Thursday, 6 June 2013 Dear Mangawhai Ratepayers and Residents Many people have received a letter from one Cresswell of the KDC who calls himself FINANCE MANAGER. The letter threatens (more) penalties if rates remain unpaid. Let’s get a couple of things very clear here. The rates demand for 2012-13 is illegal. The resolution that is required to be passed so that the rates can be set was adopted (passed) by the council (that the government sacked) two months LATER than permitted by law. That is just the first thing that was wrong with that resolution. There were many others. The gang in charge now have admitted that the resolution was invalid because they are trying to get Parliament to declare it to be valid, retrospectively. If it was valid, as they kept claiming for months, then it would not have to be put into their infamous Retrospective Validation Bill, which, for those who missed it, has been introduced into the House while our court case is still pending AND before there is any sign on the horizon of the auditor general’s report on what went wrong!!! Before you cave in to the threats, do yourself a favour and write to Cresswell as follows: Dear Cresswell, Valuation Assessment Number 01221234567 (or whatever) If you send me a letter signed by the Chief Executive (Ruru) and the Chair of Commissioners (Robertson), saying that all of the rates resolutions and rates demands arising from them over the past three years were fully compliant with every requirement in the Local Government Act and the Local Government Rating Act, I (We) will pay the amount(s) outstanding. If you will not do that, I will conclude that the rates demands are, as suspected, completely illegal and unenforceable, as the High Court is likely to confirm. Please respond to this request within five working days of the date of this letter. Yours faithfully, Roger the Ratepayer. You also need to get things in perspective. The correct way to look at all this is in relative terms- i.e. what would your position be if you had not taken action to stop the insanity. In March of 2012, 3000 people turned out to tell the council what they thought of their proposed rates increases. The result was that the council went into retreat and changed the increases from what they were proposing, to levels that were in most cases less than half. With all of the penalties that they are illegally trying to terrify you into paying the amount they are demanding from you is STILL much less than what you would be paying if we had all just lain down in the road and let them drive over us. Clive Boonham keeps saying that concerted cohesive action is the ONLY way to defend ourselves against the outrages being done to us. What more proof do you need? It worked, and it will work again, and it is the ONLY thing that will work. Here are my own figures, and most other people’s are more favourable (because our proposed increase (47%) was less than many others, because our rates were already obscenely high, and they knew it). Our rates in 2011-12 were $4206. They proposed to increase them to $6183. As a result of our mass revolt they “reduced” ours to $4876. $4876 with 20% penalties added comes to $5851, which is over $300 LESS than what we would have paid if we had let them crush us. Sit down with your own numbers and do the sums for yourself. You are miles ahead, even if you have to eventually pay the penalties. Remember, you have probably also been earning interest on the money you haven’t paid them, which tips the balance even more in your favour. Make absolutely no mistake, if we, the MRRA and you the people of this community had not stood up to them they would have passed that proposed increase with their eyes shut. The financial disaster would have proceeded unchecked, and having once established that the ratepayers will shoulder 50,70, 120 percent increases (and some were much more!) without batting an eyelid, they would have done it to you again. As it is, they are foisting what they claim to be a 9% increase in the year coming (they are LYING), but even the Government’s hand-picked Bully Boys are not prepared to tempt fate with the increase that is actually needed to refloat this rotting financial hulk. Please remember Our next meeting will take place on 7 July 2013 at the Rec Centre Insley St, 1:30pm. The non-payment of illegal Rates is still the single most important thing individual ratepayers can do to stop further damage being inflicted on our community by the government’s commissioners. Payments to the MRRA If you are making a direct payment, our bank account number is 38-9012-0318164-00 Please include your membership Number plus FF if you want the money tagged for the legal action. Cheques, if you prefer, to P.O.Box 225 Mangawhai 0540, Payable to MRRA, and please write your membership number plus FF (as above) on the back. When I found out that the infamous Local Bill had been introduced I wrote down my reaction, with a view to writing again to all the MPs. Wisely (for me), I didn’t send it to anyone except my fellow committee members for comment. Half of those who commented said “Exactly Right, spot on, send it out”, half said “Too inflammatory, it will just upset people and they’ll stop listening to us” (I missed the fact they had actually started!) and one