Advocacy groups form to oppose $31m centre

‘‘Every time you increase rates, you’re chipping away at people’s privileges.’’ Councillor Tim Nelson

Masterton residents continue to push back against a council they see as making big and expensive decisions without their support.

The Masterton Residents and Ratepayers Association had its inaugural meeting on Thursday night and another advocacy group used the occasion to launch a petition to halt progress on the council’s $31 million civic centre project.

Masterton resident Derek Pickup, who was a co-founder of the ratepayer group, said the civic centre project was a catalyst for its establishment but they also wanted to advocate for Masterton people on other issues.

‘‘The civic centre was at the forefront of everybody’s minds. Primarily due to the processes that were undertaken and the potential costs to be incurred by the ratepayers.’’

Pickup said New Zealanders were facing more expenses across the board and local councils needed to be held to account.

‘‘Everything is going up. I’m viewing 2021 as the year of the up-and-up for ‘we want more money from everybody’.’’

Masterton District Council voted 6-5 last month to go ahead with plans to fund a $31m civic centre but was scant on details about what the facility would look like or where it would be placed.

The council’s initial offer on an undisclosed parcel of land owned by the Masterton Trust Lands Trust was rejected, though negotiations were ongoing.

Tim Nelson was one of five councillors opposed to spending $31m on a new civic centre on a new site.

He stood by his view of backing an alternative, cheaper civic centre proposal by a local developer to earthquake strengthen and add on to the present town hall and municipal building.

‘‘I’m one of three councillors completely opposed to the civic centre being moved from its site. I think it’s ridiculous to build anything somewhere else when you already have a perfectly feasible site exactly where it should be.’’

Nelson was at the ratepayers meeting and said the council needed to understand that a lot of the town’s residents couldn’t afford what the council was proposing.

‘‘Every time you increase rates, you’re chipping away at people’s privileges. If you’re on a fixed income, it’s so unfair, and we have to think like those people, not like the people earning $140,000 a year.’’

Nelson, who is also the principal of a large local primary school, said councils should be made to contain costs within a fixed budget, just as schools did.

Masterton’s average rise in urban residential rates was 4.8 per cent for 2021/22 and an average rise in rural rates of 8.1 per cent.

Hewitt Harrison, of the Masterton Action Group, launched their petition on Thursday night with the aim to ‘‘halt the civic centre proposal in its tracks’’.

He said they wanted council to front up with more information and let residents vote on whether it should go ahead. ‘‘At the moment, all we have is an expenditure of $30-plus million on something that doesn’t even have a concept plan available.’’