Sunlive 20 September 2021
Redacted section of report made public. Ann Tolley telling minister that local opposition was poorly organised. Read more >> or Sunlive
Confusion and concerns continue over Three Waters reform
20 Sep, 2021 06:00 PM4 minutes to read
Confusion and concerns continue over Government plans to overhaul water services. Photo / NZME
By: Zoe Hunter
Multimedia journalist
As Tauranga faces another summer with likely water restrictions, concerns continue to be raised over Government plans to merge 67 councils' water assets into four regional water entities.
Yesterday, Tauranga City Council commissioners heard from residents who called the Three Waters reform proposal an "April Fool's joke" and an "insult", demanding a referendum on the issue.
Chairwoman Anne Tolley said the response from the Tauranga public to the reforms was "pretty negative" but said the council must continue preparing for changes in case the Government made them mandatory.
Tauranga City Council's Strategic, Finance and Risk Committee met on Monday to discuss an update on the proposed reform, which seeks to overhaul the management and service of New Zealand's drinking water, stormwater and wastewater through four different entities.
Tauranga is proposed to be part of Entity B, together with 22 territorial land authorities from the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Manawatu regions. A Waikato/Bay of Plenty Three Waters Reform Consortium has since been set up.
Lynne Moore told the council meeting she was "disgusted" with the "one-sided" proposal and demanded a referendum be held.
"If this proposal came across my desk... I would consider this an April Fool's joke because that is what it is - a joke."
Ross Steele, who also spoke in the public forum, said the $48.4 million allocation for Tauranga as part of a $2.5 billion support package for councils was an "absolute insult".
He encouraged the council to opt-out of the Three Waters reform and demanded a binding referendum.
In response, Commissioner Anne Tolley said the pair's comments "really epitomise" concerns in the community.
Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley. Photo / NZME
"We are certainly aware there is a groundswell of worry and concern about what is going to happen."
However, Tolley said the council was not being asked to make a decision but to provide the government with the community's views.
"It is not being proposed by the local government. The Local Government NZ is working alongside the government on developing this reform.
"Our job is to contribute to that."
The community's views were currently "pretty negative" due to a lack of information, she said.
"In fact, even if we were to go to a referendum we haven't got a specific proposal to put in front of the people.
"We can't answer all of the questions that are being asked of us by the ratepayers who own the assets.
"The best we can do is to gather all of the information and to work hard to ensure the government is aware of the consequences of that reform."
Tolley said it was prudent for the council to prepare "good input" to the government "because it is possible the government will make it mandatory".
"At the moment it is voluntary."
Tolley reiterated the ownership of the assets remained with the ratepayers and said there legally would be formal consultation if it was their decision to make.
Tauranga City Council general manager of infrastructure Nic Johansson. Photo / NZME
Tauranga City Council general manager of infrastructure Nic Johansson said the Three Waters reform was "unfortunately not very well understood not just here but across the country".
"It is not very well explained."
Johansson said the council had so far received about 200 "pieces of feedback" online.
He said the city's water was "running on absolute capacity" and the council was already considering water supply restrictions over summer.
"In the wastewater space, we are running at absolute capacity.
"We are looking at a very steep task to stay ahead of the curve in terms of what we need in that regard."
Commissioners voted to receive the Three Waters Reform Programme Update report and recommended the council continue to support its involvement in collaborative workstreams with other local authorities as proposed by the Department of Internal Affairs.
A project team was also being established internally to undertake ongoing work related to the reform.
A full report will be presented to the council on information related to the Three Waters reform along with initial Rangapū and community feedback on October 4.
Suspend the Three Waters reforms. The numbers look ropey
Mike Yardley05:00, Sep 21 2021
JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF
Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon: “We’re not convinced there are benefits for the Waimakariri community.”
OPINION: By any measure, public support and confidence in the Government’s sweeping Three Waters reform agenda is tanking.
The multimillion-dollar advertising blitz, which would have you believe that sludge is pouring out of your taps, is emblematic of the Government’s abysmal attempt to spruik the merits of reform. The sales job has been sensationalist, demeaning and misleading.
