Mangawhai couple take Northland rates fight to Court of Appeal

Bruce and Heather Rogan are appealing a District Court order to pay Kaipara District Council more than $20,000 in outstanding rates. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A Mangawhai couple are taking their fight over refusal to pay more than $20,000 in outstanding rates and penalties to the second highest court in the country.

In late 2015, the Whangarei District Court ordered Bruce and Heather Rogan to pay $20,449 in rates and penalties to the Kaipara District Council.

Bruce Rogan.

The rates were for the years 2011 to 2015 and the couple argued defects in the rates assessment notices sent by KDC rendered the documents invalid.

The Rogans appealed the District Court judgment in the High Court in September last year and lost.

Both then applied for and were granted leave by the High Court to take their case to the Court of Appeal.

KDC opposed their application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal.

In addition to them, five other ratepayers have not paid their rates to KDC.

The Court of Appeal has yet to set a date for the appeal.

The Rogans were originally among about 100 defaulting ratepayers who refused to pay their rates in protest against Parliament passing the Kaipara Validation Act.

The Act retrospectively validated irregularities in the setting and assessing of Kaipara district rates from the 2006/07 financial year to 2011/12 in respect of the Mangawhai wastewater scheme.