It's
election season. People are vying for your votes on
councils all around the motu. You can't put a price on
democracy, but the people you elect will help to set some of
the charges for common household items. We've decided
to look at charges for water, parking, libraries, and LIMs,
and even household members. Isn't that right Stanley? Oh
but he's worth it. Yes aren't you boy? And the charges just
like the dogs themselves come in all shapes and sizes.
Registering Bailey hasn't been an easy stroll for Felix.
150 for this little thing is more than my car registration,
okay. That's Auckland Council's early bird price to register a
dog that hasn't been neutered. Why were you furious? Because they double
the price. Yes last year he paid more than double the previous
year's charge. Dog is over one year old now, he's not desexed
blah blah blah blah blah. Bailey only uses the footpaths and
other rate payer funded facilities for half an hour a
day and he's a good dog, he's never been in trouble. Felix is
feeling the bite and doing the numbers for Tāmaki Makaurau. He
reckons okay 100,000 dogs times $150 registration let's
say with the discount 100 bucks - we are looking at $10 million
dollars a year where Where do they go this money? It's a question we're
all asking. How does what I pay compare with other places?
We've put the questions to 67 local bodies and waded through
the data. So here it is. The Fair Go Challenge on Council
Charges round one: dog rego. Pepper. No. Pepper. Top price
is in Tokoroa. The Lowe's breed French bulldogs. They might be
tiny, but they're not cheap. Oh hello. Oh hello hello. Oh
everybody's come to say hello. Little nip there just to remind
me who's boss. Oh him. Yeah. Oh well Frenchies are like
Pringles. You get one you can't not get another. South Waikato
District Council wants $172
a year for a domestic dog that has been neutered. Even if you had
two in town that's what - three forty-four that'll feed a
family for a week. The Lowes pay less because they're on a rural
property. $432 a year in total for the
pack, but they do wonder what they're getting for that. South
Waikato District Council says dog rego pays nearly half of
what it costs to run a superior service with rates covering the
rest. The team attend every complaint in person: roaming,
barking, welfare. It also offers payment plans to spread
the cost. From here, it gets cheaper, slighty. New Plymouth
District Council wants $163.50 for domestic dog that's been
neutered, Porirua wants $134. Chatham Islands Council asks just $44 for that
dog - island life. Selwyn District wants 45, and the Alpha Dog Kawerau, just
$37 a year for registration. That is a fraction of what it
costs in the big cities, and that is one reason that we're here
in Kawerau to award the council the unofficial Fair Go Value Ribbon
for best in show. Time to meet the leaders of the pack. Kawerau
is so together that it's already got its next mayor lined
up along with its long running your your worship and we've got
a little award to give them today. The Top Dog Award for Kawerau:
cheapest dog registration for a desexed animal in the town
limits. Uh I'd like to convey that to you with all of our
best respects and well done. Thank you. Thank you Garth.
Keeping the cost low means more register. From pooches to
property, next on Fair Go's checklist: LIMs. Welly, Palmy, and the Grey
District all want over $400 for a LIM. Central Otargo will
charge 185, but the cheapest at 168... Kawerau also has the trimmest LIM,
now that's the report that you get if you're trying to get a
house so I'd like to hand that over to you as well if I could
sir. Thank you very much for that Garth. Still, in the K, as
locals say, savings continue outside. It's also free to park
here in the main street. Although that is an honor that Kawerau
will have to share with 46 other local authorities. It's
the usual suspects charging to park: Auckland, Wellington,
Christchurch, and Queenstown Lakes District Council don't
think we can't see you either. All want $4-$5 an hour for
main street parking. Course if parking fees are the reason you
aren't getting your library books back on time: relax. In
Auckland and Kawerau and in 38 other places where they tell us
they don't charge late fees. Napier Public Library will want
$4.20 if you're a week late. It's 3.50 and half a dozen
places, including back in Tokoroa at the South Waikato
District Council, and many charge a fee to borrow a best
seller or hot item. Right now, this is the hottest item for
councils. Wai. No, not why, wai! Water. We're hearing a lot
about three waters but let me tell you it's hard to find out
and compare the cost of what comes out of your taps. About a
third have you on a meter. Kaipara seems cheap at $4.18
for a thousand liters, or a thousand glasses of tap water
for a dollar. But the best deal for metered water looks like Ōpōtiki
at 56 cents for a thousand liters - that's more than seven
thousand glasses of tap water for a dollar. Some councils
just lump water into the rates bill so no idea what you're
paying really. Others are charging a flat fee, anything
from 200 to more than $800 a year with various Ts and Cs but
the lowest is... Ting. Kawerau! Take a bow once more. $82? Yes. Yes. The
cheapest water supply in the country. And that's... there don't
get me going on water supply right now please. There's a
reason they can keep things cheap. Some big businesses pay
a lot of rates. But it is also part of a big vision to take
care of the basics. First. It's somewhere to live. Somewhere to work
so that we can earn an income to create a life for our family,
something to hope for so we leave something behind for our
kids and if we take care of those three things Garth
hopefully we can find someone to love on the journey and look
after us that's the dream that's appealing but we can't
stay. Back in Auckland we have some answers for Felix. Auckland
Council spends about $15 million dollars a year managing
dogs and gets 10 million of that from registrations and
fees charged by the pound. Bailey's first rego was cheap because it
was for what was left of that year. The good news is Felix
can halve the cost next year if he passes a written test to
prove he's a responsible owner. The test is free. Till then
these two will keep getting their money's worth out of the
footpaths.