The Groundswell/Taxpayers Union roadshow rolled into Alexandra on Monday night (June 4), holding a town hall meeting to protest the 3 Waters reforms.  

I wasn’t surprised to see a good turn-out of around 200, as Central Otago people are amongst the most engaged in the country and the reforms are certainly a hot topic.

I had been offered a chance to speak and got to do so after former broadcaster Peter Williams spoke for about half an hour. 

Williams grabbed many and varied threads and successfully made a rope to hang the reforms from in the eyes of the crowd.

His words were received enthusiastically by almost all of the crowd although I found his conjecture stated as fact disappointing. He, like many others, filled the gulf created by the total failure of the government to explain the reforms with half-truths.

One of the main aims of the meeting was to apply pressure on local councils to hold a referendum on being part of the reforms and to leave LGNZ, the local government parent body.  

I am confused as to why the organisers think there is any point to either of these actions.  

One of the thoughts always in my head in this job is “and then what”. We could hold a referendum, costing tens of thousands of dollars to do so, and then what? The government, which makes the laws, has said the reforms are happening, and continues to hold that line against ferocious opposition. A referendum won’t change a thing, so I have to question the value in spending the money.  

I ask a similar question about the call to leave LGNZ; we leave and then what? We are a council representing less than 0.5 per cent of New Zealand’s population so not being a part of a larger organisation comes at significant cost in the advocacy space. We would also lose the significant training opportunities LGNZ brings, for what purpose?  

I think that we are better off trying to change things we don’t like from within the organisation.  

An example of that is that Central Otago District Council (CODC) is a seconder of a motion for the LGNZ AGM that, if passed, would stop LGNZ entering into agreements with any government without first getting approval of all its members. It was the entering into an MoU with government on 3 waters that has incensed many, and this remit addresses that issue directly.

When it came my turn to speak, the crowd by and large listened to what I had to say, despite the best efforts of Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers Union to inspire heckling.

I am grateful that I am mayor of a community that still holds to the values of hearing from all sides, unlike some places that the roadshow has visited.