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The great dichotomy of local government is on display right now and seemingly no wants to address it: The turnout in Tauranga was pathetic.\xa0

The latest example of us not giving a monkey\u2019s is Tauranga.\xa0

No democracy because the last lot were so hopeless they got replaced by commissioners, and yet when given the freedom to choose, the real winner was complacency.\xa0

And yet the biggest issue in our economy at the moment and our battle with inflation is the local council.\xa0\xa0

It is also insurance, but rates play an outsized role in why this non-tradeable inflation is stuck at 5.4 percent.\xa0

Tradeable inflation is now virtually non-existent, but we still aren\u2019t cutting interest rates, we still aren\u2019t breathing life into the economy, we are still living through recessionary-type misery. Why? Because people like councils are handing out rate rises that if offered up by literally anyone else would never see the light of day because they would be out of business.\xa0

So see the connection?\xa0

They are outsmarting us.\xa0

They know they can do whatever they like \u2013 10 percent,\xa020 percent, 30 percent \u2013 in some cases in some areas you are talking about 100 percent \u2013 a doubling now.\xa0

Do we like that? No we do not. We gnash our teeth and moan and whinge and complain\xa0and yet what they have worked out is they have little if anything to fear because no one will do anything about it.\xa0

You want proof? Look at Tauranga.\xa0

I mean look at any local body election turnout. It\u2019s less than a half. Sometimes less than a third. We literally don\u2019t care.\xa0

It was almost tragic last week when once again the Finance Minister asked\xa0\u2013 pleaded \u2013 with councils to do their bit and contain their inflationary ways.\xa0

Will they? Of course not. Why would they?\xa0

They have us by the balls because we are lazy and complacent.\xa0

The Government have done their bit on spending. We are doing our bit by bleeding councils. They claim a million different reasons for their actions. And to be fair some of it I have sympathy with. Underinvestment is a real issue. \xa0

But what they have done is seize the moment, played on our weakness, jumped on the inflationary bandwagon and charged the bejesus out of us.\xa0

And because we are slack \u2013 they win.\xa0

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