion in funding from Wellington City Council, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:

“When even elected Councillors are treated like children and only allowed to see snippets of a ratepayer-funded secret report into Wellington Water’s failures, Wellington’s closed-shop bureaucracy is spitting in the face of local democracy.

“This isn’t the first time Council officials have stifled information to railroad decisions. A crucial KPMG report was buried until just two days before the long-term plan vote, a report on the town hall’s $147 million blowout was shoved down the back of the sofa for months, and ratepayer-funded legal advice over airport share sales was hidden from elected representatives.

“Despite their culture of secrecy, we can all see the Council isn’t working. Before even considering doling out billions of dollars, Wellington needs to open the books to show some respect for the ratepayers who pay their wages.”

The Taxpayers’ Union has launched a petition calling for the Government to scrap continued funding of UNRWA, following revelation in recent weeks about connections to terrorism in the Isreal-Palestine conflict. 

Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union said:

“New Zealanders should not be forced to fund any aid organisation where there are serious allegations of money being funnelled into terrorism. There are plenty of other not-for-profits able to do the job without the politicisation.”

“In addition to the new allegations relating to UNRWA participating in the the 7th October attacks, previous concerns have been raised about UNRWA inciting radicalisation through obscene hate-filled publications.”

“New Zealand should join the governments of Australia, Canada, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands and the US and pull taxpayer funding of UNRWA.”

The petition can be signed at www.taxpayers.org.nz/petition_unrwa

 

The Taxpayers’ Union is backing ACT leader David Seymour’s calls for a simpler tax system but says it should be flat, not just ‘flatter’ than the status quo.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“There are billions of dollars of waste in government that could be eliminated in order to fund tax relief.

“There are many largely useless departments that could be eliminated in their entirety while the remainder should be zero-based and reassessed asking ‘if this job or programme did not exist today, would we decide to create it?’ If the answer is no, it should be cut.

“A flat-tax system is simple, fair and encourages productivity while allowing people to keep more of their own money. New Zealand should be striving for the world’s most efficient and competitive tax system through wholesale reform, not temporary tax relief that will eventually be eroded away through bracket creep.”

 

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the government to go further and faster with its demands for reductions in spending by government departments.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Demanding a 7.5% spending reduction from departments that have ballooned by over 50% in the last six years is laughable. These departments are so bloated, every job and function should be under consideration for cost savings. The proposed figure is not nearly enough.

“Government spending has increased by 67% since 2017 yet the quality of public services has continued to decline. The proposed cuts would still leave government spending at a level that would make Grant Robertson’s early budgets look like austerity in comparison.

“Kiwis are struggling with high inflation and high interest rates, it is time for the government to show what responsible fiscal management looks like rather than just tinkering at the edges.”

If you're in Auckland for their long weekend – come along and meet the team on Monday at Mission Bay (see details at the end of this email). 

Thanks to Connor for holding the fort. Sadly while I have been away, the examples of waste and excess have just kept coming. But let's start with a little bit of good news. 

Inflation dips, but it's mostly from overseas 📉

Inflation is finally dropping, and about time too. This week's figures showed inflation has is now down to 4.7% from 5.6% the previous quarter. This will come as welcome news to those struggling with the cost of living.

But that’s where the good news ends, I’m afraid.

For the 31st month in a row, inflation remains well outside of the 3% target range and far from sustainable levels. Our high inflation is being propped up by “non-tradeables”, which surprise, surprise is the area most affected by government spending...

Digging deeper into the figures out this week - while the rest of the world's inflation is easing (i.e. our 'tradable goods'), New Zealand's domestic inflation (termed 'non tradables') remain stubbornly high. That means that, on average, New Zealand is likely to face higher interest rates for longer, compared to our trading partners. 

High inflation: All roads lead back to Wellington 👀

As a proportion of the economy, New Zealand's response to COVID was among the highest in the world. And, once the lockdowns were over, New Zealand still lags behind in getting inflationary government spending back under control!

That's why the New Zealand Government Debt Clock is still racing, and the Reserve Bank is still imposing high interest rates. Until the new Government gets serious about tackling the culture of waste and out-of-control deficit spending they have inherited, that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Bad news for those with mortgages...

