Putting up with poor water quality in the future would be “rude as” according to the government’s TV adverts, but many in Central Otago feel the way changes are being pushed through to fix the problem is equally impolite.

Residents Janet McDonald and Gill Booth told the Central Otago District Council’s elected members at a meeting on the 4th November, that it took almost no prompting of people to gather 731 signatures on their petition opposing the Three Waters reforms.  

The petition decries the mandating of centralisation of drinking, waste and storm water management into four large entities. The way the government had handled the process was “an affront to democracy”, Janet said.

The meeting heard that wide ranging improvement in water management is much-needed but the government’s proposal to centralise control of infrastructure, and its move to now make the changes without promised public consultation, has met far-reaching opposition. 

Janet told the council, during an online public forum, that people would not accept the by-passing of public consultation and urged council not to accept it either.

“As the people of Central Otago’s elected representatives, it is not good enough to throw your hands in the air and say we cannot do anything about it. The council is the house of the people so represent us.”

Councillors unanimously expressed frustration and anger at the government’s change in stance to remove opportunity for public consultation and the ability to opt out of the reforms. 

Cr Neil Gillespie said council needed to send a clear message to government in a way that would achieve something.

“The community has been underdone big time. It is an unmitigated disaster in how to engage with communities and take them with you.”

Many, including Cr Stuart Duncan, felt uncomfortable with having told local residents there would be consultation, then having to retract that following the announcement by the Minister of Local Government, Nanaia Mahuta, on October 27 that joining the reforms would become mandatory for all of New Zealand’s 67 councils.

“We would have been a good team to debate against the government and stick up for our communities. We never got that chance, we were silenced,” he said.

This week the council will publish an open letter to government reflecting their discontent and Mayor Tim Cadogan said his appointment to a national working group focusing on representation, governance and accountability of the proposed water entities, would give opportunity to try and get the best possible outcome for Central Otago.

He is one of three South Island elected members on the group and will join six from the North Island and nine iwi/Maori members with representatives from both islands.

His role on the working group was also to help be a voice for smaller communities and councils throughout New Zealand.

The group had government-imposed limitations however, on its powers to change and influence actual outcomes and it also would not be addressing two additional areas of concern.

The risk of future privatisation of water assets and the need to secure enhanced consumer protection for ratepayers were outside of the group’s scope, he said.

“What the outcomes will be, I don’t know.”