540
Daveforcouncil
I stand for transparency and strong community values. I will protect our council services from harsh cuts and make sure local leadership stays accountable to the people - not outside interests. Keep Whakatāne’s future in the hands of those who truly care.
Letter: Whakatāne Action Group's 'Core Group' Conspiracy Theory Exposed?![]()
![]()
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.![]()
![]()
Letter: Whakatāne Action Group’s ‘Core Group’ Conspiracy Theory Exposed?
daveforcouncil.nz
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...
Article: It would have been better for the National-led coalition to lift the hood on Labour’s three waters policy and chuck out what they didn’t like, instead of scrapping it and starting again.![]()
![]()
Article: Govt winds up council reform storm
daveforcouncil.nz
“We all want lower rates increases. I want lower rates increases, I know you want lower rates increases, I hear from my community they want lower rates increases. But it can’t be at the expense of...
📌 EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT TICKETS FOR DAVE AID AVAILABLE NOW - LIMITED TO 10![]()
![]()
🔗 Get yours here: daveforcouncil.nz/dave-aid/
You can't vote if you're not enrolled.![]()
![]()
Even if you don't vote for me and would never vote for me, you should enrol and make sure all voices are heard in our elections.![]()
![]()
vote.nz
Enrol to vote or check and update your enrolment details. Get ready to have your say in New Zealand’s elections and referendums.
Article: Teen cycles from Whakatāne to Parliament for Māori wards![]()
![]()
Article: Teen cycles from Whakatāne to Parliament for Māori wards
daveforcouncil.nz
After biking almost a thousand kilometres encouraging people to ‘say yes to Māori wards’, a 15-year-old Whakatāne High School student pulled into Parliament’s forecourt with a wh...
Article: The argument against council rate caps.![]()
![]()
As Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop put it recently, central government’s record on asset maintenance is “far worse” than councils, which at least go through transparent audited public long-term planning processes.![]()
![]()
Article: The argument against council rate caps
daveforcouncil.nz
OPINION: What do we do about 78 councils, rising rates and the need to improve efficiency and focus on the basics? Some argue the Government should simply pass a law to cap rates and let ‘the mark.....
Article: Capping rates rises would make things 'worse not better'.![]()
![]()
"Having created a situation where councils are being forced to put up the rates to pay for things like water infrastructure, the government's now trying to blame them for doing something that they really don't have a choice but to do.![]()
![]()
"Ultimately if the government don't want councils to increase rates, they've got to find another way of funding the water infrastructure that we need."![]()
![]()
Local Government New Zealand president and Selwyn District mayor Sam Broughton said rates capping could be "disastrous for communities" and leave councils without the means to fund essential infrastructure.![]()
![]()
Article: Capping rates rises would make things ‘worse not better’ – Chris Hipkins
daveforcouncil.nz
“Having created a situation where councils are being forced to put up the rates to pay for things like water infrastructure, the government’s now trying to blame them for doing somethi...
Brand your car and support lower rates by telling Wellington to fully fund its multimillion dollar demands on Whakatāne.![]()
![]()
Car stickers now available.![]()
![]()
Grab one at the Whakatāne Sunday Market tomorrow.
Coalition finds a handy distraction in council bashing.![]()
![]()
Councils are getting around 10% of their budgets from Crown grants when in other countries it’s more like 15-20% or more. Or, as the S&P analyst says, “you’re told to do more infrastructure spending, and you’re getting less support”.![]()
![]()
This is the opposite of localism and resetting the relationship between central and local government that Christopher Luxon and National campaigned on two years ago. Instead, giving the housing minister the power to override democratically elected council decisions, even if it’s an interim measure ahead of new RMA laws, smacks of subverting the democratic process.![]()
![]()
And it’s those changes to the Resource Management Act that the coalition Government is itching to get completed because it presents a compelling reason to get rid of the country’s 11 regional councils.![]()
![]()
Article: Coalition finds a handy distraction in council bashing
daveforcouncil.nz
Councils are getting around 10% of their budgets from Crown grants when in other countries it’s more like 15-20% or more. Or, as the S&P analyst says, “you’re told to do more infrastructure s...
