Council Shares Serious 3 Waters Concerns with Government

The South Taranaki District Council formally expressed its concerns to the Government about its Three Waters reform proposal at an extraordinary meeting today.

The move comes after councils around the country were given eight weeks to analyse the Government’s reform proposal and provide feedback before 1 October 2021.

Central Government is proposing to set up four new entities nationwide to take over the service delivery and management of water, wastewater and stormwater (three waters) infrastructure currently done by councils. For South Taranaki, this would mean that our three waters assets (as well as the debt attached to these assets) would be taken over by a new entity (Entity B) that would include 22 councils across the Waikato (including Hamilton), Bay of Plenty (including Tauranga and Whakatāne) and Taranaki Regions and the Ruapehu, Whanganui and Rangatīkei Districts.

South Taranaki Mayor Phil Nixon says the Council is not convinced of the case for wholesale change which the Government is proposing.

“While we acknowledge that better regulation of the water sector is needed, we are seriously concerned about the impacts of a ‘one-size fits all’ and centralisation approach will have on our communities,” says Mayor Nixon.

“Effectively we’ll have no direct control over the proposed water services entities as presented and we can’t see how the new entities will be responsive and accountable to our communities. The complex accountability framework, with performance overseen by regulators, guidance coming from a national policy statement, oversight from a regional representative group, board performance oversight from an independent selection panel and regulatory oversight from regional councils, is nothing short of unnecessary bureaucracy,” he says.

The Council also questioned the assumptions used by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) which concluded that, with their reforms it would cost the average household $1,220 per annum for Three Waters by 2051 compared to $7,460 per annum without reform.

“We need to know more about how the government came to those figures because I doubt that they will guarantee that any new entity will have water accounts not exceeding $1,220 per annum in 30 years’ time,” he says.

One of the biggest concerns Council expressed was how local priorities would be met and delivered in a large entity.

“What guarantee is there that the priorities we’ve identified won’t change when our area is reviewed against the other 21 Council areas in Entity B? We are gravely concerned that our growth and development aspirations, albeit small compared to other high growth areas, will have to wait in line.”

Councillors also expressed concern about the potential future privatisation of the water assets.

“No matter how many safeguards the Government puts in place, once these are in the hands of a new centralised entity the path to privatisation will be easier for any future Government.”

Mayor Nixon says once the Government has considered Councils’ feedback, they will need to outline the mechanisms for community consultation.

“The assets we are talking about have been paid for by our communities, and as such we expect that the Government will, or at least will give us the ability to, effectively consult with our communities before any decisions are made on whether to support these reforms or not.”

For more information about the Government’s Three Waters Reform Proposal, you can go to the Department of Internal Affairs website www.dia.govt.nz/Three-Waters-Reform-Programme or on our website here.