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Hi Friend,
Happy
Friday! While the weather has been awful this week (thoughts with
those whose lives and livelihoods are affected), it's been a wild ride
for taxpayers too, with some wins, and some losses.
We've
exposed yet another $230,000 government logo, celebrated two
taxpayer victories, and embarrassed the Commerce Commission for focus on their core job of
promoting competition, spending $50,000 building their own "How
to learn Te Reo" app that at least seven other departments
have already developed. 🤦♂️
But
first...
LGNZ President falls on sword
(eventually...)💥
Too often
in politics, there is a rather unbecoming tendency to dance on graves,
and it's something that the whole team at the Taxpayers' Union are
conscious not to pile into.
But on the
other hand, I wouldn't be doing my job not to update you about
the disgraced former Selwyn Mayor (and Local Government New
Zealand President) Sam Broughton finally doing the honourable thing
and agreeing to stand down from leading LGNZ.
Last week,
despite having been absolutely trounced at the election and losing his
Majority, he was digging in and insisting he could serve as President
for another 10 months (i.e. until next year's LGNZ AGM).
But
just two days after, I was on 1
News to call him out for not stepping down, and newly elected
members had contacted LGNZ to express their concern, Broughton
suddenly announced his resignation.
Better late than
never ✅
This is the
right decision. Under Broughton's leadership, it's clear LGNZ became
overly politicised and mistrusted. Auckland and Christchurch City
Councils are among the councils that had quit, meaning LGNZ's
membership doesn't represent even half of New Zealand's population.
As we pointed out,
fixing LGNZ was unlikely to come from the leadership that got it into
this mess.
Jordan has
wished Sam Broughton the best of luck for the future, but also laid
out the challenge for the new leadership. As he told media, it's
a chance for LGNZ to hit the reset button and appoint someone on
the side of local democracy, not the Labour Party, partisan politics,
or anti-ratepayer activism. You
can read his full statement here.
Taxpayer
Victory: Big banks back down after public pressure 🏦
Hot on the
heels of Sam Broughton stepping down, we scored another big win this
week — and it’s thanks to people power.
Earlier
this year, your
humble Taxpayers' Union was in Christchurch to protest outside the
National Party Conference against a proposed law change to the Credit
Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA). The proposed
law change would have let the banks off the hook by applying changes
retrospectively, to kill off a live consumer class-action
currently before the High Court involving tens of thousands of Kiwis
fighting for fair compensation over unfair fees.
Thousands
of Taxpayers' Union supporters backed us by emailing Finance Minister
Nicola Willis and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson, demanding
they scrap the dirty deal.
And
it worked. On
Monday, the Government confirmed that the retrospective clause has
been dropped.
A huge
thank you to everyone who came to the protest, emailed the Ministers,
signed the petition, or donated to the campaign. The Big Banks
might not love you, but we do! ❤️
Commerce Commission's $50,600 Te Reo Repeat
📱
Just when
we thought the public sector’s app obsession had peaked, we've found
out the Commerce Commission has jumped in with its own Te
Pikitanga te reo language app – to teach its staff and
stakeholders how to learn te reo – at a total cost of
$50,600.
In
case you've missed it, we’ve already uncovered $218,000 wasted across
seven other agencies on similar apps, each just reinventing the
wheel. Now, inexplicably, the Commission has decided it needs its own
too.
First, this
kind of duplication highlights the problem with Wellington’s
bureaucracy: every department wants its own pet project, even when the
work has already been done somewhere else.
Second, it
exposes that the Government's message about the public service
focusing on core services hasn't got through. The ComCom's role is to
promote competition and protect consumers. Quite how a Te
Pikitanga serves that role is known only to the ComCom.
We checked
whether the app includes te reo versions of the laws the ComCom is
empowered to enforce – the Commerce Act or the Fair Trading Act. It
doesn't even have that!
If
agencies want staff to learn te reo, they can use one of the many
programmes taxpayers have already paid for. In the meantime, how about
spending taxpayer money on what an agency is actually tasked with
doing?
Public sector strikes: Are the Labour Party's
unions out of touch? 💼💸
While parts
of the country remain under states of emergency after severe weather,
public sector unions still chose to walk off the job
yesterday.
Public
servants, on average, are paid a salary of $2,003 a week. That's
compared to $1,592 in the private sector. Of course, we want nurses,
teachers, etc paid fairly, but the sad truth is that until New Zealand
gets growing again, it's a false economy to tax the productive economy
more, to grow Government pay packets.
As
explained by Taxpayers' Union Co-founder David Farrar over
on Kiwiblog, this is what yesterday's strike was
rejecting:
-
An offer to
primary teachers that would see those paid over $100,000 increasing
from 40% to 66%.
-
Secondary
teachers: $100,000+ earners would rise from 60% to 76%.
-
Senior
doctors: average total pay of $343,500, plus six weeks’ leave and a
three-month sabbatical every six years.
-
Senior
nurses: average $125,662, with a further 2% pay rise.
-
Graduate
nurses: up from $75,773 to $84,150 by 2026.
Friend,
taxpayers can at least count on one union that didn't walk off the job
this week. The Taxpayers' Union will keep working to hold the
Government to account.
$270,000
for logos before science even starts 🎨💸
Our
investigations team have uncovered that the Government’s new science
agency has blown $270,000 on logos, branding, and “visual
identity.”
As
picked
up by The Post, the agency managed to find room in its
start-up budget for a quarter-million-dollar design project before
it’s even done any science.
Rebrands
and logo designs do not help taxpayers, and they do not help
science.
This story
came from a confidential tip-off, along with so many of our waste
stories. Our investigations team are always on the lookout for new
stories. If
you have information you'd like to share, use our confidential tip
line now to keep the pressure on.
Council waste drives inflation higher
💸📈
New
inflation figures released on Monday show the cost of living is still
climbing - and local council rates are a big part of the
problem.
Local authority rates and payments made up nearly
28% of quarterly inflation, with average rates up 34% in just three
years. That means ratepayers are being hit twice: once
through their bills, and again through the inflation those hikes are
fuelling.
It’s more
proof that local government spending is out of control. Kiwis can’t
afford endless rate hikes: it’s time for the Government to cap rates
now.
That’s why
we’re backing councillors who’ve signed our Ratepayer Protection
Pledge and calling on others to follow their lead and cap council
rates. It’s time to bring some discipline back to local
government.
Taxpayer
Talk: A warning from Australia on the growing black market in tobacco
🚬💰
This week
on Taxpayer Talk, Jordan sits down with Rowan Pike - international
consultant, former Australian Federal Police officer, and Customs and
Border Force expert - to unpack Australia’s exploding illicit tobacco
trade.
With around half of all cigarettes now coming from the
black market, Rowan explains how sky-high excise taxes have fuelled
organised crime, gang violence, and a thriving underground industry.
He also shares what New Zealand can learn before making the same
mistakes.
If you care
about harm reduction, smarter regulation, and keeping communities
safe, this episode’s worth a listen.
👉
Listen
to the full episode here, or wherever you get your
podcasts.
I'm off to
Northland this weekend to celebrate six months since arriving in New
Zealand and starting at the Taxpayers' Union.
Have a
great long weekend - and stay safe in this crazy weather!
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Tory
Relf
Head of Comms
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union
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