'Move cities' comments draw jeers

By ANNE BESTON

Minister for Auckland Issues Judith Tizard came under fire in Parliament yesterday when she implied that Aucklanders who did not like the new rates bills should move.

Ms Tizard has kept a low profile on the controversial Auckland Regional Council rates rises, but under questioning from Opposition MPs she said property owners "had to make a choice about where he or she lives".

The comment came after Act MP Deborah Coddington quoted the case of an 88-year-old North Shore widow with a total rates bill of $8500, of which $2000 was "for expanded rail services that she will never use" - a reference to the ARC's transport levy.

Ms Tizard said all property owners had to make choices about where they lived and "the infrastructure of Auckland and New Zealand cannot be funded on the basis of people on fixed incomes who are often in more expensive properties".

While she "did not necessarily agree" with the way the ARC had brought in its rates, she said the rest of the country paid more in petrol taxes to solve Auckland's transport problems.

"It is a pretty poor show when Auckland is not prepared to meet some of the costs as well".

Loud heckling accompanied Ms Tizard's replies, with Speaker Jonathan Hunt warning at one stage that the interjections were "absolutely excessive".

National's Gerry Brownlee tackled Ms Tizard: "Is the minister telling Aucklanders that all the Government has done for them to solve their transport problems is to inflict higher rates for a rail system that most of them will never use and to tell them that if they do not like it, they should move out?"

Ms Tizard replied that she had more complaints about Auckland's transport woes than about the rates increases.

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