The Northland Regional Council (NRC) has got itself into a
bit of strife. The High Court has determined that between 2012 and 2016 it
illegally collected some $14.4m worth of rates from ratepayers in Kaipara.
Before the High Court was an application for judicial review.
In essence it was a challenge that the NRC did not act in accordance with the
Rating Powers Act, and as a result the rates were set unlawfully.
The case was taken by the Mangawhai Ratepayers and
Residents' Association and Bruce & Heather Rogan. It related to the Kaipara
district only, but the NRC rates for Whangarei and Far North districts were set and
assessed on the same basis as Kaipara and there is now a compelling precedent
for those areas if anyone is minded to challenge the rates. If that were
to happen, the amount involved would be close to $100m not $14.4m.
