Pressure mounts on Govt over rates inquiry
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta is being accused of not taking a rates inquiry seriously.
The Labour and NZ First coalition agreement pledged to hold a public inquiry into local government revenue and funding, but after two months in the job Mahuta hadn’t received any official advice on the inquiry.
National’s local government spokesman Jami-Lee Ross says the review was the ‘‘only priority for the government in this sector’’ yet Mahuta has ‘‘not started any work or made any announcements on this flagship policy for her portfolio’’.
In response to written questions from Ross, Mahuta said in mid-December that she had received no briefings, no reports, no memos, no papers and no aide memoir relating to the review.
‘‘Unfortunately this is starting to reflect the way Nanaia Mahuta dealt with the last inquiry into rates that occurred under her watch between 2007 and 2008,’’ Ross said. ‘‘Back when she was last the Minister, the government received 96 recommendations from a public inquiry into local government, but, Nanaia Mahuta refused to implement a single one of them in the year and a half after the review.’’
But a spokesman for the Minister said yesterday that Mahuta had received briefings in the last week regarding the inquiry, which came after the written Parliamentary questions process cut-off last year.
He said the review was a ‘‘priority’’ for the Minister and the Government in the new year.
Federated Farmers is also on the government’s case with president Katie Milne saying a review ‘‘can’t happen soon enough’’.
The 2017 Rates Report in December revealed a ‘‘continuing trend of local government rates rapidly outstripping inflation’’, she said.
‘‘From 2007-2017, the consumers’ price index went up 21 per cent. The local government cost index – which councils say is a fairer reflection of their costs pressures – went up 29 per cent. But both are dwarfed by the 71 per cent hike in local authority rates and charges.’’
Milne said the briefing to Mahuta when she became minister acknowledged the problem and noted that ‘‘continuing rates increases may challenge the future affordability of council rates for households’’. She said the review 10 years ago was tabled but ‘‘more or less ignored by subsequent governments’’.
In Mahuta’s written responses to Ross regarding the review she said she was finalising priorities for the portfolio and ‘‘taking advice on any additional matters that may be addressed in the current term’’.
She said she intended to set up an inquiry into local government costs and revenue options in 2018.
Mahuta also wrote to Ross saying she was taking advice on ‘‘how the inquiry work will be structured and the terms of reference’’ but when asked what meetings, briefings, memos or reports had been received on the matter, she said ‘‘none’’.
‘‘Ratepayers deserve to know if Nanaia Mahuta will take the portfolio more seriously than she did 10 years ago,’’ Ross said.