ARC in retreat as outcry hits home

By BERNARD ORSMAN and HELEN TUNNAH

The Auckland Regional Council has retreated in the face of the rates revolt by promising a complete review of the rating system and help for people struggling to pay bills.

But the council says legal, technical and financial implications mean the review will not take place until next year, leaving the region's 460,000 ratepayers stuck with this year's rates.

Immediate relief is planned for ratepayers experiencing genuine hardship with bills.

The backdown came at an informal meeting by 10 of the 13 councillors yesterday, which followed 17 days of uprising by thousands of Aucklanders, ratepayer groups and politicians shocked and angry at rates rises as high as 657 per cent.

The Herald received 740 emails and letters on the rates, one of the largest responses on any issue.

Act MP Rodney Hide has moved to exploit the issue with a law which would impose limits on rate rises. His private member's draft legislation won a random ballot yesterday.

Mr Hide is proposing that local bodies be limited to increasing rates by the rate of inflation, plus 2 per cent, a year. Inflation is running at 1.5 per cent, so this would cap rate increases at 3.5 per cent.

Mr Hide said his bill might not be the perfect answer to limiting local body excesses, but he would seek support from all parties for it to go to a select committee for public submissions.

The ARC retreat did little to satisfy its critics, however.

Regional ratepayers rebellion group spokesman David Thornton said the ARC was talking "complete twaddle" because it was duty bound to review the rates next year.

"People are demanding action now," he said. "If the ARC does not give way now they will be battling their constituents right up to the next election."

Auckland rates protest march convener Elaine West said the ARC should quit and hold new elections.

The ARC increased overall rates by 34 per cent to improve transport, but came under fire for the method of calculating rates. The decision to use capital value and not have a business differential resulted in household rates rising by 100 per cent or more and businesses paying less.

ARC chairwoman Gwen Bull yesterday acknowledged the concerns of individual ratepayers and groups.

Previously she had defended the rating system as the best and fairest available.

"As a council we want to be solution-based and are committed to a complete review of our rating methods for the next rating period," Mrs Bull said .

She still believed the ARC had the "fairest system" of rates.

"People are obviously upset out there and we want to work with the community. If they think it is unfair, they need to come and tell us why they think it is unfair. Let's sit down around the table and talk about what can be a fairer system."

Mrs Bull said people experiencing genuine hardship paying their bills were a cause of "considerable concern. We have asked staff to investigate all possible methods that are available to us to ease this situation for these people."

Options being considered include allowing people to pay by credit card, cheque or internet banking on a monthly basis and a review of the penalty provisions.

Mrs Bull said the first date for penalty payment next Wednesday was still valid at "this moment".

She said the council had investigated the calls to change the rates this year and found legal, technical and financial difficulties. The cost to ratepayers would be between $7 million and $10 million.

Meanwhile, at least 14 Auckland MPs are expected to attend a meeting on the rates issue today called by North Shore Mayor George Wood.

The Labour MP for Northcote and a former Mayor of North Shore, Ann Hartley, said Mr Wood was right to advocate on behalf of ratepayers outraged by their ARC rates.

Mrs Hartley said the ARC blundered when it went with a capital value rating system.

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