Join Us
Joining the Taxpayers' Union costs only $25 and entitles you to attend our annual conference, AGM and other events.
Commenting on the Human Rights Commission’s appointment of a second “shared leader” to work alongside the existing Chief Executive, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:
“The cushy jobs-for-lefties culture at the top of the public service is well documented, but even by the incredibly low standards of Wellington bureaucrats this appointment at the Human Rights Commission takes the cake.
“Having two people share the leadership of a Crown Entity is a deeply questionable choice in and of itself, but one thing is clear: if these two officials are going to share a job, then they should be sharing the salary as well. Instead, Whaipooti’s position was advertised with a salary almost two thirds higher than an MP’s.
“The Human Rights Commission far too often uses taxpayer resources to stifle human rights rather than facilitate them, and that alone is more than enough reason for them to be scrapped. But this complete and utter disregard for the public’s back pockets goes to show that the Commission’s ethos is rotten right to the top.”
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Government to remove all price controls from carbon credits following today’s auction failing to clear the minimum reserve price for the fourth quarter in a row.
Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:
“The government already sets the quantity of credits available, so they should let the market decide the price. Setting arbitrary minimum and maximum prices makes the market less efficient and drives up prices for businesses and consumers.
“Today’s failed auction will put pressure on the carbon price, further adding strain to the cost of living. Removing price controls would help to ensure the lowest-cost pathway to emissions reduction and ensure maximum freedom for people’s decision-making over what products to consume, within the sinking cap on net emissions.
“If we want to be world leaders in climate change we must ensure that the Emissions Trading Scheme is simple and efficient so that other countries are able to use the New Zealand model as a blueprint for emissions reduction in their own country. Anything else is simply a virtue signal that punishes families for absolutely no environmental gain.”
Commenting on the incoming Government exploring plans to scrap Māori language bonuses for public servants, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:
“If a role requires proficiency in te Reo Māori, then of course fluent speakers should be hired. But when proficiency isn’t relevant to the role in question, it is simply unacceptable that Kiwi taxpayers’ hard-earned money should be wasted encouraging skills which have absolutely no bearing on a bureaucrat’s ability to do their job whatsoever.
“Six years of untold levels of government waste resulted in spending increasing 70% whilst outcomes nosedived. Departments need to be looking for ways to trim the fat, and wasteful schemes like this must be first on the scrap heap.
“It doesn’t take a trained accountant to tell you that paying bureaucrats thousands of dollars a year in bonuses for skills which don’t improve outcomes does not provide value for money.”
The Taxpayers’ Union is expressing deep concern over New Zealand’s declining education standards as revealed by the latest OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results.
Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Oliver Bryan, said:
“If education funding were a maths problem, it seems we’ve got the equation wrong – more dollars doesn’t equal better scores. Despite a 38.7% increase in the education budget from 2018 to 2023, and spending per student rising from $16,413 to $22,145, New Zealand’s performance continues to deteriorate.
“The latest PISA scores are a wake-up call. Despite pouring more money into education, we’re witnessing a decline in standards. It’s a clear indicator that throwing money at the problem isn’t the solution. The new government needs to get a hold of this, scrutinize where this funding is going and ensure it’s being used effectively to improve educational outcomes.
“With the economic problems facing New Zealand, we cannot afford for our education standards to decline and keep declining. Our youth deserve better and the taxpaying public demand better for their kids."
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling for Hastings District Councillor Damon Harvey to be reinstated in his committee chair role and the councillors to instead hold a vote of no confidence in the Mayor following revelations that he was stripped of his role after acknowledging the existence of a secret document.
The document referred to the council’s “normal practice” of dealing with complaints by “shutting up shop”, “ignoring” and to “await litigation”.
Responding to the news, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:
“The council has clearly been caught out by one of its own for trying to avoid transparency and accountability by hiding behind a veil of secrecy.
“Damon Harvey is a ratepayer hero for revealing this information, he should be held up in praise, not stripped of his position.
“Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst has been caught out and her only defence is to go on the offensive and use fear to keep councillors quiet. The elected representatives must not forget whom they represent and hold a vote of no confidence in the Mayor to ensure that ratepayers get the accountability and transparency they deserve.”
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is offering to redesign logos for any renamed government departments for free in an effort to save taxpayers money following concerns that requiring a name change of government departments will give them an excuse to undergo an expensive rebrand.
Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:
“Taxpayer-funded organisations will take any opportunity to undergo an expensive rebrand which involves spending tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars on design and consultation fees – we will do this for free.
“Government branding guidelines say all departments should begin transitioning towards the NZ Govt logo mark, which incorporates the Coat of Arms next to the name of the department. But this is being ignored with many departments continuing to have free rein over their branding – racking up costs with every brand change and creating confusion among the public as to which departments are affiliated with the Government.
