7:30am – Rates Bill Arrives
You open your email and see your quarterly rates have gone up another 14%. The notice lists “cultural consultation services” and “partnership initiatives” as key budget pressures. You sigh and wonder why your driveway is still full of potholes.
9:00am – Building Consent Chaos
You’re trying to get a small extension on your home approved. The council says it’s been delayed. they’re waiting for iwi cultural impact assessment. That means three more months before a decision, plus a $1,200 “heritage and spiritual site evaluation” fee.
10:15am – Council Meeting Livestream
You tune into the local council livestream. The first 45 minutes are taken up with a mihi, karakia, and speeches from iwi reps. The actual agenda fixing broken water pipes gets pushed to next week because the iwi rep says “further kōrero is needed” before progress.
1:00pm – Community Project Delayed
Your neighbourhood park upgrade is stalled. A proposed walking path crosses an area “of potential cultural significance,” even though no one can point to an actual site there. The cost of “consultation” has already added $80,000 to the budget, funded by your rates.
4:00pm – Infrastructure Bill Shock
The local newspaper reports that the new water treatment plant will now cost $22 million more than planned. Reason? Extra design changes after iwi input, plus a koha ceremony to “bless” the project site before work can begin.
7:30pm – Talking to a Neighbour
Over the fence, your neighbour a small business owner says he’s moving his workshop to another district. “It’s too hard here,” he says. “Every permit needs another round of cultural sign-off. It’s killing my deadlines and costs.”
10:00pm – News Update
The council announces a new “Cultural Advisory Office” with a $1.5m annual budget. The Mayor says it’s about “deepening partnership” but you can’t help noticing it’s being paid for entirely by rate rises.
From the ratepayer’s point of view, it’s a day of higher costs, slower services, and endless layers of bureaucracy — with little say in who’s actually making the decisions.
Steven is an entrepreneur and an ex RNZN diver who likes travelling, renovating houses, Swiss Watches, history, chocolate art and art deco.
9 comments:
I'm sure you have the dates wrong, isn't all this already happening?
No excuse for ratepayers not being aware.
Couldn't have said it better!
Maybe, just m a y b e ...... this is the point where the Sleepers Awake!!!! And get angry
Yeah, by 2027 we will own nothing, be paying rent (koha) to the tribal elite for the gift of life, and be ecstatic and overcome with peace and goodwill to our tribal masters for their generosity.
It's already well underway... and most people simply are unaware! Land for Govt Buildings such as Schools, Police, Courts are being, and have been given to Maori under 'settlements'. The latest is land under State Housing! This land previously cost the Country nothing to occupy... now YOU the Taxpayer, pays Maori rent for that land.... millions and millions of Dollars a year.
Wonder what Billy T James might have done with this material. It’s happening in NZ, right here, right now - but my goodness what a farce it all is.
Murray Chong, a councillor and candidate in New Plymouth, questioned the council's procurment policy which is now race-based. He got booted out by the outgoing mayor who, especially since and during the Ardern era, steadily aligned himself with the previous govt's policies. As usual most councillors go along with the 'treaty'' basis of the policy. There are several candidates for change in NP. Msm here not keen. The spin on stories and choice of adjectives (in my days as a reporter you were to stick to facts not add spin) makes this obvious.
Depend by which way you want to pay. If somebody with no employable skills is on the dole, you pay via taxes. If a cultural adviser, a minimal skill job, you pay via rates.
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