Is capping rates the best way to get councils back to basics?

The Government is looking at ways to limit council spending. (Image: Getty)

Fri, 23 Aug 2024

Any attempt to legislate a cap on rates could lead to “perverse” outcomes, say local government representatives.Even the business lobby group New Zealand Initiative wasn’t keen on the idea, saying NZ needed more local democracy rather than less.A cap on rate increases is one idea the Government is considering to rein in council spending on what it calls “nice-to-have pet projects”.Speaking at the Local Government NZ (LGNZ) conference on Thursday, Minister for Local Government Simeon Brown said it was “unaccep...

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