A new Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance – Curia poll released today shows strong support for lower rates rises when Auckland Council sets its Long Term Plan.

A plurality of Aucklanders (40%) support the so called 'pay less, get less option' while 32% support the central proposal and just 9% support the 'pay more, get more' option. 19% of respondents were unsure.

Aucklanders also believe that rates increases should be no higher than the annual rate of inflation. 48% of respondents thought that rates increases should be in line with inflation, 32% supported rises below inflation while just 11% wanted rates hikes above the rate of inflation. 8% of respondents were unsure.

Commenting on the poll, Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson, Sam Warren, said:

"These numbers aren't surprising. When Aucklanders are struggling with their mortgages and the stubbornly high cost of living – the idea of increasing rates at a level far-exceeding inflation is really untenable for a lot of people."

“Auckland Council must first go to greater lengths to cut the waste of its own internal bureaucracy before it can go rifling through the backpocket of everyday ratepayers."

The poll was conducted by Curia Market Research for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance. It is a random poll of 1,000 adult Aucklanders and is weighted to the overall adult Auckland population. It was conducted by phone (landlines and mobile) and online between 2 March and 4 March 2024, has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1% and 21% were undecided on the mayoral vote question. The full results are at www.taxpayers.org.nz/aucklandratespoll

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