Auckland Ratepayers' Alliance

10/06/2026

Last night Auckland Council voted 12–10 to consult on Wayne Brown’s push for more intensification.

The problem? Two of those votes were cast by unelected IMSB members.

And straight from the “you couldn’t make this up” file: one of those members,
Ngarimu Blair, had to change his vote after initially voting the wrong way. He explained that he only knew he was supposed to “vote against those fellas” — those fellas being the majority of elected councillors.

So a major planning decision passed by just two votes, thanks to unelected members, including one who didn't even know which way he was meant to vote.

This is exactly why the Government needs to urgently intervene and remove IMSB voting rights. Decisions that affect housing, planning, rates and the future of Auckland should be made by elected representatives who are accountable to voters — not unelected appointees who can cast deciding votes on major issues.

Democracy means one person, one vote, and elected councillors making the decisions Aucklanders elected them to make.

09/06/2026

𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗠𝗦𝗕 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲

The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance has released a legal opinion from Franks Ogilvie confirming that the Government could remove the voting rights of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) through a simple amendment to the Local Government Systems Improvement Bill currently before Parliament.

Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman Josh Van Veen said:

"Local Government Minister Simon Watts has claimed it is too difficult to close the loophole that allows Auckland Council to grant voting rights to the IMSB despite backing from the Prime Minister."

"However, the Franks Ogilvie opinion confirms that Watts could include a simple amendment to an existing bill already before Parliament. He can act now if he chooses to do so."

"Aucklanders are simply asking for the same democratic protections that the Government is extending to the rest of the country."

"If Parliament is willing to protect equal voting rights everywhere else, there is no reason Auckland should be treated differently."

09/06/2026

Simon Watts said the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) would be unaffected by his ban on unelected members' council voting powers. 🗳️

He's claimed because they're outside of the Local Government Act it would be too difficult to resolve pre-election.

Now he's gotten the Prime Minister's go ahead... What's stopping him?

09/06/2026

Mayor Wayne Brown was quoted saying we're "begging online all day long for supporters".

Good to know we're on his mind, but he should be thinking about ratepayers first and foremost!

Councillors were split on the move on orders and Wayne Brown used the debate to take a jab at the Auckland Ratepayers Alliance.

08/06/2026

Auckland has a democracy problem.

Unelected members of a council committee should not have voting rights.

The Government can fix this and they know how! The question is: will they?

08/06/2026

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐌'𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐌𝐒𝐁 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 - 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭?

The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is responding to comments made by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Newstalk ZB this morning in which he promised to strip the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) of voting rights after the election.

Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman Josh Van Veen said:

"The Minister of Local Government, Simon Watts, has previously said the IMSB will not be affected by his ban on unelected members’ voting because it sits outside of the Local Government Act."

"Watts claims it would be too difficult and time-consuming to resolve this issue before the election. But now he has the full backing of the Prime Minister, why wait?"

"It only requires a simple amendment to Auckland Council’s enabling legislation to remove a single clause that currently gives Auckland Council the authority to appoint IMSB members to any council committee."

"If the Government is serious about protecting local democracy in Auckland, then it must act urgently and change the law now."

06/06/2026

John Gillon led the charge against Wayne Brown's record-high rates increase.

Now people are telling us they'd like to see him run for Mayor in 2028...

Who would you rather have?

👍 John Gillon
❤️ Wayne Brown

Tell us why in the comments below! ⬇️

04/06/2026

Unelected council members will soon have no voting powers...

Except in Auckland? 🤔

Ministers have decided to exempt the Independent Māori Statutory Board of the national change, meaning its unelected members will vote with the same status as elected councillors on Auckland Council committees.

This is the exact same Board whose members voted in favour of Wayne Brown's record-breaking rates hike, just last week.

This is hypocrisy at its finest. You can't say unelected voting is wrong in every other council and then make an exception for New Zealand's largest city!

04/06/2026

If you could change ONE thing about our council, what would it be?

03/06/2026

So a 7.9% rates hike and now a 7.2% increase in water bills.🚰

How "affordability" was ever part of this conversation is beyond us.

Right now, Auckland businesses are closing left, right, and centre. Families are cutting back wherever they can, and every extra bill matters.

To make matters worse, developers are now facing a 20% increase in the charges they pay per unit, a cost that will ultimately make it harder and more expensive to build the homes Auckland desperately needs.

Yet somehow, the answer from those in charge always seems to be the same: pay more!

Aucklanders are being squeezed from every direction, and we're tired of being told they can absorb just one more increase.