Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Waitaki residents rally against 17% rates rise

Oamaru rates protest
Image – Oamaru LIVE / Facebook.

Hundreds of protesters marched through Oamaru to oppose a planned 17% rates increase.

The group also delivered a petition signed by more than 5,000 people calling for the rise to be cut to between 7% and 9%.

Mayor Mel Tavendale acknowledged the concerns but said accepting the petition did not mean the Waitaki District Council would change its decision.



Protest organiser Kirsty Cashmore said the campaign would continue, while former council chief executive Keith Marshall described the turnout as a triumph of “people power”. Read more at Stuff, ODT and Oamaru Live on Facebook.

This story has been republished with permission from RCR Bites. For news like this direct and free to your Inbox every day, go to biteme.news to sign up for RCR Bites.

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8 COMMENTS

  1. The NZ Loyal Party would NEVER have allowed a ‘17% Ratyes Rise’ in ANY council region IF they had been elected in 2023.
    THIS IS A WAKE-UP CALL FOR OTHER COUNCIL DISTRICT RESIDENTS!
    In the lower South Island, the Palmy North Council Rates projection in 10 years was that they would be paying DOUBLE what they are now
    THAT brought out hundreds of people who attended a meeting to stop this at the QEll College…
    Then, the Taxpayers Union noted that Palmy North Mayor Grant Smith was spending $1K / month on booze…at ratepayer expense!.
    The voting public must pull their heads OUT of their asses and realise that the Councils will begin to fall in line with the Zionist / Globalist Agendas, Mandates, and Forecasts, and that UNELECTED NGO’s will be behind the scenes pushing for WEF / WHO / JWO Policies.

  2. Do they want people to stay in this country or should we all leave? When you look at rates in Australia they are far, far less than the absolute rip off we see here. Old National and co kicked the can down the road till 2029. Why not as of next year? RATES NEED TO BE PEGGED TO INFLATION.

  3. Them: Yeah, this is a cute petition but we don’t care. F*ck off.

    Protestors: This is a victory for people power!!

    😑🤦‍♂️

  4. All of us should be doing this
    Councils around the country appear to be laws unto themselves charging us whatever they like to achieve f-all for communities.

    • So what should we all be doing?
      Pi**ing in the wind?
      Obviously you are not grumpy enough, slobbering the slop they quieten you down with.

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