“We recently revealed that the Human Rights Commission spent $418,000 on a new brand and website while the Electricity Authority spent almost $100,000 on a logo that was was near identical to the old one. Standardising government branding, as is done in the UK and Australia, will increase accessibility and save taxpayers millions.”
The Taxpayers’ Union welcomes the Government’s 100 day plan as a good start but is calling them to add issuing stop work notices for all corporate welfare programmes to the list.
For a start, this should include the EECA and Callaghan Innovation which currently have a large number of applications for funding open and closing soon. Once this money is committed, it will be wasted.
Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, says:
“Funds such as many of those from EECA have the stated goal of decarbonisation and reducing emissions yet don’t make a shred of difference due to the fact that the industries these grants are provided to are already covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme. This means that any reduction in emissions from recipient companies will simply free up credits to be used elsewhere.
“Schemes such as these pile all of the costs onto taxpayers with bureaucrats picking winners for no environmental benefit.
“Corporate welfare schemes such as this are a complete waste of taxpayer money and should be a prime target for a government that claims to care about cutting waste. At the very least, an order should be given that no further funding should be committed to until a review of the effectiveness of these corporate welfare schemes has been conducted.
“We are pleased to see the new Government taking positive steps towards cutting waste and repealing bad law, we hope that the exclusion of cuts to corporate welfare is simply an oversight, not a foreshadowing of another three years of continued cronyism.”
Responding to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s decision to freeze the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 5.5%, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:
“Times are tough for Kiwi families, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. With the Reserve Bank still failing to hold inflation to anything close to its target range, interest rates are expected to remain punishingly high until August 2024 or beyond.
“More needs to be done and faster to tackle New Zealand’s unshakable inflation problem, which has been fuelled by runaway Government spending for far too long. If the incoming Government is as serious about helping struggling Kiwis as their election adverts had you believe, then they can't just pay lip service to stamping out the waste in Wellington.
“Labour’s RBNZ experiments have failed, and a return to a reserve bank focussed solely on tackling inflation cannot come soon enough. But there must also be a return to accountability at the top.
“A Governor who has failed to hit the target range for 29 months in a row cannot be allowed to hide behind his lackeys anymore; the Monetary Policy Committee must be next on the chopping block."
Taxpayers will be alarmed that the Minister of Finance has said the new Government has discovered “nasty financial surprises” despite Ruth Richardson’s Fiscal Responsibility Act that was specifically designed to avoid the exact situation the new Government appears to be in.
“Ms Willis is not prone to Winston Peters-style rhetoric so her comments are particularly alarming” says Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union.
“Given Treasury’s role to prepare the Pre-election Fiscal and Economic Update, it is inexcusable for a government to be greeted by economic surprises.
“We need to cut through political claims and point scoring and get to the bottom one way or another. It is becoming clear that Treasury has dropped the ball and we urgently need an updated assessment of the objective state of the books over and above HYFEU, due by the end of the year.
“A government inquiry, or at minimum, a select committee inquiry with the ability to call under oath the former Minister of Finance, and Treasury officials is called for. If the books are in the state Nicola Willis claims, clearly there has been a major failing within our public finance institutions. As well as getting to the truth, Wellington need to learn the lessons, if we are not to return to the 1980-style politicisation of public accounts.”
The Taxpayers' Union can reveal that the Hastings District Council has spent over $70,000 on its recent rebranding initiative. A staggering $46,512 was allocated to "Strategy & Creative" for the logo's design and development, with an additional $19,850 for signage guidelines development.
"It's both startling and disheartening to witness such a significant portion of ratepayer money—equivalent to 24 years’ worth of the average residential ratepayer's rates in Hastings —being used on mere branding," said Oliver Bryan, Investigations Coordinator at the Taxpayers' Union. "This comes as the average residential ratepayers' rates have gone up by 7% in the past year."
"Councils are not corporations competing for market share. They are service providers funded by ratepayers. This kind of extravagant spending on branding starkly deviates from their primary responsibilities. It's high time councils prioritize tangible community benefits over transient branding exercises, particularly during times when pressing challenges, like cyclone recovery, loom large.”
“In an era where every dollar counts and communities confront genuine challenges, it's crucial for local councils to demonstrate fiscal responsibility.”
Joining the Taxpayers' Union costs only $25 and entitles you to attend our annual conference, AGM and other events.
With your support we can make the Taxpayers' Union a strong voice exposing waste and standing up for Kiwi taxpayers.
Often the best information comes from those inside the public service or local government. We guarantee your anonymity and your privacy.