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Tauranga woman refuses to pay rates over “lack of democracy”

Jan Gyenge news
Jan Gyenge (Inset).

Tauranga resident Jan Gyenge stopped paying her rates since March 2022 in protest against the reappointment of a commissionm, which she believes undermined democracy in the city.

Gyenge’s decision follows the former Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s move to extend the commission’s term until July 2024, cancelling the scheduled election.

Gyenge told state media that the community was not consulted, and therefore, the council has failed to uphold democratic processes. As a result, the council has initiated legal action to recover the unpaid rates, which could lead to the sale of her property if the debt remains unsettled.

Gyenge, who owes approximately $9,647 in unpaid rates and penalties, said her stand is a necessary action to challenge the council’s decisions and push for democratic integrity.

Although the council now has elected members, she has committed to paying her rates moving forward but seeks a resolution for the unpaid amounts. The council emphasizes the importance of rate payments for funding essential services and prefers to reach a settlement with ratepayers rather than resort to property sales. This case mirrors a similar stance taken by the late anti-corruption campaigner Penny Bright, who also withheld rates for years due to concerns over council transparency.

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9 COMMENTS

  1. Councils…nothing but self-serving self-probagating extortion rakets with grand ideas, working for the old-boys club and corporations.

  2. Rates in New Zealand are extortionate. Three times the rate of inflation, on average. Why isn’t central government looking into this? Its making living here, unbearable for home owners. That said, maybe they want people forced out so big corporations can come in and commercialise residential real estate and rent it back to its former owners? You’ll own nothing and their profit margins will be happy.

  3. The Ratepayers should be asking Council the real reason for the high Rates forever going up with no end in sight. That is the loan rate at which Council has borrowed money from International Banks. You see when the ratepayers cant be squeezed anymore and if the Council ever default on their loans life will become unbearable alright. The Bankers then add on penalties including raising the interest rate as well. So it may pay to tune in to some local Council meetings to be assured the Council is meeting its commitments. Heaven forbid if it defaults because those International Banks are going to come looking for collateral – your house! International Bankers see ambitious Councils as their prey because they are a captive audience blind to the workings of how finance really works. Tauranga City Council is just one of a few Councils that has International loans. Yes, one day you could own nothing, but one things for sure – you will be very unhappy.

  4. I fully support the sentiment, however the government will literally send armed killers to forcibly remove her, throw her in a cage and seize her property. And the law will be on THEIR side.

    This is what needs to change first

  5. Finally someone makes a stand. The Council never had the right to make unilateral decisions and just apportion the cost out to the rate payers. When they finally put some polls out, no one wanted their expenditures. Yet, they locked it all in with default penalties and there are now home owners who will have to sell their houses as they can’t afford to stay!

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