Local Government NZ – Story One

Local Government NZ (LGNZ) is featuring in a few items of interest of late. Their annual conference is happening on the 16^th – 17^th July in Christchurch.

Just a refresher – we wrote a story about this group a few months ago. You would be forgiven for thinking something called Local Government NZ would be a government based organisation.

It’s not - it is a Private Business – and they invoice all the NZ Councils who belong every year. NPDC pays $90k per year to belong.

As a ratepayer we would want this $90k to be well spent and represent the needs of the ratepayer.

We have 2 stories – which question the benefits for Ratepayers (and Renters) – which is why the Alliance does not support continuing to belong to LGNZ with NP Ratepayer money.

So with this first story – In June, we told you about how the Taxpayers Union was running a campaign to ask the Local Government Minister, Simon Watts, to put a cap on rates increases. NZ has some of the highest rates, and rate increases across western countries.

The petition to Simon Watts in early July had attracted 28,000 signatures. (You can still sign this if you haven’t already - see our story in June).

So, Ratepayers and Renters across the country have been having their say – and what happens next ?

LGNZ’s secret campaign to attack Ratepayers with their own money

Read here:

https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/lgnz_s_secret_campaign

An election isn’t vey far away, so there isn't time to look in to this now, but after the election, how the people of New Plymouth feel about pulling out of LGNZ is something that would be useful to know.

We see this week another Regional Council has left LGNZ, the Waikato Regional Council.

So, in this story we look at LGNZ using ratepayers’ money to pay for a campaign to stop Ratepayers having the rate caps they would like.

In our next story we talk about the Council costs of annual visits to the LGNZ conference which – again – is funded from Rates income paid by Ratepayers (and renters), and the we look at topics and messaging covered at the Conference.