Court rules pair must pay $20,000

Mangawhai resident Bruce Rogan, left, and wife Heather have been ordered to pay more than $20,000 in outstanding rates and penalties to Kaipara District Council which won a test case against a rates strike. Photo / File

A Mangawhai couple leading a rates strike against Kaipara District Council over the town's controversial sewerage scheme have been ordered to pay more than $20,000 in outstanding rates and penalties after the council won legal action against them.

Bruce and Heather Rogan refused to pay their rates and penalties from 2011 to 2015 because they claimed the KDC and the Northland Regional Council issued them documents that did not comply with the Local Government Rating Act. The figure also included rates' demands on behalf of the NRC from 2012 and 2014. The Rogans said defects in the rates assessment notice sent by the council rendered the document invalid.

In July, they were forced to defend proceedings in the Whangarei District Court brought by the council against them to recover the rates arrears in a test case for the council.

They are among about 100 defaulting ratepayers who owe nearly $1 million in rates and penalties from 2012 in protest against Parliament retrospectively passing the Kaipara Validation Act.

The Act 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.

In a reserved judgment, Judge Keith de Ridder rejected the Rogans' argument that if the rates' assessments were valid, the rates' invoices did not comply with the Local Government Rating Act.

The judge said section 47(2) of that Act stipulated: "The ratepayers' liability to pay is not affected by the fact that the correction of the rates' invoice is required."

The KDC argued any challenges to rates' assessment were to be brought in the High Court via judicial review to ensure rating streams were not compromised by nullifying assessments and invoices for minor irregularities.

For the Rogans, lawyer Jeremy Browne argued his clients did not challenge the validity of the rates themselves but were rather saying their liability to pay had not been triggered as they have not been issued compliant rates' assessments and invoices. Judge de Ridder disagreed, saying any challenge to the validity of rates in the High Court was restricted to grounds the local authority was not empowered to set or assess rates.

The Rogans were ordered to pay KDC $20,878 and interest at 5 per cent from October 14, 2014, until the date of payment.

There is also an order of costs against them which will be fixed by the Registrar.

Mr Rogan said they would be filing an appeal in the High Court and would also seek a stay of Judge de Ridder's decision pending appeal.

"The difficulty is the District Court appears to have taken the view even where the council (KDC) has admitted it hasn't complied with the law that it didn't matter."

KDC chairman of commissioners, John Robertson, said other ratepayers who have not paid their dues over the years should start paying them now.