Latest news with #ToryRelf
Scoop
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
DOC Reshuffle Fails To Deliver For Taxpayers
The Taxpayers' Union is slamming the Department of Conservation's latest staffing changes as another weak attempt to dodge real savings, saying the bureaucracy remains overstaffed and under-accountable. Taxpayers' Union spokesperson Tory Relf, said: 'After months of dragging their feet DOC has finally confirmed some actual job losses, but let's not kid ourselves.' 'We said it in May and we'll say it again: this is optics over substance. DOC's headcount exploded by 37 percent between 2017 and 2023, so they're barely scratching the surface with these latest changes.' 'This isn't bold reform, it's damage control. Taxpayers were promised savings, not press releases and token trims. Every dollar spent propping up bloated departments is a dollar not spent on frontline conservation work or returning money to the pockets of hardworking New Zealanders.' 'The Government can't fix the books with PR spin and half-measures. It needs to show some backbone and start cutting where it counts, and that means tackling the bloated back-office beasts like DOC head-on.'
Scoop
17-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
FamilyBoost Or Fiscal Blowout? Taxpayer Handouts Shouldn't Go To The Top Earners
Responding to news that the Government is extending childcare subsidies to families earning up to $229,100 a year, the Taxpayers' Union is calling the move completely out of touch. Taxpayers' Union spokesperson Tory Relf said: 'If you're pulling in nearly double the average household income, you do not need a handout from other working taxpayers to help pay for daycare. The average household income is around $120,000.' 'It's not often we find ourselves agreeing with the CTU and Craig Renney, but they're absolutely right to call this out. The Government should be focusing support on families genuinely doing it tough, not those who are objectively well-off by any national measure.' 'The whole point of FamilyBoost was to ease pressure on low- and middle-income families. Creep the threshold high enough and suddenly it's just free cash for the comfortable.' 'If the Government thinks someone on $229,000 needs help with childcare, maybe they should spend a day living on the median household income instead. When you're earning more than $200k, taxpayers don't need to be picking up the bill.'
Scoop
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Stop The Secrecy: Whānau Ora Probe Shows Why OIA Must Follow The Money
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is calling for immediate legislative reform to bring all 75% taxpayer-funded organisations, including Whānau Ora commissioning agencies, under the Official Information Act (OIA), following a New Zealand Herald investigation into Pasifika Futures and potential conflicts of interest in the distribution of public funds. Taxpayers' Union spokesperson Tory Relf said: 'It's completely unacceptable that taxpayer-funded bodies like Pasifika Futures can distribute millions of dollars with so little public oversight. The people writing the cheques are the same ones setting the rules and the public is locked out of the room.' 'When taxpayers' money is handed out behind closed doors to organisations run by friends and family, the least we should expect is the right to ask: why, how, and who made the decision?' 'If you're spending public money, you must be accountable to the public. That starts with full transparency through being subject to the Official Information Act.' 'If these agencies are confident in their processes, they should have nothing to fear from public scrutiny.' 'It is time for the Government to amend the Official Information Act to cover all organisations receiving substantial public funds and finally bring accountability to the wider public sector.'
Scoop
01-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
The Taxpayers' Union Is Calling Out Tasman District Council For Treating Family Pets Like Major Infrastructure Projects
The Taxpayers' Union is calling out Tasman District Council for treating family pets like major infrastructure projects, after a local dog owner was slapped with a jaw-dropping $1,400 fee for a resource consent just to keep three dogs on his rural property. 'In Tasman, puppies now need planning permission,' says Taxpayers' Union spokesperson, Tory Relf. 'Since when did the council decide dogs are a consenting activity? What's next – building consent for a kennel? LIM reports on Labradors?' "According to RNZ, the owner was shocked to learn that having more than two dogs on her lifestyle block required a process usually reserved for housing developments or sewage treatment plants." 'We love dogs, but this policy's gone walkies. A council that thinks someone needs to file paperwork and fork out over a grand just to give a home to a pup needs to have its head checked, preferably by a vet.' The Taxpayers' Union is urging Tasman District Council to roll over on this ridiculous regulation.
Scoop
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
NZ Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll reveals nearly half of Kiwis oppose automatic citizenship for Cook Islands
A new poll by the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union-Curia shows that almost half of respondents oppose the Cook Islands having automatic New Zealand citizenship. Thirty percent of the 1000-person sample supported Cook Islanders retaining citizenship, 46 percent were opposed and 24 percent were unsure. The question asked: The Cook Islands government is pursuing closer strategic ties with China, ignoring New Zealand's wishes and not consulting with the New Zealand government. Given this, should the Cook Islands continue to enjoy automatic access to New Zealand passports, citizenship, health care and education when its government pursues a foreign policy against the wishes of the New Zealand government? Taxpayers' Union head of communications Tory Relf said the framing of the question was fair. "If the Cook Islands wants to continue enjoying a close relationship with New Zealand, then, of course, we will support that," she said. "However, if they are looking in a different direction, then I think it is entirely fair that taxpayers can have a right to say whether they want their money sent there or not." But New Zealand Labour Party deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni said it is a leading question. "It asserts or assumes that we have hit a dead end here and that we cannot resolve the relationship issues that have unfolded between New Zealand and the Cook Islands," Sepuloni said. "We want a resolution. We do not want to assume or assert that it is all done and dusted and the relationship is broken." The two nations have been in free association since 1965. Relf said that adding historical context of the two countries relationship would be a different question. "We were polling on the Cook Islands current policy, asking about historic ties would introduce an emotive element that would influence the response." New Zealand has paused nearly $20 million in development assistance to the realm nation. Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the decision was made because the Cook Islands failed to adequately inform his government about several agreements signed with Beijing in February. Sepuloni, who is also Labour's Pacific Peoples spokesperson, said her party agrees with the Government that the Cook Islands had acted outside of the free association agreement. "[The aid pause is] an extreme response, however, in saying that we don't have all of the information in front of us that the government have. I'm very mindful that in terms of pausing or stopping aid, the scenarios where I can recall that happening are scenarios like when Fiji was having their coup." In response to questions from Cook Islands News, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said that, while he acknowledged the concerns raised in the recent poll, he believed it was important to place the discussion within the full context of Cook Islands' longstanding and unique relationship with New Zealand. "The Cook Islands and New Zealand share a deep, enduring constitutional bond underpinned by shared history, family ties, and mutual responsibility," Brown told the Rarotonga based paper. "Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens not by privilege, but by right. A right rooted in decades of shared sacrifice, contribution, and identity. "More than 100,000 Cook Islanders live in New Zealand, contributing to its economy, culture, and communities. In return, our people have always looked to New Zealand not just as a partner but as family."
