My Account
A multi million-dollar legal dispute over controversial rates charges imposed by the Kaipara District Council (KDC) has finally ended in the Supreme Court.
The court ruled against Mangawhai ratepayers Bruce and Heather Rogan in a case connected with their long-running battle with Council over rate payments.
The charges stem from alleged debts that were incurred following a year-long rates strike by Mangawhai residents in 2012.
The strike was prompted after the KDC allowed costs for a sewerage scheme for Mangawhai to spiral out of control, which in turn forced steep rate rises. The charging of these rates was deemed unlawful by a High Court judge, but they were ultimately validated by Parliament.
Among the issues at stake was the fact that while the Rogans agreed to pay the validated rates, they did not agree to late payment penalties on those rates of around $13,000. The rates dispute has seen the KDC and the Rogans face off in the District Court, High Court, Appeal Court and finally, the Supreme Court.
The Rogans took a case to the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time to appeal a judgment against them in the Appeal Court, as the time available for making such an appeal had expired.
But the Supreme Court dismissed the application last month, saying the delay was due to the Rogans embarking on “a number of fruitless steps” in challenging the Court of Appeal decision with the Court of Appeal itself, rather than promptly bringing their case to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court said that the Rogans’ case did not necessarily lack merit, but that it was “not so compelling that we feel obliged to allow an extension of time despite the extensive delay”.
Following the decision, Mr Rogan said it simply confirmed his view that the New Zealand judicial system was utterly corrupt.
“Nothing is based on law, but on whim, expediency and covering misdeeds by public bodies,” he said.
Mr Rogan conceded the couple’s legal fight was over, and he anticipated the KDC would pursue him for payment of the $13,000 in overdue penalties, and additional costs would likely bring the total demanded to more than $100,000.
He estimated that he and his wife and their supporters in the community had spent an additional $500,000 on the legal fight.
But Mr Rogan said he had no regrets.
“We believe these issues were so important and the ratepayers of New Zealand are so exposed to the behaviour of Councils that somebody had to take a stand,” he said.
Last year, KDC confirmed it had spent $1.5 million defending the validity of controversial rates charges, but this figure only included charges up to September 2018. Last October, retired lawyer Clive Boonham, who has followed the case, suggested the running total would be closer to $2.5 million.
