Perspective with Ryan Bridge: We really shouldn't need central Government to clarify things for local councils

The Government's introduced a bill today to get local Government back focused on the basics.

But the fact they've strayed so far from potholes, rubbish and waste water is as much our fault as the councillors and mayors running the budgets.

The Government's bill contains the wildly controversial stuff like:

"Prioritising core services when managing finances and setting rates." And "new financial performance measures for councils, with a requirement for regular public reporting."

How scandalous.

Honestly. We shouldn't need central Government to spend time and money clarifying such simple principles to their local Government counterparts, but it's 2025, and here we are.

We shouldn't need a bill to stop wasteful spending. We just need more Andrew Tripes.

He's the Whanganui mayor overseeing a 2.2 percent rate increase this year. Much less than the average 8.7 percent across the country.

He went on RNZ this morning and basically said it how it really is. If you want low rates, spend less, save money, have a plan. And stick to it.

Like Dave Latele, he says: No excuses.

He cut the naff curb-side food waste bin nonsense. That saved them 1.1 percent.

Why has Auckland kept its scheme when most don't even use it?

The fact is that this is all our fault. Not the fault of the councils or the mayors - and certainly not central Government who's sweeping in to try and save the day.

It's us, the voters. We obviously don't care enough about council waste. Otherwise we'd have voted to get rid of it.

It's a simple as that.

Voter turnout in 2022 was 36 percent. In Auckland, our largest city, it was 31 percent! In some areas of Auckland it was only 20 percent.

No wonder we're tripping over cycleways and raised crossings, paying for cooking classes at community centres and drowning in unnecessarily, infuriatingly exorbitant rates bills.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bryan Bridge. So the governments today introduce a bill to
get local government back focused on the basics when it
comes to spending. But the reality is this bill is
not needed. It's about as useful as Labour's bill introducing
all the well being fluff that this bill is trying
to undo. It's ridiculous, it's a total waste of time

(00:24):
and it's not necessary. This amendment bill contains wildly controversial
stuff like prioritizing core services and managing finances and even
setting rates. How scandalous. We shouldn't need a bill to
stop wasteful spending. What we need is more. Andrew tripes,

(00:44):
this is the Huanganui mayor. His rate increase for the
year two point two percent. What a legend. The average
for the rest of us sods eight point seven percent
across the country. He went on RNZ this morning basically
said it how it really is. If you want low rates,
guess what, spend less, save money, have a plan and

(01:07):
stick to it. Quite simple stuff. And like Dave Lettelly,
I like this. He says, no excuses because you hear
a lot of those in local government and the curbside
food waste ben nonsense that we're carrying on with in Auckland,
he's cut that. That saved them one point one percent
for the year. Why has Auckland kept its scheme? Most

(01:28):
of us don't use it. We've spoken about this before.
The fact is that this is all our fault. It's
not the fault of the council's. It's not the fault
of the mayors. It's certainly not the fault of central
government who's sweeping in to try and save the day
here with this bill that's quite arbitrary. It's us, the voters.

(01:48):
We obviously don't care enough about council waste. Otherwise we'd
have voted to get rid of it. We'd have voted
in someone like Andrew Tripe. It's as simple as that.
Voter turnout in twenty twenty two, wait for it, thirty
six percent. It's literally laughable. In Auckland, our largest city

(02:09):
was thirty one percent. In some areas of Auckland it
was only twenty percent. Eighty percent of eligible voters just
stayed home. Now wonder we're tripping over cycle ways, raised crossings,
paying for cooking classes at community centers, and absolutely drowning
in unnecessarily infuriatingly exorbitant rate spills. For more from Heather

(02:34):
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