Sir Humphrey would be proud: Unelected bureaucrats setting up new Ministers again 🧑🏻‍💻

When new governments are elected, ideologically-driven bureaucrats often disagree with the policies that have a democratic mandate to implement. But unlike the US  – where a new administration can replace/appoint most of the leaders of government agencies – New Zealand has a politically neutral public service.

Or so they claim...

Before Christmas, we saw the leaks about the so-called ‘fair pay’ agreement changes and, more recently, the Treaty Principles Bill – clearly aimed to undermine policies that were explicitly campaigned on by the parties making up the new Government.

This week it was Casey Costello's turn. Radio NZ was clutching its pearls after it obtained a document that purported to show that the new Associate Minister of Health, Casey Costello (our former chair), had asked officials for advice on freezing tobacco excise.

It looks to be a carefully calculated sting operation by the bureaucrats.

From the reporting of the story, you would think that Casey had instigated research into this policy area, but that is not quite the full story. Unelected officials proactively offered to provide the Minister with advice on the implications of increasing and not increasing tobacco excise along with inflation prior to the annual decision having to be made. When the Minister agreed, it appears Ministry of Health officials created the advice about freezing tobacco taxes 'which she had asked for' and leaked this certain sections to the media, which predictably had a meltdown. 

These sorts of policy advice papers and documents would have been made public in time anyway, but jumping the gun through selective leaks creates a strong incentive for Ministers not to seek official's advice or do their job.

In fact, we think the new Government has a real problem on its hands: The professionalism (or lack thereof) by the bureaucrats across dozens of government agencies risks undermining the decision-making process and having a chilling effect on constructive communication and the need for Cabinet government to be based on well-informed decision making. 

This behaviour from some officials is nothing more than a political hit-job seeking to make it harder for the Government to unwind the past six years of wasteful, bureaucratic and ineffective policy. We say that unless unelected bureaucrats can act impartially and support the government to implement policies even if they disagree with them, they need to find a new career. 

Nicola Willis has a big decision to make when it comes to appointing the new Public Service Commissioner in just a few months. We need someone willing to tackle The Blob head on.  And the names reportedly being considered do not inspire confidence. Watch this space...

Mayor Mauger Needs to Learn to Walk Before Joining the 100m Sprint 🏅

Christchurch is a city on the mend, but now in what seems to be a vain attempt to prove something to the world, the Mayor is gunning to throw so much of that progress away.

Across the ditch, the State of Victoria has had to bail on its plans to host the Commonwealth Games thanks to the insurmountable cost. Alberta in Canada had to pass up the opportunity because it was simply unaffordable, even for a province loaded with oil money. Now the Christchurch Mayor – an area with less than 10% of the population of either of these two – is proposing local ratepayers pick up the baton.

Christchurch Council is $25k per residential ratepayer in debt, bridges still haven’t been fixed since the earthquake, and the Council is already planning 15.8% rates hikes this year alone. Even for those who would love to see the Commonwealth Games back in the Garden City, the council simple does not have spare billions to blow on a one-off event.

Mr Mauger, before trying to prove to the world that Christchurch is back on its feet, should perhaps try proving this to Christchurch residents.

NZTA’s incompetence on display yet again with budget blowouts 🤑

This week showed once again that The Agency Formerly Known As Waka Kotahi struggles to be prudent with our money.

It might sound like déjà vu, considering that just last week Connor told you about the near-comical downfall of Auckland Light Rail – a project which after 6 years and $228 million spent didn’t have a single metre of track laid – but unfortunately it turns out that New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has been haemorrhaging funds on its other trademark projects just as badly.

Earlier this week, we heard that the NZTA has already blown through nearly two thirds of its $280 million budget for the Mt Messenger highway without a single kilometre of tarmac built.

The bypass was initially meant to be completed 2 years ago, but now will likely push out to at least 2026 and is set to majorly blow out in costs. Out of the $172 million spent so far, only around $100 million has been used on actual construction.

