A Northland couple at the centre of a protracted legal battle with their territorial authority has been ordered to pay more than $20,000 in unpaid rates and penalties.
Bruce and Heather Rogan appealed to the High Court a ruling by the Whangarei District Court in 2015 that ordered them to pay the arrears the Kaipara District Council sought for the 2011-12 and 2014-15 rating years.
The District Court had ruled section 60 of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002 excluded any challenge to the council's notices of rates assessments and invoices being brought in recovery proceedings in that court.
The act says: "A person may not refuse to pay rates on the ground the rates are invalid unless the person brings proceedings in the High Court to challenge the validity of the rates on the ground that the local authority is not empowered to set or assess the rates on the particular rating unit."
Justice Ailsa Duffy upheld the District Court ruling, saying the council was entitled to recover $20,449 from the Rogans in rates and penalties for the years 2011 to 2015.