Revealed: Who Pays the Highest Rates in New Zealand?

By RNZ

Carterton residents are paying the highest fees in the country, according to a new report from the New Zealand Taxpayers Union and the Auckland Taxpayers Alliance.

The Taxpayers Report ranked councils based on a number of metrics including residential rates, staff costs and council responsibilities.

It is the fifth report of this type from the Taxpayers Union and covers the rates for the 2018/19 financial year.

The report found that median residential rates in Carterton were the highest at over $ 3,400, while rates in Central Otago were the lowest at just under $ 1,500.

Taxpayers Union campaign manager Louis Houlbrooke said average residential rates continued to rise across New Zealand.

“We found that once again average rates in New Zealand have increased by $ 84.”

But most extraordinary, according to Houlbrooke, was the variability between what the councils charged.

At the top of the table was the Carterton District Council, followed by the Auckland Council, Tasman, Western Bay of Plenty and South Wairarapa.

Average residential rates for all of them were above $ 3,000.

Carterton Mayor Greg Lang defended the higher rates, saying they reflected investment in infrastructure.

“At the same time we listen to our community, and we ask them all the time what levels of service they would like to produce and we get a good direction from the levels we have,” he said.

“They say ‘we want a free pool, a free library service’ and these are the things we offer.”

The lowest five were the Central Otago District Council, the Gray District Council, the Mackenzie District Council, the Southland District Council, and the Otorohanga District Council.

They all charged less than $ 2000.

Otago Central District Council Mayor Tim Cadogan said that while the lower rates looked good on paper, they could hide flaws within the council.

He said that water meters in the region had made a big difference to the cost of infrastructure, which was one of the reasons that rates had been kept low.

A plan to withdraw emergency funds to cover anticipated financial impacts from Covid-19 had also helped.

But on the other hand, Cadogan admitted that the council had been underpaying staff.

“Looking at the long-term plan for next year, one of the things that we have identified is that we are actually underpaying staff and that is starting to show in the loss of people,” he said.

“So it can hide issues instead of being something to celebrate, but at this stage, if that’s what the Taxpayers Union says, well, I think a lot of people in this district would consider it a victory.”