But it doesn’t stop there…

Months of road closures for clip-on footbridge 💸

In Waikanae, another costly NZTA debacle is unfolding with a $2 million ‘clip-on’ shared pathway to be attached to Waikanae Bridge. As of this week, work on this heavily overdue project is finally underway, but the bridge will now be closed heading southbound for at least the next 5 months, and possibly longer, for work to be undertaken.

Considering the enormous cost of the project, coupled with the major traffic disruptions it will burden the region with, we also question whether more cost-effective alternatives that would have prevented the current bridge from being closed could have been used instead.

Judge for yourself! Official Information from Kapiti District Council revealed that a similar stand-alone bridge a few kilometres downstream was erected in 2009 for just $178,672. See the plans here. This new ‘clip-on’ approach will cost at least 10 times that amount, and that’s assuming everything goes to plan.

It’s been clear for several years that NZTA has lost its way and has wholly failed to demonstrate any value for money. We’re calling on the new Government to ensure our transport agency gets back to focussing on delivery and ensuring our roads are adequately maintained first before embarking on outlandish gold-plated developments. A clear out of what appears to be a lacklustre board would be a good start.

Other News in Brief ⏰

• Jordan appeared in a recent edition of the Different Matters podcast hosted by friend of the Taxpayers' Union, Damien Grant. He discusses our recently published book The Mission: 10 Years of the Taxpayers' Union, which is available to purchase here. 
• James threw our support behind calls on Minister of Local Government, Simeon Brown, to restrict the powers of the unelected, undemocratic, unaccountable Tauranga commissioners ahead of a return to democracy in July. It is unacceptable for long-term decisions to be made now before local residents have been given to have the chance to have their say on the future direction of their city.  

One more thing...

While it may be a long weekend for Aucklanders, sadly one thing that won't be taking a holiday is our national debt, which will rack up more than $75 million on Monday's public holiday alone. We'll be out in Mission Bay with the Debt Clock and holding sausage sizzle to do our bit to help pay down the national debt. Come along and buy a sausage – we need to sell an awful lot of them!

Yours aye,

Callum Purves Head of Campaigns New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Media mentions:

Wairarapa Times-Age Delays for rating

foodticker “Small fry” grocery pricing investigation not enough – TaxPayers Union

Press releases:

Taxpayers’ Union Welcomes Withdrawal Of Voting Age Bill

Return To Democracy In Tauranga Cannot Be Put In Danger

Mayor Mauger’s Christchurch Commonwealth Games Plan a Swing and a Miss

NZTA’s $2 million ‘clip-on’ footbridge wasteful and disruptive

Inflation Well Outside Target Range Still Punishing Struggling Kiwis

Small-Fry Grocery Pricing Investigation Won’t Stop Spiralling Food Prices

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reacting to the Government’s announcement that they are withdrawing a bill from the previous Government that would have lowered the voting age for local body elections to 16, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Changes to the rules of the game in any democracy should be decided by the people, not by politicians who have the incentive to screw the scrum in their favour.

“While reasonable minds can differ on the merits of lowering the voting age, introducing such a significant piece of legislation in the dying days of Parliament and closing submissions just six days after the general election is nothing more than bad-faith electoral reform.

“Proponents of lowering the voting age should work to win over public support before any bill is introduced in the future and allow the decision to be made by voters, not self-interested politicians.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is throwing its weight behind calls for the powers of Tauranga’s unelected Commissioners to be curtailed in the run-up to the return of democracy to the city, and urges Local Government Minister Simeon Brown to step in.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:

“Unelected Commissioners in Tauranga have spent years tossing around ratepayers’ money with reckless abandon, all safe in the knowledge that they will never be accountable to the rate-paying public.

“Although it is three-and-a-half years too late, democracy will be returning to Tauranga this year; the Commissioners cannot be allowed to put that in jeopardy. The long-term plan will set the city’s course for the next decade, and this must only be decided by the elected representatives of Tauranga residents.

“We’re already seeing the damage at a national level that an outgoing government can inflict by signing long-term contracts that they know will be overturned. This is damaging to both business confidence and to the public’s back pockets, and this cannot be allowed to be inflicted on the city by Commissioners without an electoral mandate.”

