Rebel councillors to fight secrecy at rates legality meeting

By ANNE BESTON AND CLAIRE TREVETT

Rebel Auckland regional councillors plan to fight a move to have top legal advice on their council's rates heard in secret.

This Wednesday's extraordinary ARC meeting, reluctantly agreed to by chairwoman Gwen Bull after six councillors sought it, will consider legal advice on the new rates system from high-profile Auckland law firms Simpson Grierson and Bell Gully.

The advice is on "changes to the rating system", according to an agenda distributed to councillors.

The legal opinions are set down in the "confidential, public-excluded" section of the agenda.

But councillors Paul Walbran and Craig Little, possibly joined by up to three or four others, will vote against moves for a behind-closed-doors discussion.

"There is such a huge public demand for this meeting to be open, for the media to be able to attend and for anyone who wants to be able to attend that I think the chair would be taking her life into her hands if she attempted to restrict that process," Mr Little said.

Mr Walbran said he would vote to have the legal advice discussed openly. "I think the council should put the legal opinions on the table."

The fight against the ARC's rates system, which has hit Aucklanders with rises of between 200 and 600 per cent, includes demands from ratepayer groups that the rate be reset.

The ARC believes the rate cannot legally be reset, but under pressure has sought a second opinion.

The Herald understands that the advice this time round is similar to earlier advice - resetting the rate must meet three criteria under the Local Government Act which lawyers say have not been met.

They are: irregular setting of the rate; mistakes in calculating the rate; a relevant change in circumstances.

This week's meeting looks set to be a lively affair because rates opponents plan to fill seats in the public gallery at Auckland Regional Council's Pitt St council chamber.

A protest leader, Glenfield Ratepayers and Residents Association chairman David Thornton, said the protests would not stop until the council backed down.

Signatures on an anti-rates petition circulating in Rodney District and North Shore City are still being counted, but the Herald understands there are thousands.

Protest calendar

Today: Onehunga Community Centre, 7.30pm.

Tomorrow: Freemans Bay Community Centre, 7.30pm.

Wednesday: Otahuhu Town Hall, 7.30pm.

Saturday: Tamaki Ex-Services Association Hall, St Heliers, 12.30pm.

Sunday: Ostend War Memorial Hall, Waiheke Island, 2pm.

August 18: Fickling Convention Centre, Three Kings, 8pm.

August 22: Pioneer Women's Hall, Freyberg Pl, central city, 12.30pm.

August 23: A protest march has been organised from the bottom of Queen St at noon. Some transport will be available

Further information email Marney Ainsworth:marney@xtra.co.nz or phone (09) 376-6213.

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