June 03, 2026
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance has slammed the Government for exempting the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) from a law change to ban unelected members from voting on council decisions.
Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman Josh Van Veen said:
"This morning on Newstalk ZB, Simon Watts said, quite rightly, that it is wrong for unelected members to have voting rights. So why should Auckland's local democracy be the exception?"
"The IMSB is a textbook example of unelected appointees voting alongside elected members on key council decisions, as we saw last week with the Budget Committee vote on Wayne Brown's record high rates increase."
"There is no reasonable justification for exempting Auckland from the law change. This just goes to show how little regard the Government has for local democracy in our largest city."
"If it’s not democratic for Hastings and Tauranga, it’s not democratic for Auckland."
May 26, 2026
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance says a bloc of supposedly centre-right councillors has helped ram through the biggest rates hike in Super City history, despite Auckland Council’s spending blowing out by nearly $1 billion since Wayne Brown’s first budget in 2023.
Josh Van Veen, a spokesman for the Ratepayers’ Alliance, said:
"Today’s disgraceful decision by Auckland Council’s Budget Committee, with support from the unelected Independent Māori Statutory Board, to approve a 7.9 percent rates rise is a betrayal of Auckland ratepayers."
“What makes this even worse is that some of the councillors who made it possible present themselves as centre-right and fiscally responsible. Aucklanders expect better from councillors elected on promises of restraint and value for money."
"Since Wayne Brown’s first budget in 2023, council spending has increased by nearly $1 billion — a staggering 28 percent blowout. That tells Aucklanders everything they need to know. This rates hike is not the product of careful budgeting. It is the product of a council that has failed to control its own spending."
"The Mayor claimed the 7.9 percent increase was entirely about paying for the City Rail Link, but today’s committee proceedings confirmed there were alternatives. Instead of cutting a bloated budget, the council majority chose to reach deeper into the pockets of already stretched households."
"Ratepayers have every right to ask why councillors who talk like conservatives keep voting like big spenders. Aucklanders were promised discipline. What they are getting is higher spending and a record rates increases."
The supposed centre-right councillors who voted Wayne Brown's record high rates increase were Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, Councillor Victoria Short (Albany), Councillor Andy Baker (Franklin), Councillor Daniel Newman (Manurewa-Papakura), Councillor Matt Winiata (Manurewa-Papakura).
May 20, 2026
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling on Mayor Wayne Brown to stop relying on the unelected Independent Māori Statutory Board to force through the biggest rates increase in Super City history.
Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman Josh Van Veen said:
“When councillors vote on Wayne Brown’s record-breaking rates increase next week, Aucklanders deserve to know the outcome is being decided by elected representatives — not unelected appointees.”
“We understand that 11 councillors are prepared to vote down the record-breaking rates increase, but the two unelected Independent Māori Statutory Board members on the Budget Committee give Wayne Brown the numbers he needs.”
“Sneaking through a budget using unelected members is both undemocratic and a middle finger to the majority of elected members tasked to govern our Super City.”
“No other major city in New Zealand allows unelected members to decide how much ratepayers should be forced to pay.”
“If Wayne Brown is confident Aucklanders support his rates increase, he should let elected councillors decide the issue on its merits instead of putting his thumb on the scales.”
May 05, 2026
Wayne Brown is looking more and more like a Temu Donald Trump as he picks a fight with David Seymour in a vain attempt to distract Aucklanders from the Mayor's total failure to keep rates under control and effectively govern.
"Wayne Brown promised to stop the bloat, cut the consultants, and keep rates under control," says Jordan Williams, a Ratepayers' Alliance spokesman.
"Instead, Wayne Brown is attempting to pass the highest ever rates hike in the Super City's history."
Sixty-three percent of the submissions received during the council's consultation for Wayne Brown's draft budget rejected the Mayor's super rates hike proposal.
"Even Len Brown and Phil Goff did better. Wayne Brown's proposed 8 to 10 percent rates hike would cement him as the most fiscally irresponsible Mayor to date."
"It's not even clear if the Mayor is still in charge. Despite complaining about the Council's inflated consultant spending, under Brown the Council's consultant spending has ballooned, according to the recently released Ratepayers' Report league tables."
"Unable to defend his financial mismanagement, or get away with his attempts to blame the CRL for his rates blow-out, Wayne Brown is resorting to a 'grumpy old man' Donald Trump-caricature in an attempt to distract the media from his own failings."
May 04, 2026
New Zealand’s “Super City” is operating on a scale unparalleled across the country, as the Taxpayers’ Union’s 2026 Ratepayers’ Report league tables reveal the per household cost of Auckland’s massive bureaucracy.
Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance spokesperson, Josh Van Veen, said:
"Auckland Council serves more than 1.8 million people — around a third of New Zealand’s population. With that scale should come serious financial discipline.”