Commenting on Christchurch City Council’s plans to bid to host the Commonwealth Games, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said: 

“Mayor Phil Mauger wants to show the world that Christchurch is back on its feet. But he’d be better off proving this to Christchurch residents first. 

“With the Council group neck deep in around $25,000 in debt per residential ratepayer and expected rates rises well into the double figures, Christchurch is in no position to be throwing billions of dollars in ratepayers’ hard-earned money into the wind on games which have already been canned across the ditch for proving far too expensive.

“Whilst core infrastructure like the Pages Road Bridge is still to be fully repaired following the earthquake, the Council even considering wasting billions on exorbitant vanity projects is an insult to the residents who have worked so hard to bring their city back from the brink.” 

 

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the government to direct the New Zealand Transport Agency to reassess expensive projects that are overly disruptive following the commencement of construction of a clip-on footbridge in Waikanae that is set to cost almost $2 million and disrupt traffic for five months.

Commenting on the project: Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“This multi-million-dollar ‘clip-on’ has been in the works for years, and now will cause several months’ worth of traffic disruptions to one of the region’s busiest roads, inevitably steering much-needed customers away from local businesses. Given the enormous cost of the project, as well as the significant disruptions to traffic, we question whether this is really money well spent from NZTA, or just another one of its idealistic fantasy projects set to blow out in costs and delays.

“In 2009, Kāpiti Coast District Council managed to erect a fifty-metre-long stand-alone footbridge for just a few hundred thousand dollars. Instead of using that same initiative here, this ‘clip-on’ approach will cost over ten times that amount, assuming it actually stays under budget.

“NZTA is building up a depressing reputation of waste and inefficiencies. Just yesterday we saw how the agency blew through 60% of its Mt Messenger budget without a single kilometer of roading having been completed. If the new Government is serious about tightening its spending belt, it needs to demonstrate to New Zealanders that projects like these are being done efficiently and with the local community front of mind.”

 

Responding to today’s release of the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:

“Despite the fall in the Consumer Price Index, inflation still remains well outside the target range for the 31st month in a row. Even with a punishingly high Official Cash Rate, the deadly combination of high inflation and high interest rates is still lingering on.

“This inflation is driven by unsustainably high Government spending, and this culture of waste in Wellington is working at loggerheads with efforts from the Reserve Bank to control spiralling costs.

“It’s hardworking Kiwi families struggling under the cost-of-living crisis who are still being made to shoulder the burden of a Government which isn’t willing to make the tough choices. Those same families won’t see any improvement until this Government gets serious about slashing the reckless and inflationary overspending it has inherited."

Responding to a Commerce Commission investigation into promotions and pricing in the grocery sector, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:

“Unclear pricing at grocery chains is of course an issue, but it is small fry compared to the anti-competitive regulations which allow grocery chains to charge extortionate prices for the things households can’t go without.

“Overregulation allows for the grocery duopoly to engage in cartel-like price setting unchallenged, leading to bumper profits for the fat cats at Foodstuffs and Woolworths, and spiralling shopping bills for the rest of us.

“Effective bans on foreign investment and overly restrictive resource management rules under the RMA mean that this isn’t going to change anytime soon, no matter how many trivial changes the Commerce Commission kindly suggests.

“Rather than picking around the edges of the grocery duopoly, the Government must spend its time implementing the sweeping reforms needed to end the stranglehold the big two grocery chains have over struggling Kiwi families.”

As you'll see that while many politicians (and just about all the Wellington bureaucrats!) are enjoying long holidays, our team are back at work exposing waste, fighting for more more taxpayer victories, and promoting sensible improvements for how your money is spent.

Thousands of Brand New State Houses Sitting Empty 🏠🔥

Despite the state housing waitlist being more than 30,000 people long, thousands of brand new state houses have been sitting empty, some for months at a time. Taxpayers spent millions on building and purchasing these properties, so they should be filled rather than left to collect dust.

