RAM - Residents Action Movement
Election InfoLine 14.9.07

'Cut home rates'says RAM team

"A tidal wave of positive feedback about RAM's hundreds of 'Cut Home Rates' billboards have flowed in from citizens across Manukau, Auckland and Waitakere cities," reports Grant Morgan, organiser of RAM - Residents Action Movement.

"People at the grassroots are backing RAM's call for corporate Auckland to pay its way, so that the rates of long-suffering homeowners can be reduced. The way we will do that is by introducing a realistic business differential."

"The rates currently paid by corporate Auckland do not add up to anything near the value of council services and infrastructure directed towards creating the best environment for their private profits. For instance, the Central Business District in Auckland City is a financial black hole into which is poured many hundreds of millions of city and regional council rate dollars to subsidise big business at the expense of outer suburbs."

"Why should the modest-income majority subsidise a tiny elite who are already wealthy? That's not fair. RAM will reverse the unfairness factor in council rates. We are the only serious council ticket calling for a reduction in home rates," said Grant Morgan.

RAM is standing for six seats on Auckland City Council as well as seven regional council positions. (And there are six RAM candidates running for community boards plus another eight contesting spots on the region's three health boards.)

"Judging by the swell of community support coming our way, RAM expects to do significantly better than our electoral debut in 2004. Back then we stood for eight regional council seats only, winning a massive 87,000 votes and getting Robyn Hughes elected as a RAM councillor. Now RAM is aiming to win over 200,000 votes and a number of city and regional councillor positions," said Grant Morgan.

HISTORY OF BUSINESS DIFFERENTIAL

RAM was born in 2003 as an organiser of the Rates Revolt against the Auckland Regional Council's massive hikes in home rates.

Contrary to official propaganda, extra public transport funding was only a subsidiary cause of the rates explosion for most homeowners. The main driver was the rates holiday given to corporate Auckland when the ARC axed the business differential in 2003. (A business differential means that commercial properties are levied a higher rate in the dollar than residential properties)

The Rates Revolt, however, forced the Auckland Regional Council to do a U-turn on its policy of abolishing the business differential.

Facing re-election in 2004, the ARC tried to regain popularity by narrowly voting for a 1.5 business differential, meaning that commercial properties were rated 50% higher in the dollar than residential properties. But that small rise went nowhere near restoring the previous differentials which ranged from 9.35 to 2.4 across Greater Auckland (except Franklin).

These crumbs did not save then ARC chair Gwen Bull being ousted in the Manukau Electorate by RAM's Robyn Hughes. The high-profile initiator of the home rates hike had been beaten by a grassroots supporter of the Rates Revolt.

With the spectre of the Rates Revolt and RAM's huge electoral gains still fresh in their minds, the regional council in 2005 grudgingly voted for the smallest possible rise in the business differential, from 1.5 to 1.6.

When Robyn Hughes tabled RAM's proposal for a business differential of 4, which would have reversed the home rate hikes, not a single other ARC councillor would support it.

And the Auckland City Council has backed a year-by-year fall in the business differential, thus incrementally shifting a greater rates burden onto the shoulders of those least able to pay.

"The history of the business differential reveals RAM as the only movement that will make corporate Auckland pay its way, thus giving modest-income homeowners much-needed rates relief," said Grant Morgan.

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