Ratepayers funding seances

Thousands of Auckland ratepayers' dollars were spent on a seance group and tarot card readings, which critics say is another example of extravagant council spending, while ratepayers brace for yet another rates hike.

A spiritual medium group was allocated a $2500 council grant to seek NZQA accreditation for their seance courses, and another $2000 was given to help fund two tarot card reading events. Although these are small items, critics say such wasteful spending is typical of the left-wing Auckland City Council, which has failed to "stick to its knitting".

By the end of next year, the council, led by Dick Hubbard, will have increased rates by 44 per cent since being elected in October 2004, with more plans to increase rates by 135 per cent over the next decade. Council critics question the spending and say local government should concentrate on roads, water and sewage, while others believe a complete overhaul of local government funding is needed.

Household rates are based on rising property valuations, meaning that pensioners whose family homes have skyrocketed in value struggle to pay the extra dollars each year on a fixed income. Citizens and Ratepayers, the minority opposition party on the Auckland City Council, have set up a "rates watch" website listing examples of wasteful spending including:An estimated $5 million of penalty payments, when the council failed to consult properly over the Queen St upgrades in December. Auckland City residents were outraged at discovering at the last minute that the council intended to chop down several dozen mature trees along Queen St, forcing a U-turn on the decision. The penalty payments and extra costs from the contractors have been estimated at $5 million.In February, the council approved a $600,000 "investment" in what is termed a sustainable housing company. No dividend will be paid to Auckland City.Another $200,000 was spent on consultants and a design competition for the Khartoum Place redesign, but the plans were canned after supporters of public art railed against proposals to destroy a mural celebrating 100 years of the suffrage movement.

Aaron Bhatnagar, the website organiser, said councils should keep to core services like roads, footpaths, water and rubbish, and leave social development to central government. "To be honest, you could go back and look at councils and find silly things that have fallen through the cracks.

"But this is not a one-off but a pattern of wasteful spending. This can't be batted away as one thing in isolation." He said the burden of improving Auckland should not be placed on one set of ratepayers but spread out over several generations by borrowing the money.

Recent independent research commissioned by Citizens and Ratepayers Now shows a major swing back to the right, with 80 per cent wanting rates to be kept at inflation, but with more uniform charges and based on a user-pays system. "People traditionally associated with the centre-left are saying these rates increases are unacceptable," Bhatnagar said.

Skyrocketing rates are not just an Auckland issue. Three years ago, former North Shore City councillor David Thornton led the "rates revolt", when thousands of households refused to pay Auckland Regional Council bills.

Once again, he has started a "no more rates" campaign with a nationwide focus and different political parties backing different solutions:The Act party has proposed law capping rates to inflation plus 2 per cent in any one year.The Government is taking a partner-ship-with-councils approach.New Zealand First's campaign calls for an inquiry into how and why rates are levied.

Thornton said rates were an outdated way of raising revenue, and he wanted to abolish them, as Ireland did in 1977, and replace them with a tax system. "We don't need to have rates. We need to fund local government with a system where everyone, not just homeowners, contributes on a fair basis." Until then, Thornton supported a rates cap as a short-term measure. With only Labour, the Greens and Jim Anderton opposing Hide's rates cap bill, NZ First's support is needed to get the proposed law to select committee. Winston Peters' core constituency were the ones hurting most, Thornton said.