“Instead, Auckland is running a $693 million council payroll, rising to $1.3 billion once council-controlled organisations are included. That is around $2,000 per household or nearly a third of the average residential rates bill.”
“The Ratepayers’ Report league tables give ratepayers the chance to judge whether that reflects value for money or bureaucratic bloat.”
“Auckland Council employs at least 194 staff on more than $200,000 a year, 52 paid more than a minister outside Cabinet, and more than 1,025 staff in management or communications roles. It’s fair to ask if the Council needs that many backroom staff on gold-plated salaries.”
“With the cost of living and now the fuel crisis hitting households hard, the Taxpayers’ Union is calling for tighter financial discipline and an immediate rates cap on New Zealand’s largest council.”
Prior to publication, every council were provided their figures for error checking, with requested corrections made. We encourage ratepayers to compare their council for themselves at RatepayersReport.nz.
April 23, 2026
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling on councillors to follow the public’s overwhelming rejection of Wayne Brown’s proposed 8-10 percent rates hike – a record high for the Super City.
According to Auckland Council’s own public consultation results, 63 percent of respondents - including more than 3,300 from Ratepayers’ Alliance supporters - opposed the Mayor’s proposed budget.
Josh Van Veen, a spokesman for the Ratepayers’ Alliance, said:
"The message from Aucklanders couldn’t be clearer: councillors need to put a stop to Wayne Brown’s rates blowout and rein in his wasteful spending."
March 31, 2026
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is urging councillors to vote down a proposal by Council-Controlled Organisation Tātaki Auckland Unlimited to spend $2.5 million of ratepayer money on a new concert venue at Western Springs.
Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman Josh Van Veen said the proposal highlights the Council’s lack of a clear plan for the future of Western Springs.
“Ratepayers are still none the wiser about what problem Auckland Council is actually trying to solve here.”
“Western Springs has operated as a successful concert venue for decades, while also accommodating Speedway and Ponsonby Rugby. Now, after burning through $11 million to force Speedway out, the Council wants to pour even more money into a solution looking for a problem.”
“The Council is making it up as they go along when it comes to one of Auckland’s most valuable public assets.”
“To push ahead with another $2.5 million spend up while Aucklanders are about to be hit with a record rates hike is simply unacceptable.”
“Ratepayers deserve discipline and a proper plan for Western Springs, not more money thrown at ill-conceived ideas.”
March 30, 2026
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance has responded to revelations by Councillor John Gillon that Auckland Council and its Council-Controlled Organisations have spent $5 million on catering over the past four financial years amid the biggest rates hike in the history of the Super City.
Josh Van Veen, spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayer’s Alliance, said:
“While Aucklanders are tightening their belts, the Council has loosened theirs at the buffet table.
“This is part of a wider culture of waste that ratepayers are increasingly fed up with.”
“Every dollar spent on catering is a dollar not spent on fixing roads, improving services, or easing the pressure on households.”
“It’s time to cut the waste. We back Councillor Gillon’s calls for an end to excessive catering and a crackdown on bureaucratic overspending.”
The Ratepayers’ Alliance has published an Alternative Budget to control expenditure and cap the average residential rates rise at three percent
March 19, 2026
The Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance has today launched StopWayne.nz, a new submission tool for ratepayers to push back against Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed rates blowout.
Jordan Williams, spokesman for the Ratepayers’ Alliance said:
“Wayne Brown promised to cut spending and get rates under control. Instead, he is proposing the biggest rates hike in the Super City's history.
“This is the same Mayor whose office spent 608 times more on consultants than his predecessor. The same Mayor on whose watch administrative overheads have blown out by 30 percent.
“Brown is hiding behind the City Rail Link to try and justify the rates blowout. Aucklanders see right through it.
The Ratepayers’ Alliance has also published an Alternative Budget to Brown which controls expenditure and caps the average residential rates rise to three percent.
“Auckland Council spends $869.4 million a year on backroom functions and non-core activities. That is $1,423 per household. Brown was elected to get that under control.
“There is plenty of fat for Wayne Brown to cut. We’ve shown how it can be done without impacting on core services or infrastructure. He has no excuse.”
Individual submissions can be made at StopWayne.nz. The Alternative Budget for Auckland Council is available at ratepayers.nz/alternative_budget_2026.
February 03, 2026
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is challenging Mayor Wayne Brown’s misleading claim that a rates cap would only save Auckland households the equivalent of a can of baked beans a month.
Josh Van Veen, spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, says:
“The numbers simply do not lie. In Auckland, average residential rates went up 20.9 percent between 2022 and 2025, from $2,992 to $3,617.33. A 2-4 percent rates cap would have saved the average Auckland household between $251.73 and $442.19 over the last three years.”
“It’s all laid out in the Rates Cap Savings Dashboard, using Auckland Council’s own numbers.”