📌 We're putting the 'fun' into Fundraising with a Quiz Night at our local brewery, Mata Beer. Great prizes as well. ![]()
![]()
🔗 Read more here: daveforcouncil.nz/quiz-night-fundraiser-july-12.../
This is going to be a fun night and what a great cause - getting Dave Stewart on the Whakatane District Council.![]()
![]()
And there's the best beer in the Mata Beer Beer on tap and Mumma G's fine menu.![]()
![]()
Register with daveforcouncilnz@gmail.com for a table for 6 just just $90![]()
![]()
Hurry, there's a limit and you don't want to miss out.
Quiz Night Fundraiser – July 12 – Mata Beer – 6pm
daveforcouncil.nz
DAVE STEWART FOR COUNCIL QUIZ NIGHT FUNDRAISER JULY 12th from 6pm at MATA BEER 17 Gateway Crescent, Whakatane, New Zealand Book a table for your team of 6 people and join us for a night of fun and...
Source Tangi Utikere, MP for Palmerston North. 25 June at 13:01 via Facebook Today the Government tried to stop me talking about a local example 🚌 of the Government attempting to get councils to pick up the tab for services that have previously been Government funded 👇 but I will not be silenced when raising issues important to my community....![]()
![]()
Government Telling Councils How To Spend Ratepayer’s Money Must Stop!
daveforcouncil.nz
Source Tangi Utikere, MP for Palmerston North. 25 June at 13:01 via Facebook Today the Government tried to stop me talking about a local example 🚌 of the Government attempting to get councils to .....
Another sunny Sunday at Whakatāne Sunday Market and an unlimited supply of positivity and agreements all made and manufactured right here in Whakatāne.![]()
![]()
Free Agreements offer extended to all voters in the upcoming local body elections.
“I care for our district and I want to see thriving communities for all peoples – and this means making difficult, thoughtful, future-focused decisions within a constrained council budget. These decisions are never black and white. Good decision-making relies on balancing competing priorities for the benefit of all.” “I have a solid understanding of local government through Community Board work, and through my time on the National Community Boards Executive Committee. We’ve been advocating for community boards to be harnessed and supported to be a more effective tool for better local decision-making.”...![]()
![]()
Article: Council or bust for community board stalwart
daveforcouncil.nz
“I care for our district and I want to see thriving communities for all peoples – and this means making difficult, thoughtful, future-focused decisions within a constrained council budget. These d...
Article: John MacDonald: Capping council rates isn't a solution.![]()
![]()
The other major issue is the whole funding structure for local government. Which is why I think the Government is taking a very narrow approach here. How on earth the Government thinks it could put a cap on annual rates increases without looking at the wider issue, I don't know. And that wider issue is the fact that local councils are being asked to do more and more under their own steam, without any extra funding to make it happen. Example: the Government wants more tourists coming here, but what about the infrastructure needed to support that growth? The Government doesn’t pay for that. Local councils do.![]()
![]()
Article: John MacDonald: Capping council rates isn’t a solution
daveforcouncil.nz
The other major issue is the whole funding structure for local government. Which is why I think the Government is taking a very narrow approach here. How on earth the Government thinks it could pu...
"After the local body election the successful Whakatane District Council candidates will have to work together so we're saying, 'why wait?' "Let's get things started before the election and show Whakatane we can work together despite our differences."...![]()
![]()
Article: Working together despite differences
daveforcouncil.nz
“After the local body election the successful Whakatane District Council candidates will have to work together so we’re saying, ‘why wait?’ “Let’s get things st...
📌 Rates aren’t enough. To really make a difference, councils must also be given the legal authority to raise additional revenue themselves. ![]()
🔗 Read more here: daveforcouncil.nz/832/
PM Christopher Luxon open to scrapping regional councils amid RMA reform![]()
![]()
PM Christopher Luxon open to scrapping regional councils amid RMA reform
daveforcouncil.nz
So essentially they’ve made central government smaller, dumped a shipload of work onto ratepayer funded councils, and now they’re going to make sure councils spend ratepayers money doi...
Christopher Luxon loves localism, until locals have the wrong opinions![]()
![]()
Christopher Luxon loves localism, until locals have the wrong opinions
daveforcouncil.nz
For a prime minister who is often accused of having no ideology, localism is one thing Luxon deeply believes in. “Centralism over localism doesn’t work,” he told parliament last year. He describ...