At last count, only six of our 67 district and city councils have indicated a desire to opt in to the reform programme, relinquishing control of their water infrastructure to four mega-regional entities.
The Government hasn’t indicated any willingness to pull in the reins, despite the towering wall of scepticism it’s up against.
READ MORE:
* Waimakariri residents want council to ‘opt-out’ of the Government’s three waters reform
* Better news on lockdown, roading, but south still seeking clarity on three waters
* Axe Three Waters model, co-fund infrastructure projects
* Canterbury councils says Govt hasn't released the water reform analysis they need
The Waimakariri District Council has been fearlessly assertive in confronting the reform programme, actively canvassing public feedback ahead of its special council meeting, on September 28.
With 95 per cent of Waimakariri residents imploring the council to “opt out” of the reforms, that now looks inevitable.
Mayor Dan Gordon tells me: “We’re not convinced there are benefits for the Waimakariri community. The case for change nationally is flawed and Waimakariri residents are overwhelmingly saying that they don’t support the proposal.”
As to the benefits of scale and enhanced environmental standards, Gordon says his council “doesn’t accept the premise that there is only one way to achieve these outcomes”.
An overwhelming refrain from many councils is that the reform programme is based on faulty assumptions and flawed analysis with the touted benefits being exaggerated.
Currently, the average Christchurch residential ratepayer pays $920 annually towards the city’s water infrastructure and services, accounting for roughly 30 per cent of the annual residential rates bill. The Government claims those average costs per household will rise to $2720 in 2051 without reform, while opting in will keep that rise to $1640 a year.
But is it really credible to claim we’ll only be paying 79 per cent more for water services in 30 years’ time if Christchurch opts in?
CHRIS SKELTON/STUFF
“Jake McLellan (above) and Sam MacDonald have put their polar-opposite political leanings to one side, to mount a notice of motion calling on the council to cancel its membership of Local Government New Zealand,” Mike Yardley writes.
I sought clarity from Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta, as to the reliability of these financial assumptions. Her office instructed a Department of Internal Affairs spokesman to respond, who admitted that “any analysis seeking to estimate costs and revenues over a 30-year period will include a degree of uncertainty and may underestimate the investment required. However, any increase in costs is likely to be significantly greater without reform.”
Let’s be honest, that $1640 figure looks utterly ropey, if not an absolute pipe-dream.
The Christchurch City Council is likely to convene in the next seven days to finalise its position, at the conclusion of the Government’s engagement period. Cr Sam MacDonald is deeply perturbed by the interest repayment obligations, even if the waters assets are forcibly stripped from the city.
“There is a risk that ratepayers will foot the bill for additional interest rate exposure on over a billion dollars of debt that can't be removed from our balance sheet – after being robbed of $6.9 billion of their assets.”
Unlike Waimakariri’s residential survey, the city council oddly demurred from asking residents whether Christchurch should opt in or out of the reforms.
It’s high time Mayor Lianne Dalziel exhibits the same degree of bold, clear-eyed and straight-shooting leadership on the issue that Dan Gordon or even Phil Goff have brought to the table. This is not the time to cosset the agendas of political comrades in Wellington.
Crs Jake McLellan and Sam MacDonald have put their polar-opposite political leanings to one side, to mount a notice of motion calling on the council to cancel its membership of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ).
Mike Yardley: “Unlike Waimakariri’s residential survey, the city council oddly demurred from asking residents whether Christchurch should opt in or out of the reforms.”
It’s a brazen move, but speaks to the understandable alarm at the perceived betrayal by this representative body in signing a heads of agreement with the Government, pledging not to actively oppose any legislative moves that would force councils to surrender their water assets.
LGNZ faces a perception crisis as being far too complicit with the reform agenda.
Dan Gordon shares the dismay that the heads of agreement was signed “without any engagement with the sector”.
It’s all the more reason why this reform programme is unravelling and should be indefinitely suspended for a major redesign.