Of course, the wider issue is the state of bureaucratic regulation in the housing sector that effectively makes it illegal to build a cheap house. The chaotic mess of red tape creates unworkable, unnecessary and ineffective restrictions on building and renting homes. This drives up the costs of housing and forces people onto that waitlist.

It is clear that big and centralised government is not good at getting people into affordable housing. It is a scandal that for a country with a small population, and plenty of land, housing is among the most expensive in the world.

The new government has talked a good talk on cutting red tape and simplifying our planning laws such as the Resource Management Act. This year, one of our major focuses will be on ensuring they follow through. New Zealand cannot afford another generation without access to affordable housing, both for renters, and those who want to build or buy.

In terms of social housing, rather than trying, yet again, to fix Kāinga Ora and its centralised model, we say the Government should be focused at enabling (including funding) local community groups to provide both high quality housing and social services as they are likely to deliver far better value for the taxpayer long term. 

Because empty houses is not the only failure happening at Kāinga Ora...

Kāinga Ora's $2 Million Cost Blowout on Ridiculous Housing Project 🚧🧱

You would think that, to the extent to which central government should be responsible for building houses, they would actually build them in areas where they are most needed and have appropriate social services nearby. Think again...

On Thursday, we called out a cost blowout on a state housing development that shows everything wrong with Kāinga Ora. The development which would create 44 residential houses in Ohakune was originally intended to cost $5.2 million but has since blown out by 44% to $7.5 million. This supposedly post-COVID lockdown 'shovel-ready' project has been in the pipeline since 2020 yet four years later we are yet to see a single shovel hit dirt!

The cost blowout comes as no surprise given the Auditor-General slammed the 'shovel ready' slush fund for its poor decision making and continuous wastage of taxpayer money.

There are countless reasons why this project should never have been approved in the first place. For a start, approving a 44-house development in a small town where there are only 11 families in Ohakune on the housing waitlist, is questionable when thousands of people remain in taxpayer funded hotels temporary housing across the country. Surely a development of this scale should go where it is most needed?

To make things worse, Ohakune has virtually no social services and no local GP so the wrap-around services that will be needed for some of these families will simply not be available. 

The funding for this project was originally tuned down twice due to its unviability with one of the early due diligence reports deeming it a "no go". But when COVID came along, the bureaucrats hit 'go' anyway.

It is clear that things are seriously bad at Kāinga Ora. We understand that the new Minister, Chris Bishop, has written to them outlining his expectations but if things don't turn around soon, the Board will be sacked. Good.

The Taxpayer-friendly "Disinformation Project": Stop Bureaucrats from Describing Taxpayer-Funded Services as 'Free' 🇦🇷🤥

Join the call for honesty by signing the petition here.

Auckland Dominion Road Trams Scrapped – Saving $15,000 per Household 🚆✖️

This week we also celebrated the Government finally pulling the plug on Auckland Tramway, sorry, "Light Rail", which saw hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money wasted with absolutely nothing to show for it.

Since its inception, the tramway has racked up a near quarter of a billion-dollar bill in consultant fees and building purchases, yet in all that time we still didn't see a single metre of track being laid!

In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, there was simply no justification for the Government to continue reaching deeper into Kiwis pockets, especially when the budget was only continuing to skyrocket. Advice to the Minister showed costs could reach as high as $29.2 billion, or $15,000 for every household in the country!

This is a necessary first step from the Government in what we hope will be further moves to tighten its belt and cut back on wasteful pipe-dream projects. But if the new coalition is really serious about slashing waste, it needs to address another glaring problem, which is how these non-roading initiatives continue to raid the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).

We’ve long called for the NLTF, which is funded by fuel taxes and road user charges, to go back to funding exclusively  what it is actually meant for: roading infrastructure. We're calling on the Government to properly ring-fence the fund, and ensures it does not continue to be pillaged for projects irrelevant to the purposes of our roading network, such as rail and cycleways. More to come on this in the coming months...

Farewell to our Australian Intern, Rhys Budge 👋🇦🇺

Last year, Rhys Budge jumped across the ditch from Australia to join us for a couple of months on an internship thanks to a bursary from our friends at the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation, a freemarket organisation in Perth. 