📌 New Zealand’s rising rates are primarily due to increasing costs for local councils, including infrastructure upgrades, population growth, and inflation, leading to higher rates to fund essential services and meet community needs.![]()
![]()
🔗 Read more here: daveforcouncil.nz/822/
Unlimited supply of Free Agreements at Whakatāne Sunday Market today and every Sunday. No limit! Daveforcouncil.nzToday my incredible Free Agreements offer comes with a special bonus FREE SUNSHINE![]()
![]()
All Agreements are made right here in Whakatāne by skilled local craftspeople and are sugar free.![]()
![]()
Vegan and GF options available at no extra charge.![]()
![]()
See you at the Whakatāne Sunday Market
Today my incredible Free Agreements offer comes with a special bonus FREE SUNSHINE![]()
![]()
All Agreements are made right here in Whakatāne by skilled local craftspeople and are sugar free.![]()
![]()
Vegan and GF options available at no extra charge.![]()
![]()
See you at the Whakatāne Sunday Market
The National led coalition government's alternative to 3 Waters will make water unaffordable.![]()
![]()
They attacked 3 Waters with a tsunami of misinformation and disinformation and a lot of people forgot to ask what the alternative was.![]()
![]()
Now we're finding out.![]()
![]()
In the upcoming local body election keep an eye out for the coalition aligned candidates who put Wellington first above us ratepayers.![]()
![]()
And don't get fooled again.![]()
![]()
Hawke's Bay residents outraged over council's proposed water rate hike
www.rnz.co.nz
Hawke's Bay has some of the highest rates in the country due to three waters, roading and debt servicing.
Despite decades of cost cutting, governments spend more than ever. How can we make sense of this?![]()
![]()
Many of the managerial techniques that have arrived in the public sector over the austerity years - such as results-based pay, corporate contracting, performance management or evaluation culture - have their origins in a budgetary revolution that took place in the 1960s at the US Department of Defence.![]()
![]()
In the early 1960s, Defence Secretary Robert McNamara was frustrated with being nominally in charge of budgeting but having to mediate between the seemingly arbitrary demands of military leaders for more tanks, submarines or missiles.![]()
![]()
In response, he called on the RAND Corporation, a US think tank and consultancy, to remake the Defence Department's budgetary process to give the secretary greater capacity to plan.![]()
![]()
Despite decades of cost cutting, governments spend more than ever. How can we make sense of this?
daveforcouncil.nz
Many of the managerial techniques that have arrived in the public sector over the austerity years – such as results-based pay, corporate contracting, performance management or evaluation cul...
📌 Smarter processes matter too. It's how we have our cake and eat it too - benefitting from expansive Council services without pay through the nose. I will make sure Council seriously considers regional collaboration and cost-saving tech — like AI-generated LIMs — to improve services.![]()
![]()
🔗 Read more here: daveforcouncil.nz/843/
Otto knows.
This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.
My incredible Free Agreement Offer is available right now at Matariki Markets in Mitchell Park.![]()
![]()
We have given away an abundance of agreements and made several happy voters as we navigate practical solutions to problems with a focus on Whakatāne First.![]()
![]()
Ratepaters everywhere are being screwed and we are the only ones telling you the truth about WHY.![]()
![]()
###Matariki Special###![]()
![]()
Two for One Deal.![]()
![]()
Get one Free Agreements and the second one is free as well.
📌 Removing GST from rates would save the average household $450–$650 a year. That’s an easy, fair change the Government could make right now.![]()
![]()
🔗 Read more here: daveforcouncil.nz/843/
Māori wards and constituencies are vital to local decision-making and have many benefits for our communities. However, we have to vote in the upcoming local body elections to retain them.![]()
![]()
This two-page resource provides trustworthy information on:![]()
![]()
Why we have Māori wards and how they work![]()
The key issues now![]()
How our communities benefit from Māori wards![]()
Actions you can take to retain Māori wards![]()
![]()
Māori wards Explainer – What’s happening and what you can do
daveforcouncil.nz
Māori wards and constituencies are vital to local decision-making and have many benefits for our communities. However, we have to vote in the upcoming local body elections to retain them. This two...
