(media release)

About a month ago we contacted the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) about the work they were doing for the Government on rates capping.  We expect that KCDC – alongside many other Councils who are members of Local Government NZ – would be campaigning against rates capping, and we wanted the ratepayer’s voice to be heard alongside Council voices.

Some of our team met with members of the DIA team earlier this week.  We provided DIA with the following slide pack, which outlined the situation we see in Kapiti, the reasons why Concerned Ratepayers Kapiti supports the rates cap concept, and key factors to take into account in the design of a rates cap.  There are several options to how a rates cap could be done, and the success and durability of a rates cap depends crucially on how its designed. 

We pointed out to DIA that even though we expect the official KCDC position will be to oppose a rates cap, KCDC is effectively working to a rates cap at the moment.  It’s just that the KCDC rates cap is set at 7% average increases per annum for the foreseeable future!    

We were well received by the DIA team.  The meeting went well over the allotted hour, and DIA asked many questions about the suggestions we made. 

DIA are still developing their options, and a formal public consultation process is likely to be later this year.  We will be doing a submission on their consultation proposals when they come out, but its good to have an discussion with DIA now to help them develop their thinking at an early stage.

You can read our presentation to DIA here…

REFERENCES/LINKS – Concerned Ratepayers Kapiti

Locals: “Cyclists travel too fast along here, they may crash into people.”

Council bureaucrats: “No problem: we’ll install obstacles on the path to stop them.”

(Suzanne Vetter pic)

He’ll certainly get some from crazies like Starmer, Merz, Macron and Carney, regardless of the fact their countries can’t afford it.

The Reich-Gauleiter has also attacked a key pipeline that is of big importance to Hungary.

by Ele Ludemann from Homepaddock

Councils staff had proposed spending money on a project, justifying the expenditure because there was enough in the budget to cover it.

One councillor pointed out that just because there was money in the budget, didn’t mean it had to be spent.

That concept is beyond many councillors, and council staff, which explains why so many local authorities have been imposing such high rates and other charges.

The Taxpayers’ Union aims to change that by inviting all candidates to sign up to their  ratepayers’ pledge :

Every candidate standing mayor and council has been asked for their commitment to ratepayers over three key issues;

1.) Oppose any measures that will see the total burden of rates, levies and additional council charges exceed the level of inflation and population growth, 

Rates get the main focus but levies and other charges imposed by councils have also soared past, and contributed to, inflation.

2.) Support initiatives that will improve transparency of council expenditure, including the public disclosure of all expenditure items (known as ‘armchair audit’ and ‘open data’)

3.) Oppose unelected appointments onto council committees with spending and regulatory powers.

Taxpayers’ Union Local Government Campaigns Manager, Sam Warren, said:

“Councils are only as good as the people we elect to sit on them. Often we don’t know where they stand on important issues. The Ratepayer Protection Pledge draws a line in the sand to highlight which candidates are standing with ratepayers this year.”

“Every name added to the pledge will be published online, so voters can make an informed decision on who best represents them, and who chooses to coast through another term of higher rates and less transparency.”

“Councils today are in bad shape. We need good candidates to make a stand. They have until Monday 1 September to add their names and show us how seriously they will take the growing call for change in local government.”

Reasons – and excuses – for steep increases in rates and other charges are many and some of the blame for them lies with successive governments that have imposed new requirements of councils without providing funds.

But no matter who’s to blame, and how compelling the reasons and excuses, the burden of rates and other council charges, is too high and increases well above inflation and population growth cannot continue.

Some councillors and candidates might well regard the pledge as a blunt instrument, but adhering to it would be a very good start to reining in expenditure and thereby reducing the burden of rates.   

We are changing the law to introduce an ‘express lane’ for new supermarkets – increasing competition to put downwards pressure on grocery prices.  

International brand Costco have confirmed that our approach will assist with their expansion plans, and they can see opportunities for new stores to be built in New Zealand in the next few years – which I know will be welcomed by many New Zealanders. 