Rhys has been a fantastic addition to the team who has been involved in a wide range of research and investigations tasks during his time here. Rhys was responsible for research and producing our Nanny State Approved Christmas Feast report and has written another soon to be released reports on MP pay and the eye-watering costs of government branding and website 'refreshes'.

Rhys heads back to Australia to finish his studies in economics and finance and we know he will go on to do great things. We wish him the best of luck!

Rhys has written a blog post about his time at the Taxpayers' Union which you can read here.

Support the Next Generation of Fiscally Prudent Political Leaders 🧒🧠

As someone who started at the Taxpayers' Union as an intern, I know the value of being able to learn about and apply 'radical' ideas such as democratic accountability, transparency, and limited government. 

Being a student in a city like Wellington, the Taxpayers' Union internship allowed me to escape the echo-chamber of thought that plagues universities and is an opportunity for free discussion, lively debate, and being part of a great team.

Unlike the political parties (we're looking at you Labour!), we pay our interns. And, as you will see in the coming weeks from some of Rhys' work, they produce great research that holds the government to account and exposes government waste. 

If you would like to support the Taxpayers' Union internship programme, you can chip in to help fund an intern here.

Other News in Brief ⏰

• We welcomed the news that road user charges will finally be added to electric vehicles, making the system fairer and ensuring that those who use the roads pay for the damage they cause. Those driving fuel-powered vehicles should not be forced to subsidise (often more affluent) EV road users – especially when (contrary to what you'd see in the media!) electric cars don't actually reduce New Zealand's overall emissions (see my explainer video here).
• The Independent Electoral Review released their report on how to improve the electoral system which included recommending that the voting age be lowered to 16, it be made legal to bribe voters with refreshments and entertainment and that political parties be given even more taxpayer funding. We slammed the review and pointed out that taxpayer funding for political parties erodes democracy, favours incumbents and is morally unjustifiable.

Callum is back from seeing his family Scotland this weekend, so it'll be my turn to take some summer leave. I've enjoyed leading the campaign team over the holidays and can't wait for more policy wins this year.

Thanks for your support,

Connor Molloy Campaigns Manager New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

Media mentions:

NZ Herald Govt announces review of Kāinga Ora, Christopher Luxon responds to criticism over publicly-funded te reo lessons

NZ Herald Former transport minister Michael Wood lashes out at National for scrapping Auckland light rail

Rural News Clocking-up debt

Stuff Why the South Island’s slow shrinking could require Parliament to grow

NZ City The Taxpayers' Union wants more changes to how our road user charges work

Rhys Budge interned at the Taxpayers' Union from November 2023 until January 2024. He is currently finishing his Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Economics and Finance at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. 

For the past 10 weeks, I have had the pleasure of joining the Taxpayers’ Union out on the frontlines in their battle against government waste. 

Friend of the Union and fellow advocate for liberty, the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation, offered to support my journey from Perth, Western Australia to the TU office in Wellington as part of their 2023 scholarship program.   

The Taxpayers’ Union’s mission really stood out to me. I loved that the New Zealand taxpayer had an advocate out there fighting for their interests – all the while showing such a task could be achieved in a fun, humorous, and well-spirited way. I gratefully accepted the opportunity and made the journey across the Tasman in early November last year. 

Intern Rhys Budge with the Debt Monster

Upon arriving, I was introduced to the team and given a project to get me started. For the coming holiday season, the Taxpayers’ Union wanted to know what our Christmas day meals would look like if people really abided by the New Zealand Government’s diet guidelines – similar to something put out by the UK Taxpayers’ Alliance. Having casually explored the effectiveness of different diets in the past, I hoped some of my prior knowledge could help me in deciphering the hundreds of pages of New Zealand Government diet guidelines I went on to find. Needless to say, it did not. 

Over a month later and after making lots of Excel spreadsheets, I had finally come up with a festive feast just in time for Christmas. It was grisly, it was boring, but even still, it did not satisfy every single parameter required to be truly government approved (for that I probably needed a whole year and a hell of a lot more spreadsheets). 

