Congo calls top city waste-list

A $1500 grant to the Congolese community to make international telephone calls home to candidates standing in elections and a $20,000 party to mark the 20th anniversary of homosexual law reform are a waste of Auckland City ratepayers' money, says the Citizens & Ratepayers Now political group.

The grants are among examples of wasteful spending listed on a new "rateswatch" website started by the centre-right opposition to embarrass the City Vision-Labour-controlled council and its hefty rates rises.

The launch coincided with the arrival of this year's rates bills in letterboxes. Household rates have risen by 13.4 per cent and water bills by 9.6 per cent this year. Business rates were up 3.4 per cent, but have fallen 4.6 per cent in the central business district.

Household rates went up by 9.7 per cent last year and are likely to increase by 10 per cent next year, leaving householders facing a 37 per cent average rates increase over the first term of Mayor Dick Hubbard's council.

The website has been started by C&R Now Hobson organiser Aaron Bhatnagar who said the huge rates increases were shaping up to be the major issue at next year's local body elections.

Mr Bhatnagar said he was appalled at some of the wasteful decisions by City Vision and Action Hobson, the political group that won two of the three Hobson seats at the 2004 elections and is part of the majority group running the council.

Other examples of wasteful spending on the website included:

* $1000 to the Afghan Youth Society, despite a recommendation from officers the application was underdeveloped and should be declined.

* $5 million for penalty payments and cost blowouts from the Queen St tree fiasco.

* $600,000 invested in a sustainable housing company with no hope of a financial return.

* $4000 to the Combined Beneficiaries Union to update people on changes to benefits.

* $2500 to the Foundation of Spiritualist Mediums to seek course accreditation.

The website said it was a scandal that council spending was out of control, forcing homeowners to pay for projects of dubious value.

Auckland needed a council that delivered well-run essential services, instead of one going astray with social housing, welfare and unnecessary grants.

City Vision leader and deputy mayor Dr Bruce Hucker said he made no apologies to Mr Bhatnagar for the level of rate rises.

After inflation, the overall rise was 1.9 per cent this year and forecast to be 2.1 per cent next year, he said.

"This council is actually doing something. We are getting our hands dirty doing it."

He criticised previous conservative councils for holding rates at or below the rate of inflation for years, leading to under-investment in the city's infrastructure.

Auckland was now in the situation it was at in the 1960s when the harbour bridge, international airport, motorway system and Cosseys Creek dam in the Hunuas were built.

He said the council was looking at a world-class waterfront development, supporting the 2011 Rugby World Cup, moves to public transport and assisting the Tamaki Edge area, forecast to have 30,000 more people, the size of Gisborne, by 2016.

Dr Hucker did not know of the grant to the Congolese community, and said there were always some trivial things in a complex organisation that should not be done.

But he strongly defended the homosexual law reform spend-up, saying, "The gay and lesbian community is an important part of our city and this is the first time we have held a civic function that acknowledged that.

"We think it's important all Aucklanders have a place in the sun."


Big spending

* Queen St upgrade blowout: $5m
* Sustainable housing venture: $600,000
* Canned plans for Khartoum Place: $200,000
* Global jaunt: $85,000
* Homosexual Law Reform party: $20,000
* Communicating with the dead through seances: $2500
* Congo phone calls: $1500
* Afghan Youth Society: $1000