1 July 04

Anniversary Call To Action

"It's a year since the Auckland Regional Council voted to axe business differentials and started a rates war with the people of Auckland," said Elaine West, convener of last year's inaugural region-wide rates revolt meeting.

Ms West is also on the executive of RAM - Residents Action Movement.

"On 1 July 2003, the ARC awarded big business interests a rates holiday, which inflicted immense hardship on many homeowners across the region."

"Typically, households faced rate rises of between 100% and 300%, with some going higher than 600%."

"But ratepayers resisted with the biggest rates revolt New Zealand has ever seen."

It's thanks to the tens of thousands of ratepayers fighting back that ARC councillors voted recently to restore a business differential for this financial year."

But it's too late and too little, since it won't go anywhere near reversing last year's unjust rises."

"And to add insult to injury, 1 July 2004 is the date when the ARC charges an additional 10% on the unpaid rates of the tens of thousands still resisting."

"RAM condemns this heavy-handed economic bullying by the ARC," said Ms West. "We are demanding rates justice."

"RAM will return homeowner rates to around 2002 levels, using a fair business differential as our major tool. Putting more money into people's pockets will help small business turnover ­ and rates justice will have been served."

"That is why the Resident Action Movement urges homeowners across the region to get involved and to vote 'yes' to a RAM ticket in the looming ARC election."

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>