
Archaeologists Brought In For Wellington's $2.3 Million Light-Up Toilets
Taxpayers' Union Local Government Campaigns Manager Sam Warren said:
'How reckless can Wellington Council be? It's unjustifiable to throw this kind of money around, including for archaeological costs, while a record number of locals are being rated out of their own homes.'
"This build-at-all-costs approach needs to stop. On top of last year's 16.9 percent rates increase and this year's proposed 12.2 percent increase, we're looking at a cumulative 31 increase to average rates in just two years.'
'It's not hard to see why rates are soaring; Council has clearly lost focus. Toilet blocks don't need a social license, nor a dig find—they need to be delivered well and affordably.'
'Until rates capping laws are introduced, councils across New Zealand will continue to flush this kind of money away. Not enough pressure exists to keep councils on-task and focused, providing only the basics well.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
NZ's highest paid council CEOs revealed: Christchurch chief's salary tops $1m
The Taxpayers' Union has released its annual Council Chief Executive 'Rich List', revealing the highest-paid council bosses in New Zealand over the 2023-24 financial year. At the top of the list is Christchurch City Council, which paid out a total of $1,027,696 to CEOs Dawn Baxendale and Mary Richardson.


Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
Rangiora's MainPower Stadium Slammed As 'Gold-Plated Gym'
Rangiora's MainPower Stadium has been labelled ''a gold-plated gym'' by the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union. The political lobby group has weighed in on the popular stadium, which cost $28m to build and has ongoing costs of more than $2.4m a year. ''This stadium is shaping up to be a gold-plated gym that ratepayers can't afford,'' Taxpayers' Union investigations co-ordinator Rhys Hurley said. ''Waimakariri ratepayers were sold a vision of a community facility, not a bottomless pit of costs. ''This isn't just about sport. When there has been a 22 percent rates rise over the last three years, it's time for some financial discipline.'' But Waimakariri District Council chief executive Jeff Millward said MainPower Stadium, which opened in 2021, is proving to be popular with locals and visitors to the district. It attracts more than 25,000 visitors a year and hosted national and regional sports and community events, he said. ''We regularly hear from the community just how much they appreciate and value the stadium. I would say the enthusiasm for this facility is only growing.'' The $2.4m annual costs includes $1m to pay interest on the $28m loan, which equates to around $30 per ratepayer per year. Operating expenses this year were nearly $400,000, which is offset by around $200,000 of revenue from the facility, while the council is funding depreciation of nearly $1m. When the stadium was approved as part of the 2018/28 Long Term Plan process, the council said it would cost $90 per ratepayer per year to service the loan. ''MainPower Stadium is an investment in our community and provides a wealth of social and recreational benefits to our residents,'' Mr Millward said. ''It was highly supported when we asked the community if they supported the project, and this support has grown in the subsequent four years since opening.'' The council approved additional funding of $100,000 a year in this year's annual plan, as part of a new management agreement with the North Canterbury Sport and Recreation Trust, which had been running the facility at a loss, on behalf of the council. ''Sports courts and other community buildings like swimming pools don't make money, which is why ratepayers choose to fund them,'' Mr Millward said. Even with the extra costs of maintaining MainPower Stadium, the Waimakariri District Council has one of the lowest rate rises in the country this year of 4.98%. Earlier this year, North Canterbury Sport and Recreation Trust chief executive Michael Sharp said while professional teams like the Crusaders and the Tactix paid standard commercial rates to use the facilities, the council has set community rates to ensure the stadium is affordable. He said given the growth in demand for the facility there has already been talk of expanding from a four-court stadium to eight-courts.


