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Speaker 1: The rates upset has begun to unfold. Auckland this week

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Speaker 1: got its long awaited council valuations. Why people get excited

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Speaker 1: about this, I've got no idea. It's a rough guestimate

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Speaker 1: by a council. It takes into account the broadest of criteria,

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Speaker 1: but people seem to live and die by these numbers.

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Speaker 1: The upset of courses come from the fact that the

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Speaker 1: value of a lot of properties has dropped while the

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Speaker 1: rates bill is going up, and so we get the

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Speaker 1: cost plus accounting scandal that is council economic policy exposed.

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Speaker 1: Now this is happening, of course, all over the country.

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Speaker 1: It is a specific but it's also a very broad

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Speaker 1: based problem. Broad based because this is all inflationary. Of course,

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Speaker 1: costs going up in a climate of no growth is inflationary.

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Speaker 1: Specific because depending on where you are depends on how

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Speaker 1: bad the scandal is. Auckland properties are down nine percent,

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Speaker 1: rates are up over seven. Wellington values are down twenty

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Speaker 1: four percent, rates are up over sixteen, Nelson down nine,

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Speaker 1: up sixes. This whole idea that rates are linked to value,

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Speaker 1: of course, is complete crap and always has been. In short,

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Speaker 1: councils are inept and will spend forever, We'll waste your

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Speaker 1: money forever, We'll plead poverty forever. I'll always find something

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Speaker 1: that's critical and needs doing right now. Christ Church, for example,

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Speaker 1: got shafted last week by Chris Bishop, who rejected the

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Speaker 1: government's Intensification Plan amendments as proposed by christ Church. The

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Speaker 1: council didn't like the original plan, so they've spent three years,

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Speaker 1: millions of dollars to go back and forward and to

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Speaker 1: achieve what nothing. That's counsels for you. As Auckland mayor

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Speaker 1: Wayne brown Seed yesterday, it is what it is, and

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Speaker 1: he's right because he knows a couple of home truths.

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Speaker 1: No one's turning up for local body elections, so very

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Speaker 1: few people will be held to account, and he also

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Speaker 1: knows a lot of people will moan but ultimately do

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Speaker 1: nothing about it. If ever there was a reason to

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Speaker 1: get exercised over the way we're being played, this is it.

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Speaker 1: Your asset has dropped, but the bill has gone up.

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Speaker 1: The bill and theory is based on the asset value.

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Speaker 1: Nowhere else in life is the scam played and gotten

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Speaker 1: away with. Apart from local body politics, we've got too

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Speaker 1: many councils, too many representatives, too much representation in general,

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Speaker 1: too many boards, too much in competence, every year of

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Speaker 1: a bill for it rises. Democracy only works if you

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Speaker 1: take part. What better reason can there be the year

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Speaker 1: then to get your voting paper. Look at the value

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Speaker 1: of your property, look at your rate rise, put a

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Speaker 1: name to the con and vote them out. For more

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Speaker 1: from the My Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks.

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Speaker 1: It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast

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Speaker 1: on iHeartRadio.