1) We need central Government to cap rates.
2) We need fewer councils.
If you were to roughly use inflation as a guide, Waitomo and Whanganui are your only councils to get under the wire at 2.93 % and 2.2% – so congratulations to them.
I'm sure every council could, and would, mount an argument as to why whatever it is they have come up with, whether it be the 12.9% in Taranaki or the 15.5% in Hamilton, is in some way, shape, or form, justifiable.
A lot of it will be historic. In other words, if previous councils had done their job and been fiscally prudent the work being undertaken today would not be the current burden it is.
But a lot of it if you were DOGE-like, or brutal, would not in fact be needed at all.
Councils have become fiefdoms. They have entered areas they have no business in, but like so much in life, once you have ventured there is no turning back.
Apart from the specific, like the 9.76% for Otorohanga or the 12.4% for Central Otago, you also have the more general impact. In other words, you are adding cost to the economy, and you are charging fixed-income folk who don’t have the money.
What you are doing is inflationary.
None of us have the ability to simply add more charges. We don’t simply get the pay rise we want, or up our hourly rate to the poor sap we are servicing. Life isn't like that.
We cut our cloth. Could we buy more? Could we do more? Could we spend more? Of course we could, but we can't. Unless you're a council.
Even if a council could say "look at what all that money got you, look at the gold plating and the shiny baubles and the tens of thousands who have flocked to our region because of our expenditure", but they can't say that because none of that has happened.
15% doesn’t buy you utopia. It merely sets you up for another 15% next year because councils know a sucker when they see one.
So, cap those rates and can those councils. It might well be the most popular thing this central Government does in three years.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
A lot of it will be historic. In other words, if previous councils had done their job and been fiscally prudent the work being undertaken today would not be the current burden it is.
But a lot of it if you were DOGE-like, or brutal, would not in fact be needed at all.
Councils have become fiefdoms. They have entered areas they have no business in, but like so much in life, once you have ventured there is no turning back.
Apart from the specific, like the 9.76% for Otorohanga or the 12.4% for Central Otago, you also have the more general impact. In other words, you are adding cost to the economy, and you are charging fixed-income folk who don’t have the money.
What you are doing is inflationary.
None of us have the ability to simply add more charges. We don’t simply get the pay rise we want, or up our hourly rate to the poor sap we are servicing. Life isn't like that.
We cut our cloth. Could we buy more? Could we do more? Could we spend more? Of course we could, but we can't. Unless you're a council.
Even if a council could say "look at what all that money got you, look at the gold plating and the shiny baubles and the tens of thousands who have flocked to our region because of our expenditure", but they can't say that because none of that has happened.
15% doesn’t buy you utopia. It merely sets you up for another 15% next year because councils know a sucker when they see one.
So, cap those rates and can those councils. It might well be the most popular thing this central Government does in three years.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
2 comments:
So much rubbish within councils and zero accountability! (Unless you’re an elected councillor).
Numerous social media managers and pink fluffy content producers. Every difficult question getting funnelled through oia channels. The financial drain of iwi reps and koha and iwi consultations- with only one councils constituency being supportive of it….yet most councils now imposing it. The additions of youth councillors…ffs these people haven’t even had to work yet to pay for their participation let alone the cost of their demands.
Yet everywhere we get less and less from council. They don’t even pick up our rubbish anymore!
And why is a council ceo of any a small town costing more than $250k a year? (Most are on 500k)
Councils = RORT!
Hdp, inadvertently and unusually, raises a good point. A rates cap must come with a debt cap.
Standardized regular undersandable reporting to ratepayers and a permanent limit on allowable council activity are also a must.
And most importantly, the coalition must implement a solution to Labour's ability to scrap everything when they next win power.
The Swiss referenda system could be the answer!
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