Rates capping is bad policy.

The Government has announced they are pursuing legislation to cap local government rates to inflation rising: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/getting-rates-under-control-ratepayers

Rates capping is a bad idea - it's an overly simplistic answer to complex problem.

If the Government was serious about reducing the burden of rates, they'd give councils more options to generate revenue - like returning GST on rates (approximately $317M for Auckland alone) or paying rates on Government properties.

If they were serious about making local government focused "on the basics", they'd stop unfunded mandates that have contributed to massive increases across the country. The amount of council money spent on RMA reform which has come and gone and come again must be massive. And for anyone who says councils should "focus on the basics" (whatever that means) how will our museums, art galleries, coastguard and community groups to survive without funding.

If they were serious about the cost of living crisis and ensuring whānau can afford to pay their bills, they'd focus on the real costs (something like 95% of tax paid goes to Central Government).

Capping rates based on inflation isn't an answer. It's proven problematic in Australia, leading to infrastructure deficits - like this isn't already a problem here.

No one wants endless rates rises and Auckland has worked hard to reduce our reliance on rates. Less than 40% of our revenue is from rates, the rest is commercial income or user pays.

Councils are more than just rubbish and water, we respond to local needs based on annual consultation.