Responding to revelations today that the ex-CEO of Auckland’s City Rail Link thinks the expected $5.5 billion final cost could have been halved, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Tory Relf, said “if even remotely accurate, such a waste of ratepayers’ and taxpayers’ money warrants a full inquiry into how public funds were used.”

“International statistics show that New Zealand has a high per capita infrastructure spend but delivers very poor results. The City Rail Link project exemplifies this problem. Over-specification, gold-plating and scope changes kill efficient procurement and construction of infrastructure assets and this appears to be exactly what has happened here. No wonder costs blew out and it took so long to build.”

“The Taxpayers’ Union believes the waste of public funds on this project is so great that a full inquiry and accounting of the excess costs must be undertaken. We have written to the Minister for Infrastructure, Chris Bishop, calling for a full ministerial inquiry into what is increasingly looking like a gross misuse of public funds."

Reacting to report in The Post revealing KiwiRail’s ferry project’s $14.4 million consultant spend, including $1 million on recruitment services alone, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tyler Groenewald said:

“$14.4 million on consultants and not a single ferry to show for it is the definition of a project that’s run aground before a single hull has even hit the water.”

“KiwiRail have spent nearly $1 million on recruitment alone; taxpayers are paying for consultants to find people to hire more consultants, while the actual ferries remain nowhere in sight.”

“The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Ombudsman to release the full list of consultant contracts immediately. Taxpayers deserve to know exactly who’s cashing in on this slow-motion shipwreck.”

“Taxpayers have totally been taken for a ride. Until someone drops anchor on this spending spree, taxpayers will keep footing the fare for a voyage to nowhere.”

The 2026 Ratepayers’ Report – the local council league tables – shows that among New Zealand’s biggest urban councils, staffing costs have become a major burden on households.  

While Auckland runs the country’s largest council machine in absolute terms, three other councils stand out for punishingly high staffing costs per household. Tauranga is costing households $2,047 in staff spending alone, Hamilton City $1,955, and Wellington City $1,919. 

Across the five councils, at least 324 council staff are paid more than $200,000 a year, with 88 paid $256,800 - more than a Government minister (outside of cabinet). 

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Josh Van Veen said: 

"At a time when families are cutting back, councils are asking ratepayers to fund ever-larger payrolls and management structures."

"For households feeling the pressure of high rates, these figures confirm exactly what they have long suspected: too much of their money is being swallowed by council staffing costs before a single pothole is filled."

"Wellington, Hamilton, and Tauranga lead the pack on a per-household basis. Auckland may spread its costs across a bigger base, but it still runs a vast bureaucracy that would make even Wellington blush."

"These figures suggest that the idea of 'public service' appears to have disappeared from local government. In some small towns now, the best paid jobs are at the local council. That's not sustainable."

"Local councils often claim that rates hikes are needed to fund infrastructure. But time and time again, the extra money goes on staffing. That is why capping rates to inflation is overdue."
 

NOTABLE FINDINGS 

• Tauranga is the most staffing-expensive of the metro councils on a per-household basis, with staff costs of $2,047 per household. 

• Wellington has the densest workforce, at 19.3 FTE per 1,000 households, and the highest consultant-and-contractor spend per household at $736 per household. 

  • This is 28 percent more than second-placed Hamilton City Council, which spent $575 per household. 
  • Christchurch refused to declare their contractor cost, but spent $72,416,538 on consultants, at $436.20 per household. 

• Hamilton is the most top-heavy structurally, with 26.8 percent of staff in management/comms roles. 

• Auckland ratepayers are not just funding services; they are propping up a bureaucracy with 948 managers and 77 communications staff. 

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act requestthat $161,985.55 of taxpayer funding has been used to subsidise insulation upgrades in Summerset's privately-run Wanganui and Havelock North retirement villages.

The funding was provided through the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme, with payments made to contractors installing insulation in licence-to-occupy units within retirement villages.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“On paper this funding is designed to help vulnerable households, but in practice it sees taxpayer money flowing into private retirement village developers.”

“This is corporate welfare by another name. Residents may receive the benefit, but the long-term gains sit with a large private operator.”

“The end result is public money being used to improve assets owned by a company that reported $259.7 million in profit after tax last year, while retirees who genuinely need the support miss out on $160,000 of funding.”

“Our elderly deserve support in retirement, but a $9.2 billion company should be able to fund upgrades to its own units, especially when residents themselves don’t share in the upside.”

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

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

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

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

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

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

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

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

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf says:

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

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

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

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