Press Release – New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union
The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the removal of local democratic control over water assets and says that regional cross subsidisation is a recipe for gold plating and higher costs.
Reacting to the details of the reforms announced this morning, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams said:
“Even worse, these proposals remove the ability of ratepayers to hold the water bodies to account. They’re going to be able to impose huge costs, without being accountable, even indirectly, to the communities who will pick up the bills.”
“The proposed matrix of committee and iwi governance is a bugger’s muddle.”
Press Release – New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union The Taxpayers Union is slamming the removal of local democratic control over water assets and says that regional cross subsidisation is a recipe for gold plating and higher costs. Reacting to the details of the reforms announced this morning, …
The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the removal of local democratic control over water assets and says that regional cross subsidisation is a recipe for gold plating and higher costs.
Reacting to the details of the reforms announced this morning, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams said:
“Even worse, these proposals remove the ability of ratepayers to hold the water bodies to account. They’re going to be able to impose huge costs, without being accountable, even indirectly, to the communities who will pick up the bills.”
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union
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Union spokesperson Jordan Williams says, “Using a work account to buy a television for your home is fraud. If these allegations are correct they should be with the Police, not held in a Parliamentary cone of silence. The television needs to be impounded as evidence of crimes against the taxpayer.”
“This is why transparency is so important. The only reason we’re reading about this in the news is because the MP’s staff member bravely acted as whistleblower. In most cases, employee loyalty would keep this kind of spending under wraps, which is why the Official Information Act needs to be extended to the Parliamentary Service so taxpayers can audit MPs’ offices.”
New Zealand
Taxpayers’
Union
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Union
spokesperson Jordan Williams says, “Using a work account
to buy a television for your home is fraud. If these
allegations are correct they should be with the Police, not
held in a Parliamentary cone of silence. The television
needs to be impounded as evidence of crimes against the
taxpayer.”
“This is why transparency is so
important. The only reason we’re reading about this in the
news is because the MP’s staff member bravely acted as
whistleblower. In most cases, employee loyalty would keep
this kind of spending under wraps, which is why the Official
With these league tables, New Zealanders can easily compare their local council’s performance and financial position for 2020 against others.
Setting out more than two thousand data points, the Ratepayers’ Report provides transparency for ratepayers, and rates figures are presented on a per-household basis to ensure fair comparisons between councils. The league tables rank councils on metrics including average residential rates, staffing costs, and council liabilities among others.
Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager Louis Houlbrooke says, “Our annual Ratepayers’ Report helps ratepayers answer the question: could you be getting a better deal from your local council? The league tables reveal huge disparities between councils in terms of how much they take in rates, how much they owe, and how much they spend on salaries. Local council staff should pay close attention to the rankings and ask themselves how they might emulate their better-performing neighbours.”