Nick Clark: Wellington knows best?

The central Government has a local government problem. Rates have been rising too fast, regional councils are seen as inefficient and unaccountable, and the public wants action. Fair enough. But the solutions on offer share a troubling assumption: that the best way to fix local government is to give Wellington more control.

Two recent consultations illustrate this starkly.

Bob Edlin: More Stuff and nonsense – this time about a rates cap

Check out the photograph above.

Published today by The Post and on the Stuff website, it shows the vice president of Local Government New Zealand, Rehette Stoltz, speaking to journalists.

It illustrates a report which the headline writer apparently did not read.

Pee Kay: A Curates Egg?

On the 1st of December, Prime Minister Chris Luxon, and Local Government Minister Simon Watts, announced Cabinet’s decision on how they will cap council rates.

The rates cap will be a variable target band, starting with minimum increases of two percent and a maximum of four percent. All good, so far.

Chris Lynch: Government moves to cap rates and curb cost pressures on ratepayers

The Government has announced plans to introduce a national rates cap, saying the move has been designed to help councils control rates increases and reduce pressure on household budgets.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts said rising rates were becoming unsustainable for many residents, with some communities facing repeated double digit increases.