Axe the ‘Taniwha Tax’ (2016)

The Taniwha Tax campaign fought Auckland Council rules that would have forced thousands of property owners to obtain costly cultural impact assessments before developing their land, including for thousands of supposed sites of cultural value that had never been properly verified.  

Working with the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, Democracy Action and the Auckland Property Investors Association, we exposed the flaws in the rules, published a briefing paper and mobilised opposition through a public petition. The campaign delivered a comprehensive victory. In 2016, the Independent Hearings Panel recommended removing the cultural impact assessment requirements and all scheduled sites of value from the Unitary Plan.