Ensuring we have the right competitive business settings in place to keep costs down is essential to growing the economy so people can get ahead. 

Today’s changes follow the Reserve Bank’s announcement on Monday that it is consulting on changes to bank capital regulations, which will help to bring interest rates down further and support more businesses to access the lending they need to hire staff and grow. It also comes on the back of the Electricity Authority’s decision last week to make large power companies offer their generation at the same rate to everyone which will level the playing field for smaller power companies, boost retail competition and put downward pressure on power prices.

We know things are still tough for a lot of families, which is why we are doing all we can to make sure there is more competition in the market and give you more choice and a fairer deal. 

The Government is doing the right things and I’m confident the country will see the results – more jobs, rising wages and a higher standard of living for New Zealanders. 

Nicola Willis,

Spokesperson for Finance

Egypt is bolstering its forces along its shared border with Gaza ahead of the IDF’s planned offensive to capture Gaza City due to concerns that the mass evacuation of Palestinians from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south will lead to chaos along the border, according to Arabic and Hebrew media reports.

Close to a million civilians, or almost half of the Strip’s population, have been residing in Gaza City, many of whom have started evacuating southward in anticipation of Israel’s offensive, although no official evacuation warnings have been issued yet.

Egyptian officials are concerned that this mass evacuation of Gaza City’s residents could lead to Palestinians fleeing over the border to Egypt, reports say.

As such, Arabic-language media say some 40,000 Egyptian soldiers are now deployed in the northern Sinai area, ready to man the 12-kilometer (7.5-mile) border that separates it from the Gaza Strip.

An unnamed Egyptian official tells the London-based Qatari outlet Al-Araby Al Jadeed that Cairo views the possible outpouring of Gazans into Egypt as a potential national security threat, which would create a humanitarian and security crisis in the Sinai region.

More

Probably no-one has had a more distinctive campaign vehicle before or since than Murray Forsdyke and his 1951 Ford F100 pick-up in metalic silver.

media release

After backlash to feedback included in InternetNZ’s recent Members’ Survey report, InternetNZ has withdrawn the report with plans to remove particular comments before republishing. This flies in the face of its members’ rights to speak and listen and is exactly what the Free Speech Union was concerned about when campaigning against InternetNZ’s recent censorial constitutional changes, says Douglas Brown, Free Speech Union Council Member.

“Deleting criticism doesn’t protect members from ‘harm’ – it discredits the organisation, weakens trust, and undermines the intelligence of its members. Are InternetNZ members not trusted to think for themselves?

“When we first exposed InternetNZ’s recent changes that could limit online speech, opponents told us to ‘stay in our lane’, claimed InternetNZ had no issues, and that the Free Speech Union was spreading ‘misinformation’. The removal of unpopular comments is exactly the sort of behaviour we predicted and warned against, though.

“Absolutely, many will find some of the members’ comments in the survey report offensive, but InternetNZ is not the internet lord who determines who gets to read what. If members disagree with the comments, they can call them out and provide counter perspectives. But calling for particular comments to be removed? InternetNZ has bowed to the bullies and induced the Streisand Effect – ensuring the very comments they wanted hidden have now attracted even more attention.

“If InternetNZ wanted to prove our concerns were wrong, they missed an opportunity. InternetNZ’s board and management do not have to agree with the views of its members to publish the results of its survey. InternetNZ claimed ‘we will continue to welcome members with a range of views’. But InternetNZ can’t have its cake and eat it too. Censoring voices you do not like is not being ‘inclusive’.

“Our campaign against InternetNZ’s recent moves is not one and done. We significantly increased their membership with hundreds of free speech advocates and secured a strong free speech advocate for their board. InternetNZ is simply confirming our predictions. This is just the beginning of our campaign to ensure InternetNZ upholds the speech rights of all Kiwis online. We’re not backing down.”