Govt urged to halt Three Waters

The Gore District Council is asking the Government to halt Three Waters and is calling for a national referendum.

The council says it opposes the reform as it stands within the Water Services Entities Plan.

Mayor Tracy Hicks has in the past advocated for Three Waters to be set up as a similar model to the Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency to fund roading infrastructure.

However, in a submission on the Water Services Entities Bill sent to the Government’s finance and expenditure select committee on July 12, the council says ‘‘given the troubled history of this reform process, we urge the Government to pause and seek a mandate’’.

‘‘The number of stumbles, misinformation, misleading behaviour and design flaws warrants a national referendum on this critical issue. The Government has arrived at a place where it has a reform proposal in mind, yet it is confronted with unprecedented opposition.’’

The council says a national referendum would provide indelible evidence as to whether the Government has the mandate to press on with these reforms.

The district council acknowledges there is an immediate need for a system change to how water and wastewater services are financed. But the financial challenges the small rural council faces to meet rising environmental standards, particularly regarding wastewater treatment, are huge.

‘‘If the Government genuinely believes in democracy and acting in accordance with the wishes of the people, it needs to realise its clumsy approach to the reform process demands a fresh mandate,’’ Hicks said, in a statement.

The district council describes the water service entities, which will oversee the delivery of services throughout the country, as unduly

‘‘Given the troubled history of this reform process, we urge the Government to pause and seek a mandate’’.

complex and laden with bureaucracy.

Trust levels ‘‘hit rock bottom’’ when the Government ‘‘unceremoniously dumped’’ the opportunity for councils to opt-in or opt-out of the reforms, instead legislating it to be mandatory, he said.

The contamination of Havelock North’s drinking water supply in 2016, which the Government has used as the genesis for the reforms, was an extreme case, he said.

Councillors endorsed the council’s submission, which was tabled as an urgent late item at yesterday’s meeting.