Ummmmmmmm.
Did anyone notice S+P just downgraded Council debt because National cancelled 3 Waters?
LAUGH IT UP REDNECKS!
Let’s just quickly rewind here.
Key sold 49% of our hydro assets, Māori went to the Waitangi Tribunal to sort their water interests out, Tribunal declared Māori legally do have an interest in water and told the Government to negotiate that.
Labour tried to enact the Waitangi Tribunal ruling on Māori water interests using the co-governance model that National and ACT had created to ensure domestic users of water weren’t crucified by rate rises.
What happened?
Ya’ll got manipulated into believing da Māori’s is stealing da water and you elected this hard right racist climate denying beneficiary bashing Government who have promptly fucked you all and screwed you on the water rates!
EXACTLY!
LIKE!
WE!
TOLD!
YOU!
SO!
S&P slams new Govt’s council finance vacuum
Ratings agency puts 15 councils on review for downgrade, blaming uncertainty over new Government’s financial support after Three Waters repeal; Councils forced to ramp up rates increases
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the outlooks for the debt issued by 15 councils, immediately increasing borrowing costs and forcing rates increases that will further inflate living costs and keep pressure on the Reserve Bank to keep mortgage rates high.
S&P blamed the new Government’s decision to repeal Three Waters and the resulting uncertainty about how councils would pay to repair and expand infrastructure needed to cope with 1.5-2% per year population growth enabled over the last 20 years by both parties running the Beehive. High population growth boosts GST and income tax receipts for central Government, but loads up massive infrastructure costs for councils, who don’t get a share of GST or income tax, unlike in other countries. The population grew 2.8% last year, the fastest rate since 1947.
The new National-ACT-NZ First Government’s decision to cancel Three Waters and freeze new capital grants to councils without any extra revenue support has essentially robbed Peter to pay Paul, leaving ratepayers stuck with double-digit rates increases that are keeping inflation and mortgage rates up. The new Government’s moves to freeze centralised spending has instead pushed the costs and blame out to councils. S&P’s ratings actions have effectively called bullshit on the Government’s repeal of Three Waters and the RMA without ready replacements
…that’s right. Because this clown Government didn’t have the legislation ready, because it was more important to make Māori a political punching bag, because virtue signalling to rednecks mattered more, they’ve constructed water assets not backed by the Government that investors won’t want to touch leaving ratepayers on the hook for the whole lot!
LAUGH IT UP REDNECKS!
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Ratepayers wanted to own and control their water assets. Why should the Government, i.e. taxpayers, be on the hook to bail out failed Councils like Wellington’s?
You’re not making any sense. No one owns the water. Dummy.
‘Water assets’=infrastructure, you know the pipes and pumps…..
Cut back on the meds, Sam
Does that belong to you eh?
of course it doesn’t belong to me. Weird question.
Of course I don’t own water infrastructure. Weird question.
Water infrastructure is not a property or ownership issue. 3 waters was supposed to divert funding from wealthier districts to poorer districts. Was supposed to but the wonderful right-wing economic proffesors couldn’t handle it. Now we are supposed to believe that you are concerned about ownship issues. You are mentally ill Ada.
You are usually on a hiding to nothing to get sense out of Sam sometimes.Must be something to do with the moon
You don’t have any funding model we can look at and you know even less about what to do next. Handle it.
ratepayer and taxpayers are pretty much the same people – which should be obvious to you – but under this scenario the borrowing terms are a lot worse and we don’t get to the root of the problem.
But y’know, thanks for turning up to get the right-wing distraction argument up first in the comments. Your loyalty has been noted.
Really? Did the rate payers kick up a stink or was it self interest from councils? The majority of which have totally stuffed up the water infrastructure.
In the past local government argued growth was essential to create new and maintain existing essential services.
How local government has changed. Anything to do with a protection order slapped on the property owner of a fuel tank build by a colonial oppressor?
If our financial masters, S&P, argue that the scrapping of their plan to get 3Waters assets into the hands of private equity funds will harm consumers then we better listen. They surely have the best interest of water services consumers in mind!
Name one. Just one equity firm that was going to execute your very wonderful and well thought out conspiracy theory.
“If our financial masters, S&P …….”
If you want me to name companies that are prepared to buy assets that are secured…… hell that will make a long list.
I want just one name.
Peter.
Never heard of it
I agree.
Local councils have failed water infrastructure.
How the hell do they think water infrastructure will be improved under the current model beats me when all the Karen and Johns want less rates but improved services.
It aint gonna happen without central Govt funding.
And the councils like building libraries and cycleways and sponsoring sports events and concerts.
Why Ada we have bailed out farmers and this is ongoing as they are always putting their hands out, we also bailed out growers, and we bailed out businesses during the covid and the National government bailed out uninsured peoples from the Christchurch earthquakes now is this fair? And we have bailed out banks, the BNZ, ANZ, AIR NZ and the list goes on.
Yeah right it’s ok to bail out some, but not ‘others’. Then blame the bennies for all the financial woes the country will suffer, which is pure deflection.
The other stupid thing they have done is cancel the ferries how insanely dumb is that.
It’s not fair at all.
Stop all the bail-outs. Spend the saved money on welfare and health.
They are working off an overdraft.
In less than 4 months Luxon and his Government have been responsible for the drop in S&P ratings. This proves already we are destined to crash and burn under a man with no political experience. We are going backwards thanks to Luxon.