📌 If the Government shared just half the GST from new builds, councils would gain $1.3 billion annually. That’s real support for local infrastructure.![]()
![]()
🔗 Read more here: daveforcouncil.nz/843/
Wellington Takes Big Brother Approach To 'Localism'![]()
![]()
Wellington Takes Big Brother Approach To ‘Localism’
daveforcouncil.nz
Government to give itself power to override councils on housing in RMA changes Source June 18, 2025 PDF The government will take back power from local councils if their decisions are going to nega...
Good to see some progress on this much needed upgrade.![]()
Sport and recreation are essential functions of council activity and we need to measure the support for these projects with much more than a spreadsheet.![]()
![]()
An overwhelming majority of citizens made presentations to the Long Term Plan in support of this, and it's good to see some action taking place at last.![]()
![]()
easternbayapp.co.nz
The Rex Morpeth Recreation Hub project is moving ahead with a new governance structure in place and a staged investment approach – setting the foundations for long-term improvements to one of the Wh...
On top of more funding from central government, local authorities need the flexibility to creatively address their financial and infrastructure needs. You might have recently received electoral roll confirmation forms for the local body elections later this year. Going by our historically low participation rates, many of those envelopes, as well as the voting forms themselves that will be sent later this year, will remain unopened....![]()
![]()
Local Government New Zealand recently estimated an extra $11 billion is needed over the next seven years to meet unexpected cost increases. The credit rating agency S&P Global has downgraded 18 councils and three council-controlled organisations, and given negative outlooks to three more councils.![]()
![]()
The auditor-general reported in February that inflation has driven up the costs of construction, insurance and debt servicing. This is putting pressure on operational expenses and capital improvements at the same time as demand for council services is increasing.![]()
![]()
Article: Rates will never be enough – councils need the power to raise money in other ways
daveforcouncil.nz
Local Government New Zealand recently estimated an extra $11 billion is needed over the next seven years to meet unexpected cost increases. The credit rating agency S&P Global has downgraded ...
The broken funding model that is causing ratepayer pain needs to be fixed and it's not simply a case of closing the library or increasing tipping charges and selling the Aquatic Centre. Ratepayers need to demand better quality decisions and choices by central government.![]()
![]()
Article: The local government funding model is broken ‒ but can be fixed
daveforcouncil.nz
The broken funding model that is causing ratepayer pain needs to be fixed and it’s not simply a case of closing the library or increasing tipping charges and selling the Aquatic Centre. Rate...
Good to see some progress on this much needed upgrade.![]()
![]()
Sport and recreation are essential functions of council activity and we need to measure the support for these projects with much more than a spreadsheet.![]()
![]()
An overwhelming majority of citizens made presentations to the Long Term Plan in support of this, and it's good to see some action taking place at last.
easternbayapp.co.nz
The Rex Morpeth Recreation Hub project is moving ahead with a new governance structure in place and a staged investment approach – setting the foundations for long-term improvements to one of the Wh...
Be wary of charlatans' peddling false narratives about rising rates. The real reasons behind Aotearoa's eye watering rates hikes are very different from the spin being spun by coalition aligned fakers.![]()
![]()
The Real Reasons Behind New Zealand’s Rates Increases
daveforcouncil.nz
New Zealand’s rising rates are primarily due to increasing costs for local councils, including infrastructure upgrades, population growth, and inflation, leading to higher rates to fund esse...
Central Government Must Stop Treating Ratepayers Like A Bottomless ATM![]()
![]()
daveforcouncil.nz
I'll be continuing my Free Agreements Offer to the ratepayers of Whakatane atWhakatāne Sunday Marketarket Matariki Event this Friday.![]()
![]()
Did you know that central government used to give back the GST component of rates to councils but did a 'One Off' deal in 'hard times' and then reneged on that deal?![]()
![]()
This year central government will withhold $1.5 billion of GST component of rates from Aotearoa's long suffering ratepayers.![]()
![]()
In Whakatane the amount is over $9 million - each and every year!!!![]()
![]()
I think that's a very, very, very bad deal.![]()
![]()
There's are many reasons ratepayers all over this country are facing eye watering rate hikes and garbage central government decisions like this are way too big to ignore.![]()
![]()
Do you agree or disagree?Matariki Market this Friday at Mitchell Park next to the RSA 8am-1pm.