1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,680 Speaker 1: Wellington. It's always trouble in Wellington, isn't it? And this 2 00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:04,800 Speaker 1: time there are fears that businesses are being driven out 3 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:07,640 Speaker 1: of Wellington over high rates. The average commercial rates bill 4 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,559 Speaker 1: in the capitol has reached forty eight thousand dollars a 5 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: year now. That's almost double what it is in Auckland 6 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: and Auckland it's about twenty seven it's actually twenty seven 7 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: thousand dollars more than Auckland. Rather. Ian Castle's is the 8 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:20,639 Speaker 1: director of the Wellington Company, which is one of the 9 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: city's largest commercial property developers. Who's with us now? 10 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 2: Hey en believing in keV? How are you? 11 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: I'm very well, thank you? So how do you feel 12 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: about this? This can't be making it easy to do 13 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:33,279 Speaker 1: business in Wellington at all now. 14 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 2: It's an ongoing story. Really, It's like I was speaking 15 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 2: to someone before. If you keep on getting money out 16 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:40,240 Speaker 2: of the cash machine and that's broken, then you just 17 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,839 Speaker 2: keep you keep on going back. So that's why it's 18 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:45,080 Speaker 2: been the one in commercial owners for years now. 19 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: So the problem seems so is the problem as simple 20 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 1: as this that the commercial guys are bearing are basically 21 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: carrying a disproportionate amount of the rating burden. And then 22 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: the residential guys are paying less than they should. 23 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 2: I don't know if that's right. I think there's definitely 24 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 2: a lot of over spending going on. The best way 25 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 2: to look at it really is that we're an exactly 26 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 2: similar building. Commercial pays maybe five times more than residential 27 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 2: because there's a lot of other fees and levies attached 28 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,479 Speaker 2: to the commercial rate apart from the three point seven 29 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:27,639 Speaker 2: times differential, which is downtown levy, sewage and targeted water rates, 30 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 2: and then a transport levy at the regional council levees 31 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 2: which is eye watering. So you've got to pay to 32 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 2: bring people into town when they're working from home. Yeah, 33 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,559 Speaker 2: and you've got to give them parties when they don't exist. 34 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:43,760 Speaker 2: So all of that falls upon some pull basket with 35 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 2: an empty building. 36 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: So are you saying it's not just the differential. It's 37 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: the differential, but then it's also all the levees that 38 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: are added on top of that. 39 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 2: Yes, it's like a big it's a big taking machine. 40 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 2: Like it's just And then when they talk about Warrington 41 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 2: being forty eight percent of the Warington business paper out 42 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 2: percent of the city's So the city is all the 43 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 2: suburbs and all the pipes and a whole lot of things. 44 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 2: Like the city itself doesn't cost anything like the rates 45 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,679 Speaker 2: that are levied upon the city's buildings. It's seen as 46 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 2: the great provider, and you know in the past that 47 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 2: may will have been, but it just can't keep on 48 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 2: doing that and it can't pay. I mean, some b 49 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 2: and seafast buildings they're paying half of their income and 50 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 2: insurance and rates, and the ones that's having been the 51 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 2: income as all their numbers just paying a whopping great 52 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 2: pot of money for the privilege of having an empty 53 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 2: building in Warnington. 54 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: What's the fix is? I mean the obvious what some 55 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: people will say to you is the fix is that 56 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: residential has to carry a bigger burden and commercial less. 57 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: Is that the fix or is it actually just to 58 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: trim the council spending right back? 59 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:48,520 Speaker 2: You know, you've got to spend according to what you can. 60 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 2: I mean, you've got to do the best you can 61 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 2: with what you've got, and really you can't keep on 62 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 2: spending at the rate that we are. And you've got 63 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 2: to get this. 64 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,200 Speaker 1: Is obvious to voters because you people keep on electing 65 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: real weirdos and apparently Ian I've heard that the next 66 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: lot coming in, according to the numbers, are even worse 67 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:07,239 Speaker 1: than the current lot. 68 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 2: That's a strange thing to hear. Well, I don't know. 69 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 2: I mean, we can't comment on that right now until after. 70 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: The elections, but I mean, how is this is what 71 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: I'm hearing? And it's not as if you've had one 72 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: or two council elections where you've had weirdos elected like 73 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: this is an ongoing problem with Wellington. Why don't rate 74 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: payers realize that there's too much spending going on? 75 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:30,920 Speaker 2: Well, I think some of them do. I mean, I 76 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 2: guess the problem is there's a lot of transient voters 77 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 2: that come to town, isn't there. I mean they come 78 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 2: and vote, student, lived here for six months or a 79 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 2: year or something, and they're all voting yeah, and it 80 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 2: doesn't directly affect them. I mean, it affects the people 81 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 2: that are left holding the baby. 82 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. 83 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 2: But listen, the big story here is the council actually 84 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 2: agreed that the after two lost two court cases and 85 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 2: then one one at one one because the court didn't 86 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 2: want to over the interfere with a democratically arrived that 87 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 2: decision if unless it was totally unreasonable so they've got 88 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 2: very close to doing that because it was unreasonable, but 89 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 2: they didn't think it was totally unreasable, and they agreed 90 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 2: with the finding of the first two cases. But the 91 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 2: fact of that as the council got out of that 92 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 2: by agreeing with the rate payers to limit it to 93 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 2: two point eight times. Now this council and councils before 94 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 2: it had just gleefully gone against that deal. So what's 95 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 2: what's her commercial entity? What's your endity? What's your council? 96 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:37,599 Speaker 2: If it cannot keep its word? 97 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:40,359 Speaker 1: Well quite, David Ian good luck with it, because it 98 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: sounds to me like you're going to need it. That's 99 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: Ian Ian Castle's director of the Wellington Company. 100 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 2: For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to 101 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 2: news talks. 102 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast 103 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: on iHeartRadio.