Politicians promising to slash and reduce council rates are touting a “fantasy” given the reality of local government finances, says Hamilton City’s outgoing mayor.
Councils across the country are facing mounting pressure from ratepayers demanding lower bills amid cost of living pressure.
Double-digit rate hikes in the past several years have been blamed on rising costs and underinvestment in infrastructure.
Panellists on Q+A’s local elections special this week suggested that councils were facing real financial pressure.
Paula Southgate, who has been Hamilton’s mayor for the past six years, said she believed candidates pledging zero rate rises or to go further and cut rates weren’t being serious.
“This will be exacerbated this year, because it’s an election year,” she said.
“Every three years, you’ve got politicians who will be promising to hold or cut rates or a variety of those messages, and that’s just a fantasy, given the huge costs we’re facing.”
Southgate is also the metro sector chairperson of Local Government NZ.
Former one-term Masterton district councillor Tina Nixon, who made headlines for suggesting cutting rates while wielding a chainsaw in billboards, went further for suggestions of cutting rates lower.
“The reality is, anyone who goes up to the polls in this election and says they’re going to cut rates is a liar. We actually got rates [rises] under inflation for the first time in 15 years on my watch, and so I was pretty proud of that,” she said.
“I wouldn’t say cut rates anymore. It’s a naivety going into council for a lot of councillors, and that’s the thing that everybody wants to hear. So it’s what they say. And I did that.”
But she said there was still wasteful spending in the system worth tackling. Nixon said. The former councillor is a member of the National Party and affiliates to Ngāi Tahu.
“The chainsaw was a metaphor, not just for rates, but also about inefficiency, and there’s still a lot of fat in the system around inefficiencies and money being spent on areas that I don’t think should be,” Nixon said.
She added that there needed to be a “much better explanation” to the public about the long-term costs involved with local government, such as infrastructure.
Southgate said construction and other costs has been rising for local government.
“There has been historic under investment in core infrastructure – that’s not just the last decade, it’s several decades,” the Hamilton mayor said.
“We’ve only got one major source of funding, and that’s the ratepayer, and the ratepayer cannot afford to bear the full burden of growth that New Zealand is facing right now.”
She added: “The cost to build a bridge has gone up 27% for example, but the construction index is extraordinary and outstrips inflation by quite a deal.
“We are facing the same costs, interest rates, insurance going up, construction costs going up, staff costs going up. I’m not making excuses, I’m just saying that we’re in a boiling pot of pressure right now, and we’re going to have to do things differently.”
Panellists appearing on Q+A were either outgoing or former representatives and not seeking re-election at this year’s polls.
They were asked about other issues affecting local government including new central government directives, changes to Māori wards, and poor voter turnout.
Nelson deputy mayor Rohan O’Neill said there was a disconnection between how people felt about the outcomes local government was delivering and the electoral system.
“Far too often, we draw a line between not voting and not caring. Find me someone who doesn’t have an opinion on the busses in their city, the roads around their neighborhoods, that doesn’t care about the quality of the water coming out of their tap.
“People care about local government. It’s that they’re not seeing the connection between those feelings and what councilors actually do and who’s actually representing them.”
He added that “it is hard to draw a mandate when you are getting less than 50% turnout in your area,” and that local politicians needed to contribute to improving engagement.
O’Neill Stevens is the outgoing deputy mayor of Nelson, a member of the Green Party, and affiliates to Ngati Apakura and Tainui.
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
