Source: Radio New Zealand
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ
Auckland’s mayor has hit out at the government’s rates cap, saying the strategy “won’t work” .
The government is setting a target range of 2 to 4 percent increases – with councils having to appeal to a regulator if they want to go higher.
The cap would take effect from 1 January 2027.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown took aim at the policy.
“How else does the government think we’re going to pay for what Auckland needs and for things like the City Rail Link – which were the result of decisions made by previous governments and councils?
“Councils are faced with making decisions that involve significant investment and should not be restricted by government telling us what we can and can’t do,” Brown said.
He said imposing a rates cap on councils ignored the insight local government had on their own budgets and infrastructure needs.
“I’m an advocate for getting value for money for Aucklanders. That means knowing the problem we’re fixing before we fix it. Putting a cap on rates isn’t going to solve anything. It will just defer it for a couple of years then ratepayers will be paying even more,” Brown said.
The mayor’s criticism came on the back of his proposal for the 2026/2027 Annual Plan, which included a 7.9 percent residential rates increase, calculated primarily, Brown said, to fund the operation of the city’s new City Rail Link (CRL).
“The main reason rates will go up next year is because we have to pay for the City Rail Link – a project the government is jointly responsible for. If they want a rates cap, we’ll end up with a CRL with no trains or drivers,” Brown said.
He said the cap would inhibit council’s ability to adjust rates in response the tri-annual property revaluations.
“A better solution is for government to provide us with the ability to transition in rates increases or decreases resulting from rating valuation.
“Or perhaps the government could start paying rates on their own properties,” Brown said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
