WATCH: 'Taniwha Tax' exposed on TV3

Lee Short explains the racket to HDPA

If you’re buying or building a house in Auckland—or contemplating doing yours up—then don’t make another move until you’ve checked with your local iwi. Or even up to thirteen local iwi, each of them with their hand out.

Some of you are already well aware of what is being called a Taniwha Tax, a rule in Auckland’s new Unitary Plan requiring that doing anything more aggressive than mowing your lawn within 100m or so of a place deemed “a site of cultural significance” will require  something called a Cultural Impact Assessment" (appropriately enough, a CIA) along with all those approvals from all those iwi.

And there are thousands of these sites right around Auckland!

So bravo to Lee Short from Democracy Action and TV3’s Heather du Plessis-Allan for helping expose the racket on the telly last night.

And ask yourself, how many mayoral candidates will be campaigning against it ... ?

<<WATCH IT HERE>>

PS: If you’re interested, I have a chapter in a recent book all about this racket, what made it possible, and what it portends for NZ’s future. You can pick up a copy here.