Three Waters policy reset needs more detail

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) president Stuart Crosby is calling for more details on the reset Three Waters policy. The reset, announced last week, will see ten regionally owned public water entities established. The entities will be owned by local councils on behalf of the public, and entity borders will be based on existing regional areas. Each entity will be run by a professional board, with members appointed based on competency and skill.

Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty says the reforms are “absolutely essential”, claiming that if the country’s water system stays as it is rate bills will be unaffordable.

“Over the last few months, I’ve been working closely with Local Government leaders and relevant stakeholders on how to progress New Zealand’s long overdue water infrastructure reforms,” Kieran says.

“The feedback has been overwhelmingly clear that our water infrastructure deficit needs to be addressed now if we’re to save households from ballooning bills that will make water unaffordable.

“But also that the reform programme must be led at a regional level - we have listened closely and absolutely agree.

“The cost of meeting the upgrades needed for our water systems is projected to be up to $185 billion over the next 30 years.

“Local councils cannot afford this on their own, and households in some areas could see rates rise up to $9,730 per year by 2054 if we do nothing,” he says.

Stuart Crosby says that while the announcement is a step in the right direction, questions remain.

“We won’t know what the full impact of these changes are to our communities until amendments to the Bill are drafted and further decisions on elements of the reform – including planning and funding – are made,” Crosby says.

Marlborough Mayor Nadine Tay- lor says the announced changes are only a minor improvement on the previous proposal and don’t solve key issues around the reform programme.

“I’m disappointed the Government has not taken the opportunity to review the decision to use the Ngai Tahu takiwa boundary in its proposals, meaning South Marlborough’s water assets will still be split from the rest of Marlborough.”

“We have consistently said the boundary of the water entities should reflect council boundaries.”

Meanwhile, Parliamentarians are labelling the policy reset as a mere rebrand, saying concerns remain.

Green Party spokesperson for water services, Eugenie Sage says that while the party agrees with increasing the number of water entities, not enough has changed to reassure them that public ownership is guaranteed.

“Right from the start, the Green Party was clear that only four entities would be too unwieldy and disconnected from the community. We are pleased that the Government has finally taken this on board,” she says.

“But let’s be clear: structural reform is pointless unless we manage land better and prioritise action to protect clean drinking water sources. Today’s rebrand doesn’t go anywhere near as far enough to protect nature.”

National Party Local Government spokesperson Simon Watts says the reforms won’t fix the country’s water infrastructure.

“The message from Kiwis is very clear – they want local water assets in local hands, and with no divisive co-governance structures imposed on them,” Watts says. He says the changes to the policy shows the Government “just don’t get it”.

“Adopting ten new entities rather than four makes a mockery of Labour’s repeated claims that four entities was the only way to go and would provide huge economic benefits.”

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