Spare us Three Waters

Mayor Kirsten Wise asks whether we will be better off under the Three Waters amalgamation promoted by the Department of Internal Affairs.

The answer is no. Another government department, MBIE, has warned of potential price gouging, pointing out that “the scale of the water entities and the absence of competition means there are significant risks that the entities do not act in the long-term interests of consumers”. [Dominion Post, October 28, 2021] The images of waterspouts erupting in Wellington streets and raw sewage pouring into the harbour shows something needs to be done urgently.

If the Government has a spare $2.5 billion to throw around they should help fix Wellington’s water woes rather than trying to persuade councils to amalgamate into four mega water companies?

Cities like Napier and Hastings are just going to end up subsidising Wellington.

Pauline Doyle Napier