Waitakere joins revolt and appeals for regional meeting

By NATASHA HARRIS

Waitakere City Council has joined the rates revolt, calling for a major meeting of all local bodies to discuss rates.

The unanimous decision at last night's meeting comes as a revolt gathers pace against rates increases as high as 400 per cent by the Auckland Regional Council.

Last night, Waitakere City Councillors joined North Shore counterparts, who last week called for a rethink on the rates. They called for a meeting of all local bodies in the Auckland region to thrash out what sort of rates demands would be appropriate.

Derek Battersby said: "We should strongly support the North Shore council, we should strongly support our ratepayers who are under stress and we should strongly say we aren't happy with what they have done.

"I'm concerned that we can't direct the ARC to change their decision but we can put pressure on the council to review the rate increase."

However, there was no support to organise a public protest meeting in West Auckland.

Janet Clews said a public meeting "attracts few people other than those who are professional agitators."

She said ratepayers should complain directly to the ARC.

Councillors also felt that the revolt had reached such a level that the central Government should step in.

In contrast to last week's angry meeting on the North Shore, attended by 300 ratepayers, there was no one from the public in the gallery last night.

However, North Shore Mayor George Wood, who has been a vocal opponent of the ARC rate increases, did attend.

Afterwards, he said: "It has all happened so quickly for the ARC and it has been a huge learning curve for them. Their chickens have all come home to roost."

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