Thankfully though, I did more than just stare at figures showing the sodium levels and saturated fats within our foods while I was with the Union. I spent a lot of time researching and writing on other topics including, MP pay, government branding, and government website standards. Knowing such research has the potential to kick-off or contribute to a wider conversation that can really make a positive difference in people’s lives is a humbling thought. It is a privilege to be in such a position, and seeing how hard the Union staff work, you get the sense they all see it that way too. 

The Taxpayers' Union ute on the Desert Road

What I have really enjoyed has been meeting many of you, the great supporters of this organization. After volunteering to help with some of the 'on the ground' campaign field-ops, I was tasked with the Taxpayers’ Union Ute (which, if you haven’t seen, is impossible to miss), and I found myself meeting and shaking hands with supporters seemingly wherever I pulled up and parked. I appreciated hearing your personal stories and how much you value the work coming out of the Taxpayers’ Union. Similar sentiment was also shared among those of you I met at the Taxpayers’ Union 10th anniversary gala at Gibbs Farm. I could see how you all shared a common desire to see a government that shows respect for your hard-earned dollars. I felt lucky to have had the opportunity to contribute towards this goal for you all, even for just a short while. 

As my time with the Union now comes to an end, I would like to express my thanks to the Taxpayers’ Union for welcoming me into the team from day one. I look forward to seeing the fruits of your hard work behind the scenes come out over this new year as you continue advancing New Zealand in a positive direction. I am eager to see how some of my unfinished projects turn out after they are placed into the hands of another capable intern. Something tells me though that I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off, even if it means working on it remotely all the way from down under. 

Finally, I would like to thank Mannkal for supporting me during my time here. I feel fortunate to have been given so many incredible opportunities over this past year and it is only through the generosity of people passionate about liberty that I get to do something like this. 

The Taxpayers’ Union is dumbfounded by the endless examples of failure at Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities that continue to come to light. Ruapehu District Council and Kāinga Ora’s $5.2 million housing development has blown out by over $2 million to $7.5 million according to a Crown Infrastructure Partners’ contracted projects document.

Commenting on this development proposal, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy said:

“Just last month, an Auditor General report rightly slammed the decision-making and delivery process behind the previous Government’s covid ‘shovel-ready’ slush fund, and this is a prime example of why.

“The rationale behind this development project was flawed from the get-go. So much so that the initial proposal was turned down twice from Crown Infrastructure Partners due to the unlikelihood of it delivering planned outcomes and benefits, with the site even deemed a ‘no go’ on one of their early due diligence documents.

“It has also been blatantly apparent that both Council and Kāinga Ora have failed to engage with the community, with even Ruapehu’s own Councillors admitting how poor the consultation process has been.

“Ohakune has virtually no social services, no local GP, and a population of just over 1,500 people. With just 11 families on the current Ministry of Social Development Housing Register in Ohakune, it would have made far more sense to absorb applicants into existing stock, and reduce barriers to renting out existing private properties.

“Even this morning, we saw reports of more than a thousand new Kāinga Ora homes sitting completely empty. The failure of Kāinga Ora to deliver sufficient housing while continuing to waste money demonstrates why the Government should not be involved in house building and should instead cut cost-bloating red tape to allow a housing market which can deliver affordable homes.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

In July 2020 (see page 2), Ruapehu District Council applied for Infrastructure Reference Group (IRG) funding to Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) for a ‘shovel ready’ project to enable the delivery of more affordable social housing in the district. It was initially turned down, as it was deemed unlikely to deliver outcomes or benefits, and that empty sections would potentially sit unoccupied.

A Due Diligence Matrix was conducted in September 2020 looking into potential sites, where the eventual Tei Tei Drive option was deemed a ‘no go as a priority site.’

After being turned down a second time in December 2020, RDC applied once more in August 2021, which was eventually agreed to by the Minister and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. Both an agreement between Kainga Ora and MHUD and Kainga Ora and RDC were signed on April 1 2023.

The cost of the development has now run out to $7.5 million, more than $2 million over the initial funding proposal.

Minutes from a Ruapehu District Council meeting on September 27 outline admissions from councillors that the local community had not been consulted thoroughly enough. (See page 5 onwards)