April 22, 2025
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling on Mayor Wayne Brown to front up and answer questions following reporting by Newsroom that he awarded more than $300,000 in Mayoral office contracts to a close friend and business partner and failed to declare two jointly owned companies in the Council's register of interests.
“It’s a terrible look—the Mayor needs to front up” said Sam Warren, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance.
"The Newsroom reporting is a test of the institutional safeguards against self-dealing. Does Auckland Council's conflict of interest policies mean anything at all, or are they just a fig leaf? If the Council can't deal with this in a robust and transparent manner, it's appropriate for the Auditor-General to step in."
"This isn't the first time the Super City has had a Mayor award jobs to 'mates'. Disgraced former Mayor Len Brown appointed his mistress as an 'ethnic advisor', although the amounts in the Wayne Brown case appear to be significantly larger."
April 14, 2025
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance can reveal through a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request that Auckland Council gave $128,352 to Te Kura Maninirau, New Zealand’s first kaupapa Māori circus school.
The school was successful in receiving all four grants it applied for, including a lump sum of $120,000 for leasing obligations, and aims to reimagine 'the current Eurocentric language of circus into a voice that has a deeper resonance in Aotearoa'.
Alliance Spokesman, Sam Warren, commented:
“Harder to swallow than a flaming sword, councillors really have put on a show this time for Auckland ratepayers.”
“Kids will enjoy the summersaults—but not for one moment can we pretend that funding a circus school has anything to do with core business for a council.”
“And to be really clear, this decision will cost one, average Aucklander, more than 31 years of paying rates—and Auckland Council wants to increase them even more? Get real.”
“Asked recently by a councillor what a ‘nice-to-have’ was, this might be one of the worst we’ve seen. Loud and clear, ratepayers want Council to focus on the basics like roads, bins and pipes. Where is this disconnect and who is behind it?”
“Fortunately for the school though, if they need more clowns for the troupe, they can contact whoever approved this spectacle as an appropriate use of public funds."
April 02, 2025
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance can reveal through a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request that Auckland Council's economic and cultural agency, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), has put $50,000 towards the 2025 University Worlds Waterski Championships.
The same request revealed $12,000 was spent by organisers for acquiring a resource consent from Auckland Council to hold the event.
Sam Warren, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, said:
“In the wake of another rates increase, the so-called economic and cultural agency thought it swell to splash out more money for an event that 99.9 percent of Aucklanders never knew took place”.
“It’s getting harder for Auckland Council and its CCOs to say with a straight face that they have no fat to trim, when we can point to these kinds of events.”
“The soon-to-be carved up TAU was caught up last year in the crosshairs of Mayor Brown’s CCO shake-up, and not a moment too soon. While these events might be nice to have, they’re a slap in the face to ratepayers struggling to live in a city that is increasingly unaffordable.”
“Rates capping legislation is needed now more than ever. Councils have proven to be either unable or unwilling to exercise restraint in spending—and we need legislation that limits how high rates can be increased."
March 28, 2025
Auckland Councillors on Thursday voted to accept a levy increase for the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) to $20.5 million in 2026 and $21.1 million in 2027, despite dwindling visitor numbers.
“Councillor Mike Lee was entirely correct to confront the reality that change is desperately needed. Ratepayers covering a $74 subsidy per visitor shows the business case is non-existant, and it cannot continue.”
“MOTAT cannot exist as a black hole swallowing an astounding 1 percent of the entire budget of Auckland Council. The fact the situation has been allowed to get this bad in the first place is beyond disturbing.”
“More money, fewer visitors. Unless this can be turned around, and fast, Auckland Council must cut the apron strings and let MOTAT fend for itself—and we need to see a law change to make that happen.”
March 26, 2025
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance can reveal through a request made under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act that Auckland Council spent $430,000 to build a ‘Rainbow Machine’, used as an interactive arts installation.
The same request can reveal that since the Rainbow Machine’s 2018 commissioning, Auckland Council has spent $104,405 cleaning, moving and erecting the installation in various locations. Council has spent a further $6,898 on maintenance for the machine, and approximately $3,400 each year on storage.
The total amount spent by Auckland Council on the Rainbow Machine is approximately $561,703.
“Has no one told Auckland Council that rainbows are free?” said Sam Warren, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance.
“In all seriousness, while Auckland Council is currently pleading its case to increase rates by 5.8 percent on top of last year's 6.8 percent increase—it comes out that they’ve spent more than half a million dollars on rainbows. You couldn’t make it up.”
“When I was recently asked by a councillor what a ‘nice-to-have’ is, I can say in full confidence that this is one of them. Yes, art is subjective—especially when superannuants are forced to choose between paying rates and groceries.”
"Unless Auckland Council somehow finds a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, which I’m sure would be wasted—they need demonstrate to ratepayers that every dollar spent is truly valued.”
“Announcements last year by Government included a crackdown on this kind of spending. While councils up and down the country continue to make noise about being hard done by, can we remember that one person’s entire lifetime of paying rates has been spent on a spectrum of colours. Do better, Auckland Council.”
March 24, 2025
The Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance says Auckland Councillors' acceptance of free concert tickets from Eden Park 'stinks' and is the sort of behaviour you'd expect in third world countries, not a council about to vote on Eden Park's future.
