Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau was reported in this morning’s The Post as saying spending was jumping across all councils because rates had been "artificially low for decades".

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said:

“Mayors like Whanau need to stop making excuses for their own failures. With Inland Revenue recently reporting that Kiwis are paying almost twice the OECD average in rates, the issue definitely isn’t that Councils haven’t been able to fleece enough money out of ratepayers.

“Council spending is the problem, and Whanau’s council almost tripling rates over the next ten years is just papering over the cracks. Tearing up the city for cycleways, funding convention centres by wringing businesses dry, and a town hall blowout costing households up to $4,000 each are the real problems facing Wellington ratepayers.

“When Whanau said there’s “no more fat to be trimmed” after the recent LGNZ conference, it’s frankly laughable. Wellingtonians might take their council more seriously on financial matters if they could manage a single project without blowing the budget.”

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