The dust has settled after last week’s Three Waters Roadshow event at the Alexandra Memorial Hall last week (Monday June 4), but the campaign to Stop Three Waters is continuing with the group reaching 100,000 signatures on its petition to the government.

The roadshow is the initiative of centre-right grassroots movement Groundswell and the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. 

Three Waters Reform proposals

The reforms propose taking New Zealand’s water services assets (infrastructure like pipes, sewerage plants, drinking purification plants, etc) paid for over decades by ratepayers and turning them over to four entities, three in the north island and one in the south. Entity D will cover most of the South Island, excluding Nelson,Tasman and Marlborough.

According to the Taxpayer Union water assets, currently owned and operated by 27 South Island councils (including the QLDC), would be amalgamated into Entity D and governed by a board of 12. 

Two ‘regional representative’ groups would determine Entity D’s board: one group will comprise the 27 councils (representing 1.2 million people) and the other will be mana whenua (Ngāi Tahu). Each group will have six representatives. 

Find the government’s ‘frequently asked questions’ about Three Waters reform here. 

https://www.dia.govt.nz/three-waters-reform-programme-frequently-asked-questions

Alexandra roadshow event

Approximately 200 people attended the Alexandra event, where the primary speaker was former broadcaster Peter Williams speaking on behalf of the New Zealand Taxpayers Union.

Councils throughout the country acknowledged that improvements can be made to Three Waters services, he said, which is why most councils have invested and continue to invest millions of ratepayer dollars in water assets and services.

“Yes, there is a need to improve water services in this country. Many local authorities have expensive water infrastructure needs ahead [and] significant investment is required. But there are many other local authorities that are doing just fine because of their consistent and significant investment through the years.” 

However, he was disparaging of the proposed Three Waters reform model which would centralise the ownership and control of these assets and the layers of bureaucracy required to support the model.

Councils “do not need a regional water entity formed by Wellington bureaucrats and politicians” to remind them of their investment responsibilities, he said.

A pre-recorded statement by Invercargill City Council’s deputy mayor Nobby Clark aired during the evening was also well received, particularly his comments about the government’s dishonesty regarding councils’ ability to “opt-out” of the reforms, and the issues of co-governance and asset ownership.

Nobby also highlighted the issue of “freshwater versus drinking”. Central government has emphasised the need to safeguard health by improving freshwater. 

“Most people don't actually realise about only two percent of [treated water] is actually drunk.”

The other 98 percent is used to irrigate gardens, feed stock, wash dishes, flush toilets, have showers and so on. “So we are taking a sledgehammer to what could be potentially a much smaller problem.”

CODC’s position on Three Waters

Mayor Tim also spoke at the meeting. An interesting Monday night  - check the story today.

The CODC has told the government it wants protections against privatisation, requirements for entities to develop strong relationships with councils, and legislative requirements to use growth projections and spatial plans as a basis for planning for future growth.

The council also wants government to require entities to implement a funding mechanism similar to development contributions to enable cumulative effects of growth to be funded in an equitable manner across entities; the establishment of a water ombudsman; legislative requirement for standardised pricing for baseline services; and certainty provided to local providers and contractors to ensure there is no negative financial or economic impact on local economies.

It has also sought competency-based non-iwi appointments to the representative group to reflect the community in which they deliver services.

Read also: Central’s Three Waters in Need of Considerable Investment 

In addition to the public meetings, the roadshow team will also meet community leaders, elected representatives and candidates for October’s local body elections, asking them to sign a ‘Community Leaders’ Appeal’ calling on the prime minister to halt the controversial reforms.