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New Zealand Taxpayers' Union - Latest News [Page 58]
Congestion Charge: Minister Must Rebuff Revenue-hungry Councils
Thursday, 10 June 2021, 1:06 pm | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
Responding to the Transport Minister's suggestion of congestion charging in Wellington , New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “Minister Wood says that congestion charging is not meant to ‘primarily’ be a revenue raising ... More >>
Costly, Ideological, Egregious: Climate Change Commission Report Doubles Down
Wednesday, 9 June 2021, 1:59 pm | Taxpayers' Union
“The Climate Change Commission has thrown a bone to a few sectors while doubling down on the most egregious and costly aspects of the plan,” says New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Jordan Williams in response to the release of the Commission’s ... More >>
20,000 New Zealanders Back Petition To Withdraw Funding For SkyPath
Wednesday, 9 June 2021, 11:33 am | Taxpayers' Union
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union ’s petition to withdraw taxpayer funding for the proposed $685 million cycle and pedestrian bridge has reached 20,000 signatures. The petition can be signed at www.taxpayers.org.nz/skypath . Union spokesman Louis ... More >>
SkyPath 2.0 Is A Slap In The Face For The Working Class
Friday, 4 June 2021, 9:59 am | Taxpayers' Union
Responding to the announcement of a $685 million dedicated cycle bridge to replace SkyPath, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says: “Today’s latest budget blowout brings the cost of SkyPath to $370 for every household in the ... More >>
Government Should Say Bon Voyage To America’s Cup Bidding War
Wednesday, 2 June 2021, 9:47 am | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Government to abandon its futile bidding effort to host the America’s Cup defence. Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “The Government is engaged in a taxpayer-funded bidding war with some of ... More >>
$300,000 To Study Tinder? Marsden Grants Deserve Greater Scrutiny
Tuesday, 1 June 2021, 9:36 am | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
The Taxpayers Union is questioning the cost of Marsden Grants awarded to academic research of dubious value. 259 grants were awarded in the last two years, accounting for $158 million of public money. The full list of Marsden Grants awarded in 2019 ... More >>
OP-ED: Enforce Electoral Laws – Let’s Do This!
Wednesday, 26 May 2021, 4:46 pm | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
Faced with a steadily growing number of electoral finance investigations by the Serious Fraud Office, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stared kindly into the camera and intoned, “we should be looking at the way our regime works. Clearly, it's not currently, ... More >>
Secrecy Continues At Christchurch City Council As Crucial Report Withheld From Ratepayers
Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 11:48 am | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
Christchurch City Council’s refusal to release an independent report exposing wasteful council spending is an appalling refusal to be transparent, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “Christchurch ... More >>
We Should Be Thanking Smokers. Instead, We’re Making Them Miserable
Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 8:50 am | Taxpayers' Union
Next Time You Splutter Your Way Through A Cloud Of Second-hand Smoke, Consider The Plight Of The Poor Sod Who Exhaled It. More >>
16% Rates Hike For Wellingtonians Is Unconscionable
Monday, 24 May 2021, 1:43 pm | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is stunned at Wellington Mayor Andy Foster’s last minute attempt to increase the city’s proposed 13.5 percent rate hike. Union spokesman and Wellington ratepayer Louis Houlbrooke says, “Ratepayers have already ... More >>
Robertson “no New Taxes” Fib 2.0: The New Tax To Fund Astronomical Unemployment Benefit
Thursday, 20 May 2021, 2:18 pm | Taxpayers' Union
The Government’s attempt to bury the new Social Unemployment Insurance Tax (SUIT) is a nasty budget surprise for middle income Kiwis who won’t get a thing from this year’s Budget, says New Zealand’s largest fiscally conservative grassroots group, ... More >>
Return To 1980s-style Social Welfare Will Reduce Long Term Living Standards, Increase Welfare Dependency
Thursday, 20 May 2021, 2:16 pm | Taxpayers' Union
The Taxpayers’ Union says the benefit hikes announced today will reduce the incentive for Kiwis to work, and result in more intergenerational unemployment poverty. It points to Treasury’s forecast increases in benefit costs, despite its rosy economic ... More >>
Government Continues To Throw Taxpayer Money On Housing Bonfire
Thursday, 20 May 2021, 2:15 pm | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
Doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result is what the Government is doing with housing – the Budget reboots the failed KiwiBuild model for Maori housing. Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union ... More >>
Homegrown Railway Wagons: Return To 1980s ‘Polish Shipyard’ Economy
Thursday, 20 May 2021, 2:14 pm | Taxpayers' Union
Like New Zealand’s government-protected car industry of the 1980s, taxpayers are set to pay more because politicians have caved in to KiwiRail and its dream to make domestic railway wagons. “The lesson of the twentieth century that central planning ... More >>
Carterton District Council Puts Ratepayers At Risk With Unelected Committee Members
Tuesday, 18 May 2021, 10:36 am | Taxpayers' Union
Carterton District Council’s decision to grant voting rights to unelected marae members on its committees poses serious risks to ratepayers, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Jordan Williams says, “This change goes beyond ... More >>
Government's KiwiSaver Interference Will Hammer Savings
Friday, 14 May 2021, 10:49 am | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
The Government’s announcement that default KiwiSaver funds will be forced to boycott fossil fuel investments will reduce savings, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, "The last thing KiwiSaver members need ... More >>
Minister’s Restriction Of Financial Institutions In Budget Lock-up Demonstrates Attitude To Informed Policy Debate
Wednesday, 12 May 2021, 12:02 pm | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is slamming the decision by the Minister of Finance’s office to restrict fiscally conservative and financial institutions' attendance at this year’s Budget lock up to a single representative each. The Taxpayers’ Union ... More >>
Petition Launched: Public Sector Pay Freeze Should Extend To Local Councils
Monday, 10 May 2021, 1:29 pm | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
The Taxpayers’ Union has launched a petition to extend the recently announced public sector pay freeze to local councils. The petition is available at www.taxpayers.org.nz/pay_freeze . Taxpayer Union spokesperson, Louis Houlbrooke said, “The Government’s public ... More >>
Grant Robertson Is Squandering His Windfalls
Monday, 10 May 2021, 11:18 am | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
The Finance Minister should be using unexpected revenue windfalls to pay down government debt, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “If someone heavily in debt wins the lotto, any decent financial advisor ... More >>
Fair Pay Agreements = Wage Control
Friday, 7 May 2021, 2:25 pm | Taxpayers' Union
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is warning against the Government’s plan for Fair Pay Agreements , calling the policy a form of wage control. Union spokesman Jordan Williams says, “This is an incredibly backward policy that lets Wellington ... More >>
