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Hi
Friend,
When Peter
Williams launched our local government campaign earlier this year, we
made some big promises.
And with
just 23 days until voting closes, we're coming up to the home
straight.
What have
we done so far?
We
said we would hold debates across the country - and we’ve
done it. From Hamilton to Queenstown, New Plymouth to Hastings,
Wellington to Waikato, the Taxpayers’ Union team has put candidates on
stage and under pressure from voters.
We
promised to identify which candidates back ratepayers and which ones
don’t. That’s why we rolled out the Ratepayer Voting
Guide. Thousands of Kiwis are now using it to see exactly who has
signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge - committing to cap rates,
transparency with council spending, and stopping unelected
appointees.
And
we said we would get the Ratepayers’ Report ready in time for
the elections. The data has now been collated from every
single council. The league tables are being built as I write this.
Very soon, we’ll be publishing the country’s only independent
comparison of council performance. But
we need your support to make it possible.
Councils
loathe this report because it cuts through their spin.
While they
claim things are “not as bad here”, the numbers expose the truth. We
need to ensure that when voters go to the polls, they’ll have the
facts.
What
next?
But we’re
not finished yet. Here’s what’s left in our final push before ballots
close:
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Publishing the 2025 Ratepayers’ Report –
ranking every council on debt, spending, and transparency.
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Advertising to drive voters to the Voting
Guide – so Kiwis know exactly which candidates back
ratepayers.
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Keeping up the pressure on candidates –
making sure they’re held accountable right up to election
day.
Friend, the Taxpayers’ Union has a track record of shifting the
dial. Now
it’s time to finish the job at the local level.
Thank you
for standing with us,
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Jordan
Williams
Executive Director
New Zealand
Taxpayers’ Union.
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PS.
Councils hate nothing more than the transparency provided by our
annual local government league tables in Ratepayers’ Report. That’s
exactly why we need to publish it before voters send their ballots
back. Together we can make sure ratepayers across New Zealand know the
truth.
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