Debbie Bidlake: Fed's eye on the North

Debbie Bidlake. Photo / File

Crucially for ratepayers, annual plans translate directly into rates demands.
Every year, in March and April, councils around the country release their draft annual plans for consultation. Don't dismiss these as unimportant, unless you don't really mind what the number is at the bottom of your rates bill.

Annual plans set out what councils want to achieve and how they will spend rates for the coming financial year. They cover a range of issues including biosecurity, debt levels, roads and other infrastructure. The council has to consult ratepayers if an annual plan proposes a significant change to their long-term plan, which is reviewed only every three years. Crucially for ratepayers, annual plans translate directly into rates demands.

The potential implications of these plans on the lives of rural people are obvious, with rates being among the top 10 operating expenses of most farming businesses.

Around New Zealand there are plenty of farmers who question the priorities and fiscal discipline of the nation's local authorities, as rates takes continue to outstrip inflation and CPI. Analysis by Federated Farmers shows the consumers' price index (CPI) went up 21 per cent between 2006-16, but on average the hike in rates over the same period by our 13 city, 54 district and 11 regional councils was 77 per cent.

To be fair, New Zealand's population went up during this time, but only by about 12 per cent, and the consequent growth in the rating base doesn't come within a country mile of covering the jump in rates bills.

Last year property re-valuations in Whangarei (coupled with a general rates increase) resulted in massive rates hikes for some farmers. Fingers crossed that Far North farmers do not suffer a similar fate due to re-valuations in December.

So as the first leaves begin to turn and farmers start putting the rams out, the Federated Farmers policy team gears up for annual plan season. Our job is to write submissions reflecting the views and concerns of our farming members. Any resident (or their representative) can make a submission, and councils actively encourage people to have their say. After all, annual plans are only as good as the information that feeds into them.

We will write submissions on Northland's district and regional annual plans this autumn.
A previous CEO used to joke that the average Federated Farmers policy adviser reads their height in paper every year, and that's pretty accurate. Daunting as this might sound to some people, there's a strangely satisfying feeling in watching a stack of paper slowly diminish and a submission emerge.

While we do the grunt work for our members, we rely on them and our rural communities to inform our work. So if you have concerns, please pick up the phone and call your local Feds office this annual plan season.

¦Debbie Bidlake is a senior Federated Farmers policy adviser.