Letters – The Ratepayers Union

Letter: Defending one’s self from attack

Posted on October 10, 2025October 9, 2025 by Dexter

Mayor Victor Luca campaigned at the 2022 election that he would lobby central Government for better funding of council infrastructure and then explains he left it up to Local Government New Zealand to do the lobbying.

Brendan Horan, who campaigned and won a list seat for New Zealand First on their policies proclaims “anyone promising rates reform as an election tactic was selling a fantasy”.

I find myself in the bizarre position of being slammed by people for promoting the very policies they support.

Letter: Frustrating campaign of misinformation

Posted on October 1, 2025October 1, 2025 by Dexter

This campaign of lies and misinformation has found it’s way into the election campaign meetings now and the problem is that candidates have a limited time to address audiences with their policies and vision for a better Whakatāne, without having to correct politically motivated BS.

Letter: Who’s to blame for dormant town centre?

Posted on August 30, 2025August 30, 2025 by Dexter

Since the election of the National-led coalition government, 33,000 more people were unemployed, we’re in the deepest recession in 30 years (aside from Covid), record numbers of people are needing government support to get by, free prescriptions have been cut, half-priced public transport has been cut, food bank funding has been cut and all this despite borrowing $15 billion dollars to fund tax cuts that we were told would fix the cost of living crisis. While the Government shovelled billions to big tobacco and mining companies, 2700 businesses went bankrupt in the last year, and to top it off I read that Nicola Willis burned $671 million from the Bank of Taxpayers on no new ferries.

Letter: favoring The ‘Right’

Posted on August 26, 2025 by Dexter

I have to assume when he says “rights”, he’s talking about the parties on the right, because the voter suppression efforts he is in support of have had a tendency to favour the “right”.

Letter: Whakatāne Action Group’s ‘Core Group’ Conspiracy Theory Exposed?

Posted on July 19, 2025July 19, 2025 by Dexter

If the truth is that the reason our council debt has ballooned is caused by their unidentified and unnamed core group of councillors, can WAG now explain how this villainous core group has managed to also balloon the debt on 14 councils above us on the Taxpayer’s Union list, and I guess those below us as well.

Letters: We really do need some good news

Posted on April 9, 2025June 19, 2025 by Dexter

Apr 9, 2025 The rest of the world is getting grumpier and grumpier and old men with bushy eyebrows and trillionaires for aides are talking about taking over countries to boost security. Just steal them, plonk an army onsite and take over. Like Vietnam, or Afghanistan. What could possibly go wrong.

Letter: How times have changed

Posted on March 21, 2025June 19, 2025 by Dexter

Mar 21, 2025 If you hear a bigot attacking diversity, equity and inclusion, ask them what it is they are against. Is it diversity, is it equality, or is it inclusion? And then ask them to tell you what they have against any of these things. I promise you it’s a conversation that will bring a smile to your face.

Letter: Let’s work together

Posted on January 21, 2025June 19, 2025 by Dexter

Jan 31 2025 It’s time to stand up to Wellington as one voice and that time is now.

Letter: We are still a democracy

Posted on December 23, 2024June 19, 2025 by Dexter

Dec 20, 2024 WAG are using rhetoric that suits their argument but is at odds with the truth. This is becoming a concerning habit, especially around a democratic process.

Letter: Some oldies support investment in the future

Posted on October 16, 2024June 23, 2025 by Dexter

Oct 16, 2024 WHEN anyone disagrees with WAG, there’s a pile on in the Beacon letters until they give up and shut up. I’m thankful that Dave Stewart has not been bullied into silence as well. There’s more than a few of us who are also sick of WAG’s constant grumbling, negativity and disinformation, and who are pleased to see his comments published in the Beacon.

Letter: Not a budget for all New Zealanders

Posted on July 12, 2024June 19, 2025 by Dexter

Jul 12, 2024 As part of the protest group Postpone The Tax Cuts, we met with Ms Kirkpatrick on May 3 this year and conveyed to her our concerns about the amount of borrowing that the National-led Coalition government would need to undertake to finance this budget. We were told to wait until the budget came out and then see if our concerns were valid.

Well, it turns out Finance Minister Nicola Willis will need to borrow $28.7 billion over the next four years. That’s up by $22 billion from the $6.5 billion forecast just before Christmas that sent financial experts across the political spectrum calling on the Government to postpone the tax cuts.

The tax cuts themselves will cost Ms Willis $14.7 billion.

Category: Letters