person, whose advice I am taking, said that it is something that our members should perhaps see so they can form their own views of the matter. The prevailing view now (about which I am not completely convinced yet) is that further letter writing to MPs is not worth the paper and ink. We are doing some direct lobbying through our legal counsel, and he has sent a letter that represents the MRRA position to selected members of the House. The text of that letter follows and my own attempt follows that: Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and Other Matters) Bill: Position of Mangawhai Ratepayers and Residents Association 5 June 2013 1. The Bill seeks to address illegalities in the setting of rates by the KDC. The context is the KDC’s illegal entry into loans of over $80 million in 2005 to 2007 to fund construction of the Mangawhai Waste Water facility which is worth substantially less than that. 2. The Auditor-General has been inquiring into the Council’s management of the Scheme since March 2012. 3. The Government replaced the elected KDC Councillors with appointed Commissioners on 6 September 2012. 4. The rates burden deriving from the illegal loans is unsustainable by ratepayers. MRRA has led action by ratepayers to withhold payment of rates until the KDC’s financial management and situation is properly resolved. The KDC admitted that rates were illegally set but insisted that rates should be paid until a court declared them invalid. 5. The MRRA has tried to work with the KDC to get resolution but communication has broken down. It became clear that the Commissioners were determined to press ahead with retrospective validating legislation. 6. In March 2013 the MRRA felt it had no choice but to file judicial review proceedings seeking declarations by the High Court that the loans were illegally entered into, the rates were invalid, and that rates could not be set on the basis of the illegal loans. The case is awaiting timetabling by the Court. 7. The illegalities in entering the loans that MRRA is concerned about are not mere technicalities or formalities. It goes to the heart of local government’s obligation to consult ratepayers before entering into large financial commitments and whether rates can be set to cover illegal loans. 8. The MRRA is not opposed to validating legislation per se – if it is part of a wider package that addresses the problems. MRRA is still trying to reach agreement with the Commissioners on a way forward. The wider solution should involve Government providing leadership to broker a deal with the KDC, the MRRA and the lender banks to fill the financial gap faced by the KDC. 9. The bill retrospectively validates illegally set rates and penalties for their non-payment. It would be a breach of constitutional principle for Parliament to override the rights of citizens to seek vindication of their rights. 10. The MRRA wishes to have its day in court and urges the House of Representatives not to pass the validating bill. And the more theatrical version: 1. I note that a Local Bill (The Kaipara Validation of Rates and other Matters Bill) in the name of Sabin, Member for Northland has been introduced into the House. 2. This has occurred against the express wishes of the community it affects, ahead of any attempt whatsoever to investigate the train of events that gave rise to the illegalities the Bill seeks to expunge, and prior to release of an auditor general inquiry into the affairs of the council that committed these illegalities. 3. The sole purpose of the Bill is to legitimise the setting of rates to force the community to repay loans that were illegally raised. That is, to protect the interests of foreign money lenders over the rights and interests of innocent, non-complicit, New Zealand citizens. This entire process is an affront to democracy and a constitutional outrage. It is a bridge too far, and the community will not be treated in this way. 4. All of the matters covered by the Bill are before the High Court of New Zealand through an application by the community for judicial review. This Bill should never have come to the House until the results of that review were handed down. That it has, suggests very strongly what the promoters of the Bill think the court is going to do. 5. In attempting to defend his actions Mr Sabin has implied that the council committed the illegal acts because the legislation they were operating under was too complicated for them. Even if that were true it is utterly ludicrous to advance that as an excuse for non-compliance. Councils have access, at the ratepayer’s expense to any amount of legal advice they choose to take. If they don’t take it or if they fail to seek it, it is on their shoulders. Other councils, in the main, are able to operate within the constraints of the legislation applicable to them. Passage of this Bill is an open invitation to every council in the country to throw the rule book out and act in future in any way that takes their fancy. 6. And then there was a final paragraph that compared us with Turkey and Syria, which everyone (except me) thought really was a bridge too far… Kind regards, Bruce Rogan MRRA Chair.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:15:26 +0000
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