The REGIONAL RATEPAYERS REBELLION

The campaign in support of the Petition demanding that the Auckland
Regional Council reset its rates in accordance with Section 119 of the
Local Government (Rating) Act 2003.

Contact, campaign spokesman, DAVID THORNTON
david@Kandu.co.nz

MEDIA RELEASE Thursday, 21 August 2003

BANK MUST REVERSE POST-DATED ARC PAYMENTS.

COUNCIL AFRAID TO RELEASE 'NON-PAYMENT FIGURES.

A Manukau City resident who 'paid' his ARC rates with post-dated cheques, and those cheques have now been processed by the bank, has asked his bank to reverse the process, put the money back into his account, and return the post-dated cheques to the ARC for representation on the dates shown on the cheques. The bank has agreed to do this.

I have also referred the issue to the Banking Ombudsman for confirmation that banks should not process cheques before the dates stipulated on the cheque.

We advise all ratepayers who have used the '10 cheques post-dated' method of protest to check their bank accounts and, if the ARC has presented cheques before the date, the ratepayers should instruct their banks to reverse the process.

At a meeting of the ARC's special rates committee earlier today council staff were unable to say how many people had paid in this way - and, when one council officer said he guessed about 200 from those that had been received directly at the council office, he could not comment on the total across the region . In fact the council will still not say how many people have not paid - although one officer said 53% had paid.

We believe the numbers of people not paying, or paying less than demanded, now totals many thousands and the council is afraid to release the true figure as it will be so high it will encourage even more people to withhold payment.

We now believe that some council officers are not revealing full and correct details to council members.

ENDS

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