Three water reforms rile mayor
A rural mayor in the heart of the Waikato region is still livid with the Government’s three waters reforms programme, calling it a mess.
This is despite an independent review being conducted late last month which sought to settle resistance from some councils.
Outgoing mayor for Matamata-Piako District Council, Ash Tanner said representation and engagement was still not being embodied fairly, and he felt their community was being hauled along in the dark.
‘‘It’s not democracy,’’ Tanner said.
‘‘The working group was given such tight terms of reference that in my mind, it didn’t actually address the real concerns because they were off the table.
‘‘I still have issues with how it’s all taken place – we were told that we were going to be able to consult with our communities and take them along this journey. . . we had the option of opting in or opting out, well we all know that got pulled out from under our feet.’’
The Three Waters Working Group tasked with conducting the review was made up of representatives from local government and iwi/Maori.
They provided 47 recommendations to government and Cabinet accepted many of them.
This included offering greater clarity about the changes being proposed, confirming ownership and shareholding structures and strengthening the voice of councils and communities.
Both Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta and Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said the reforms were the best option moving forward, and they couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
‘‘The Government has confirmed local council ownership and strengthened local voice by accepting the vast majority of the Three Waters Working Group recommendations on representation, governance and accountability, infrastructure,’’ Robertson said.
‘‘At the heart of councils’ concerns have been the issues of ownership and voice, by accepting the majority of the recommendations made by the independent Working Group on Representation, including a shareholding plan, we have listened to these concerns and modified our proposals accordingly.’’
But still, the programme has fallen short for Tanner who questioned how much priority and compensation the MatamataPiako District was going to get amongst larger councils and those with greater water issues.
‘‘Us as a council, we have been prudent, and we have kept our infrastructure in good shape, we invest in it, we still are,’’ he said.
‘‘Our infrastructure is probably worth around $250-$280 million and in their ‘no worse off package’ if you’d like to call it that, they said they’d give us compensation of around $17 million, in our case.
‘‘In Matamata-Piako’s case you get one share per 50,000 population, this share is a nonfinancial share, a non-voting share, a non-decision-making share, so in other words it’s rubbish.’’
The Government was headstrong, however, about pushing the reforms through as way to combat the impacts of underinvestment in water infrastructure and financial burden for ratepayers.
Robertson said everyone accepts the need for change. ‘‘You only have to look at the number of burst pipes, boil water notices and the volume of sewerage spewing into our harbours to see we can’t carry on as we are and that our water infrastructure is crumbling.
‘‘I acknowledge the anxiety around change, but ratepayers and local communities cannot keep paying more and more for services that have been underinvested in for too long, and now put their health at risk.
‘‘That’s why the Government has extensively engaged with local government, iwi and hapū , the water industry for more than four years to understand the case for change and assess the best option for reform,’’ Robertson said.
Tanner said a regulator would tidy up the issues being faced by councils by setting standards and long-term goals while monitoring their progress, rather than making sweeping changes for everyone.