The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is stunned at Wellington Mayor Andy Foster’s last minute attempt to increase the city’s proposed 13.5 percent rate hike.

Union spokesman and Wellington ratepayer Louis Houlbrooke says, “Ratepayers have already been reeling at the prospect of a 13.5 percent rate hike. The highest priority for the Council should be to rein in that figure by finding savings in the budget. Instead, Andy Foster is doing the opposite, trying to pump rates even higher. That’s an astonishing failure to acknowledge the sacrifices already made by households in the wake of COVID-19.”

“Rates need to be understood as a housing cost. During a housing crisis, the Mayor should be taking a ‘first do no harm’ approach. But the proposed rate hike creates costs that will filter through to tenants and ultimately result in higher rates of overcrowding and homelessness.”

“Of course, whether the advertised rate hike is 13.5 percent or 16 percent, the real rates hike will be even higher: the Council doesn’t include the impact of a new universal Sludge Levy which will cost households $70-$100 per year.”

“Last week, we submitted to the Council and put forward a range of initiatives that could rein in rates – most importantly, we pointed out how hundreds of millions could be saved immediately by downsizing and monetising the Council’s extensive property portfolio.” [1]

[1] The Taxpayers’ Union’s submission can be viewed here, from 3:25:52.
 

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