Difficult Conversations: Your views on the Government’s Three Waters reforms

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Friday’s topic is Three Waters reforms. This stream will be open from 12pm – 5pm and will be strictly moderated according to our terms and conditions, so please read them before you start posting.

The mayors of Auckland and Christchurch, Wayne Brown and Phil Mauger, joined forces this week to unveil an alternative version of the Government’s Three Waters reforms.

Those reforms will change the way water infrastructure is funded and managed throughout the entire country.

READ MORE:
* Three Waters: Big-city proposal ‘needs time to develop’
* The Detail: Wayne Brown and controlling the message
* Analysis: Brown and Mauger take the alternative Three Waters mantle from the regions
* Auckland mayor sprang Three Waters alternative on council with 8 minutes’ notice

The Government wants to take the responsibility off councils and give it to four new mega entities, which would then be co-governed by councils and local iwi.

Almost all mayors and councils support the idea of change, but many have rebuked the Government’s plan. Please comment with your views on Three Waters in the section below.

The arguments

The Government wants:

• Four new water service entities to cover the entire country. It says the large size will create efficiencies by consolidating admin and overhead costs.
• Councils and local mana whenua to co-govern each entity through a 12-to-14-person group that has a membership split 50-50. This group would govern, which means it sets the entity’s strategic direction and appoints a competent board.
• Each entity to have its own financial books. The entities would own the water infrastructure and councils would then own the entities.

Brown and Mauger want:

• Councils to decide how big the entities should be. Councils should decide for themselves if it makes sense to join up and form a regional entity.
• Co-governance dropped as a requirement. They want each council to engage with local mana whenua about the role that mana whenua want.
• Councils to keep ownership and control of the infrastructure to “ensure local accountability”.

The history

• The reforms have caused considerable tension between councils and government ever since they were embarked upon in 2020.
• Many councils have opposed the reforms and lamented the loss of direct control and influence. They also lost the ability to opt out of the reforms, as initially promised by the Government.

Key players

• Wayne Brown and Phil Mauger: The freshly-elected mayors of Auckland and Christchurch, our two biggest cities. Both take over from former Labour ministers, Phil Goff and Lianne Dalziel. Brown and Mauger are the leading faces of the “alternative proposal” for Three Waters.
• Dan Gordon and Helen Worboys: the mayors of Waimakariri and Manawatū. For the past year, they have been co-chairs of a group of 30 councils calling for changes to the Government’s Three Waters proposal. Both played a role in the development of the new proposal unveiled by Brown and Mauger.
• Nanaia Mahuta and Jacinda Ardern: the Local Government Minister and Prime Minister. They have been the two main advocates of the Government proposal. In April, Mahuta said the proposal had been tested and refined; concerns were listened to; and it was now time to move forward.
• Mana whenua: many Iwi leaders say it’s time for change. Ngāti Toa, Ngāi Tahu and Tainui voiced their support for the Government proposal in April. Ngāi Tahu said: “It’s now time to get this done.”
• National: the Opposition. They say if elected at next year’s general election, they will repeal and replace the reforms.

Why it matters

• Brown and Mauger’s alternative option lacks some aspects that are considered essential by the Government, namely co-governance and giving the new entities their own financial books.

• Water infrastructure across the country is ageing. Some councils have not been spending enough on it for years.

• Household water bills will skyrocket in about 30 years if nothing changes, according to an analysis commissioned by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).

What next?

• The Government has already introduced legislation to set up the four co-governed entities it envisions.
• The Government wants the entities up and running by July 2024.
• That bill is being considered by a Parliament select committee and Mahuta says their final report is expected to be released before November 11.