Policies

Compare the parties’ positions on the key issues this election. Explore their policies and see how closely they align with your own views and priorities.

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Rates and revenue

The work of local government is funded mainly by property taxes in the local area, known as rates. This makes up around 60% of council expenditure, with the rest coming from user charges, investment income, regulatory fees and roading subsidies. Councils can also borrow money to spread the cost of large investments such as infrastructure over a longer period of time.

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  • Freeze rates, conduct a census of all council work and departments, locate wasteful unnecessary spending and cut it.

  • Set up a Waste, Incompetence and Corruption committee to find where the money is actually going and take action.

  • Seek government to end the council-controlled organisations and bring all rates and resources back under council control to solve infrastructure inadequacies.

  • Set fair rates that fund services and infrastructure, easing cost pressures for Auckland households and businesses.

  • Practice strong financial management with transparency, balancing and investments responsibly.

  • Manage council debt prudently and ensure fees and charges are fair, supporting long-term city growth.

  • Conduct due diligence on council debt and expenditure where current debt stands at fourteen billion dollars, a three billion dollar increase with 3.9 billion hedged.

  • Ensure transparent financial management and allocation of resources especially in tendering and contract awarding with due diligence.

  • Reduce rates if possible via due diligence on current council spending as rates have gone up 40% in three years, projected to increase 48% in 2026.

  • Assist council debt by directing the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to provide debt free funding to reduce costs.

  • Increase accountability of directors for council investments through public meetings and reference the Auckland International Airport AGM on 21 September 2017 on video.

  • Keep council investments. On 21 September 2017 Wakeman took a pipeline resolutionto the Auckland Airport annual general meeting where council voted against.

  • Develop the future fund which was established to lift council's income and build a fund to protect from future calamities.

  • Drive down wasteful spending and focus council on value for money in expenditure.

  • Prioritise getting council finances into a strong position via policies such as careful evaluation of capital spending.

  • Address rates rises caused almost completely by poor business management and politicians focusing on woke agendas.

  • Use my background in weather-tightness and building to economically manage leaky claims from the last ten years.

  • Ensure new council inspectors are top level builders with a minimum of 10 to 20 years' experience to recycle knowledge.

  • Audit all council spending to eliminate waste and prioritise genuine community benefit including animal and environmental protection.

  • Redirect funds from wasteful projects to essential services including animal welfare and biodiversity programmes.

  • Review every council cost and process to maximise value whilst maintaining lean, efficient governance.

  • Support a fair share for Auckland, secure GST on rates return from Wellington, keep assets and contracts local and money in the city.

  • Create a public dashboard showing exactly how rates are spent and showing value for every dollar.

  • Introduce a ratepayer protection guarantee with no sale of strategic assets without a 75% council vote or a public referendum.

  • Alter the distribution of rates so that a set percentage of rates is immediately allocated to that property's local board.

  • Introduce an alternative to rates applied to council sections fit for adaptive housing that funds further expansion of council sections.

  • Maintain hold of council assets to ensure council can push for those assets to benefit all residents.

  • Ensure transparent finances so ratepayers see clearly what is spent, why, and whether it fits the council's proper role.

  • Cut council waste and debt by focusing only on essential services rather than speculative projects or vanity investments.

  • Limit rates strictly to public goods and natural monopolies and end funding of private goods or social engineering.

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