Press Release It’s time for new PM to rescue water reforms - Councils

27/01/2023

Press Release

It’s time for new PM to rescue water reforms – Councils

Councils representing more than a million New Zealanders are calling on the new Prime Minister to take a fresh look at a model for water reform that works.

The member councils of Communities 4 Local Democracy He hapori mō te Manapori (C4LD) said that with Prime Minister Hipkins signalling a review of the policy agenda, he has an opportunity to deliver on Government aims for three waters, in a manner that would bring communities with him.

Grey District Mayor Tania Gibson said “that we have been trying to work for positive reform over the past few years to no avail. But new leadership offers the Government the chance to re-engage with the sector and work together towards successful water reform.

“During one of the driest periods in many years, with conserve water notices in place on the Greymouth and Blackball supplies, many people are asking would the proposed Three Waters reform have helped this situation? The simple answer is no! The new entities would have been in the same position. However, GDC is positioned to respond more quickly because we wouldn’t have to deal with a giant entity with competing priorities. We are in the process of building new storage infrastructure that will help in the future. These are your assets that you have paid for and to hand them over to an unaccountable entity we believe is still not the right option.

“We have worked hard to provide a credible alternative to enable the Government to deliver on all its aims, create opportunities for strong and lasting partnerships and deliver safe, sustainable and affordable water services for all New Zealand,” she said.

“Our proposals allow us to build on existing partnerships and forge new relationships with Mana Whenua at a local level. They also provide for the continuation of local influence and community property rights.

“I am confident that our plans are in line with what most of our residents want. C4LD has presented a reform framework that is directly supported by nearly half of the councils in New Zealand and is aligned with the views of most others.

“It is not too late to rescue this reform, all that needs to happen is for the Government to place some trust in us.

“The current proposal, which independent analysis shows has a significant number of flaws and in many areas will deliver worse outcomes than the current system.

“There is little to no public support for this reform in its current state, repeated surveys show the public is against it and most political parties voted against it, so the Government has no mandate to force it through.

“The whole sector is eager to partner and work with the Government to turn this around and find a lasting solution that gets it right that we can all support.”

C4LD’s 10 point proposal for compromise - supported by all members - reads:

1. Foundation principle - community property rights in Three Waters assets are to be both respected and meaningful.
2. The Government should agree to amend its current reform process and allow time for the revised approach to be reflected in legislation.
3. With respect to investment decision-making, asset owners should actively seek to initiate authentic discussions with mana whenua at a local level that acknowledge and enable Te Tiriti based pathways at a local and regional level.
4. In return, asset owners agree to commit to meeting health and environmental standards, once known, within an appropriate time frame.
5. The regulatory framework should specify a “backstop” provision that identifies a set of circumstances which would justify future Crown intervention if an asset owner was not making acceptable progress towards meeting those regulatory requirements.
6. Progress should be reported annually by asset owners and be benchmarked across the sector.
7. To further incentivise sector progress, a formal process might be established that requires an asset owner to prepare a plan that would map out the steps it proposes to take to meet the required standards in a financially viable and sustainable manner.
8. A process to finance and allocate funds to areas that will require financial assistance be designed that is national in application and independently administered accordingly to objective and transparent criteria.
9. This subsidy scheme will be designed to meet investment shortfalls until such time as sufficient progress has been made. At which point the scheme will cease and asset owners will finance matters on a business-as-usual approach.
10. A sector-wide sector best-practice improvement process be created and membership made compulsory. (In a similar manner used to implement successfully the One Network Road Classification Framework and now One Network Framework in the road infrastructure area, and governed by Waka Kotahi and the Local Government Sector.)

For more information on Communities 4 Local Democracy He hapori mō te Manapori (C4LD) visit https://www.communities4localdemocracy.co.nz/

ENDS

Website: www.greydc.govt.nz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreyDC

Contact: Megan Bourke

Grey District Council

Phone 03 769 8600