Scoop
6 days ago
- Scoop
Christopher Luxon Shrugs Off Polls Showing Tight Electoral Race
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has shrugged off two polls showing a tight electoral race, promising to stay the course with the coalition's plan to fix the economy. The Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll on Monday showed Labour overtaking National as the most popular party and no clear path to power for either side. TVNZ's 1News-Verian poll was more forgiving to the coalition parties, returning them to government. But it also saw Luxon sink to just 20 percent as preferred prime minister, a two-year low. On his way into a morning caucus meeting on Tuesday, Luxon told reporters the polls would not be a topic of conversation in the meeting, nor should they be. "No, no, not at all," he said. "I'm not focused on polls or talking about myself. What I'm focused on is New Zealanders and making sure we've got the right long term economic plan in place." Luxon said his MPs continued to be provided internal polling through "a regular process" and discussed them "from time to time" in line with "normal practice". Asked whether he was meeting his own high standards, Luxon said the government was dealing with a challenging international environment. "We've inherited a really difficult recession," he said. "It's a very difficult time, but we are very, very clear minded and very, very focused on fixing the economy." Luxon said global confidence had been knocked by the United States' tariff regime but New Zealand had to "power through that". The faltering economy and cost-of-living crisis featured in both polls as key concerns for voters. Recently, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce has advocated a cut to the corporate tax rate, while the Taxpayers' Union is calling for an emergency mid-year Budget. Luxon previously dismissed such calls, and on Tuesday, he maintained the coalition's current focus on manufacturing and construction was the right approach. "We are doing everything we can. If you think about $6 billion worth of infrastructure projects starting before Christmas, that is a lot of jobs, it's a lot of tradies." He also pointed to relief on the horizon with the Reserve Bank expected to deliver further interest rate cuts this year. What's the alternative? Speaking on Tuesday morning, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the polls demonstrated New Zealanders were losing faith in National's ability to deliver on its promises. He accepted, however, that Labour had more work to do, given neither poll had returned the party to the Beehive. Asked whether the party's support was helped or hindered by Labour's lack of policy, Hipkins said the government "would desperately love more things to attack". "We'll put further policy out there, but my focus right at the moment is holding the government accountable for their promises." Any comprehensive fiscal plan would have to wait till after next year's Budget, he said, but Labour's tax policy would be released this year. Hipkins said a final decision on tax had yet to be resolved but: "consensus is emerging." He repeatedly refused to give any details, including whether the proposal would be revenue neutral or possible parameters. "I've always said that I don't think the family home should be taxed, but I'm not announcing a policy that we haven't announced." National's campaign chairperson Chris Bishop said it was very easy for Labour to insist life should better when they had no policy solutions to offer themselves. "Life's easy when you're able to throw rocks from the side. Actually, we're the ones... in the arena, making the tough decisions across planning, across education, across infrastructure, across red tape, across fiscal policy to get this economy back on track." Bishop said the poll numbers reflected a "tough winter" but stressed that the election was not until next year: "People want the economy to be fixed. And I get that. But there is no silver bullet." He said any talk of replacing Luxon as leader was "just silly". Luxon: Palestine question is "not a race" Luxon declined to say whether the caucus would discuss the question of Palestinian statehood on Tuesday, but acknowledged there would be "nuances and differences" within the team. Foreign Minister Winston Peters on Monday confirmed Cabinet would come to a formal decision in September over whether to recognise a state of Palestine at an upcoming United Nations summit. All three opposition parties have castigated the government for failing to make a decision, pointing out that New Zealand is now out-of-step with its like-minded partners: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and France. But Luxon said the complex question needed careful consideration. "It's not a race," Luxon said. "It deserves a serious weighing up of our position, and that's exactly what we're going to do." Luxon declined to say whether he would be comfortable with either coalition partner opting to "agree-to-disagree" on the decision. "I'm not going to get into hypotheticals... It's all very easy to jump to a bumper-sticker outcome or decision and not think through the consequences." Pressed on what conditions could be attached, Luxon said he would not presuppose a position but made clear Hamas would have to release hostages and disarm: "There is absolutely no role in any future Palestinian state for a terrorist organization like Hamas."