Mike's Minute: It's time - cap the rates and can some councils

So having looked at every council in the country and the pending rate rises we are all going to have to pay, a couple of inescapable conclusions are to be drawn. 

1) We need central Government to cap rates. 

2) We need fewer councils. 

If you were to roughly use inflation as a guide, Waitomo and Whanganui are your only councils to get under the wire at 2.93 % and 2.2% – so congratulations to them. 

I'm sure every council could, and would, mount an argument as to why whatever it is they have come up with, whether it be the 12.9% in Taranaki or the 15.5% in Hamilton, is in some way, shape, or form, justifiable. 

A lot of it will be historic. In other words, if previous councils had done their job and been fiscally prudent the work being undertaken today would not be the current burden it is. 

But a lot of it if you were DOGE-like, or brutal, would not in fact be needed at all. 

Councils have become fiefdoms. They have entered areas they have no business in, but like so much in life, once you have ventured there is no turning back. 

Apart from the specific, like the 9.76% for Otorohanga or the 12.4% for Central Otago, you also have the more general impact. In other words, you are adding cost to the economy, and you are charging fixed-income folk who don’t have the money. 

What you are doing is inflationary. 

None of us have the ability to simply add more charges. We don’t simply get the pay rise we want, or up our hourly rate to the poor sap we are servicing. Life isn't like that. 

We cut our cloth. Could we buy more? Could we do more? Could we spend more? Of course we could, but we can't. Unless you're a council. 

Even if a council could say "look at what all that money got you, look at the gold plating and the shiny baubles and the tens of thousands who have flocked to our region because of our expenditure", but they can't say that because none of that has happened. 

15% doesn’t buy you utopia. It merely sets you up for another 15% next year because councils know a sucker when they see one. 

So, cap those rates and can those councils. It might well be the most popular thing this central Government does in three years. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So having looked at every council in the country and
depending rate rises, we're all going to have to pay
a couple of inescapable conclusions are to be drawn. One
we need central government to cap rates. Two we need
fewer councils. If you were to roughly use inflation as
a guide, which is what they should be doing. Why
Tomo is the only council in the country, of all
the councils, seventy plus of them, the only council in

(00:20):
the country to get under the wire at two point
nine three percent, So congratulations. Now, I'm sure every council
could and would mount an argument as to why whatever
it is they've come up with, whether it be the
twelve point nine percent in Taranaki or the fifteen point
five percent in Hamilton, is in some way, shape or
form justifiable. A lot of it will be historic, they
will tell you. In other words, of previous councils have

(00:40):
done their job and fiscally prudent. The work being undertaken
today would not be the current burden it is, but
a lot of it, if you are doge like or brutal,
would not in fact be needed at all. Councils have
become fifdoms. They have entered areas they have no business. But,
like so much in life, once you've ventured, there is
no turning back. Apart from the specific like the Oto

(01:00):
hung A nine point seven Sex or the Central Otago
twelve point four, you also have the more general impact.
In other words, you are adding cost to the economy.
You were charging fixed income folks who don't have the money.
What you were doing is inflationary. None of us had
the ability to simply add more charges. We don't simply
get the pay rise we want, or up our hourly

(01:21):
rate to the poor sap with servicing. Life isn't like
that we cut our cloth. Could we buy more? Do more?
Spend more? Because we could, but we can't unless you're
a council. And even if a council, any council could say, oh,
look look at what all that money got you look
at the gold plating and the shiny baubles and tens
of thousands who were flocked to our region because of
our expenditure. But they can't say that because none of

(01:42):
that's happened. Fifteen percent doesn't buy you utopia. It merely
sets you up for another fifteen percent next year. Because
councils know a sucker when they see one, So cap
those rates, can those councils. It might well be the
most popular thing the central government does in three years.
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(02:03):
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