Ratepayers' Alliance Spokesman Sam Warren said:
"These gifts were clearly a breach of the Council's own Code of Conduct. The Code instructs councillors to avoid accepting gifts that give rise even to a perception of impropriety or creation of a conflict of interest."
"The councillors were given tickets because they are councillors, at the very same time they're considering the future of the stadium. It's beyond belief that anyone is defending this."
"Councillors aren't concert reviewers. These gifts were clearly 'kick-backs' by Eden Trust's management to buy goodwill with councillors. It should be illegal."
"The idea that councillors were given tickets to the events, but somehow avoided speaking to the stadium's lobbyists targeting them—who coincidentally were in the very same corporate boxes—is similarly fanciful. The fact that the risk was identified means that staff knew full well that risks of impropriety were real."
"Not since Len Brown's appointment of his mistress into a paid Council 'ethnic advisor' role have we seen such sleaze around Auckland's Council chamber. The councillors who took the gifts should be paying every cent back, or at least preserving the integrity of process by recusing themselves from Thursday's vote."
March 19, 2025
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance can reveal through a Local Government Official Information Act request that Auckland Council has spent $175,000 funding the International Buskers’ Festival over the last three years.
Joint sources of funding came from the Auckland Council Regional Events Grant, Waitematā Local Board Events Partnership Fund, and council’s soon-to-be abolished urban regeneration body, Eke Panuku.
"This really hits the wrong chord for Auckland ratepayers” said the Alliance Spokesman, Sam Warren.
“Council will again try justify this wasteful spending while insisting year on year that rate hikes are necessary, well above the rate of inflation. How are we supposed to believe them when this is how they spend ratepayers’ money?”
“Last year, the Prime Minister and then-Minister for Local Government, Simeon Brown, told councils to get rid of the nice-to-haves and stick to the basics. This ain't it.”
“Ratepayers are sick of seeing their hard-earned money being spent on things completely out of scope. Performance fees, manager fees, accommodation fees, ‘miscellaneous’ fees—it’s time to get real.”
“Aucklanders are tightening their belts in an increasingly difficult city to live in. It’s time Auckland Council did the same.”
March 11, 2025
The New Zealand Herald has today revealed an 18-month tender process for Auckland Transport’s $350 million outdoor advertising deal has essentially been restarted following a series of blunders and setbacks.
“What insiders have described as a ‘circus’ is an unfortunate insult to clowns” said Sam Warren, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance.
“At least clowns can be funny.”
“Incompetence from Auckland’s most loathed organisation has resulted in countless man-hours, 35 official meetings, and more than a million dollars in contractor costs, wasted. Now it’s back to square one – all covered by the ratepayer.”
“There’s no version where this would fly in the private sector. Either the standards are simply lower at Auckland Transport, or they genuinely do not care about the ratepayers funding them.”
“Claims that the ‘investment in this process has not been wasted’ would be rejected by locals sick of a transport provider distracted by everything but delivering on its core services.”
"What business does AT have in brokering the largest ever media procurement in New Zealand’s history? Time is running out for them. In the meantime, lose the distractions, stick to the basics, and cut the waste. The rest will follow."
February 13, 2025
Auckland Council and its controlled organisations were a strong force at tonight’s fabulous Taxpayers’ Union ‘Jonesie’ Awards – taking out three nominations in the Local Government Waste category.
"Auckland Council certainly knows how to put on a show when it comes to wasting money” said Spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, Sam Warren.
“Of the five slots available – Auckland received no less than three nominations, punching well above its weight in local government waste and frivolity.”
“From Auckland Council’s $263k stairs at Milford beach, to Auckland Unlimited’s $737k promo of a bloke from Finland ‘seeking happiness’ in an embarrassing attempt to improve perceptions of the Super City – it really was a celebration of the best of the worst when it comes to setting ratepayer money on fire.”
“This might be a good time for Auckland bureaucrats to take notes on 'what not to do' – so as to stay out of next year’s Jonsies altogether.”
February 04, 2025
Concerns have been raised by the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance towards unknown expenditure by Auckland Council on the 2024 Matariki Festivals.
A request under the Local Government Official Information and Meeting Act last year revealed Auckland Council spent $717,941.95 on Matariki festivities – with more than $126,400 spent on just one of the 88 events, alone. The final bill however remains unknown as costs are not expected to be finalised until 30 June 2025.
“It’s concerning to see such huge amounts still unaccounted for” said Sam Warren, a spokesman for the Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance.
“Every dollar spent by Council needs to be readily defendable. Proper scrutiny is next to impossible if it takes the Council more than 12 months to know what even they’ve spent.”
“Aucklanders deserve better transparency on how their money is being spent – and it’s troubling to see such huge sums of money are put towards festivals without a clear view on how big the pot might actually be.”
“In August last year the Prime Minister and then-Local Government Minister Simeon Brown made clear their expectations to councils to do away with ‘nice-to-haves’ and rein in spending. How on earth can councils do this when it takes over a year to find out how much they’ve actually spent?”
“Better reporting practices are desperately needed for Auckland to stay on top of ratepayer-funded expenditure.”
