Mandatory Three Waters Reform: broken promises says Waipā Mayor

A promise of a public consultation period over the Three Waters Reform has been broken, says Waipā District’s mayor Jim Mylchreest following Cabinet’s announcement this morning that the Three Waters Reform will be mandatory.

The announcement comes after an intensive eight-week period for local government to provide feedback on the Government’s reform proposals.

As a result of the feedback from councils, Cabinet have confirmed they will be creating three working groups from local government representatives and iwi, to work on representation and accountability arrangements; interface between the reforms and the resource management system; and the approach to transitioning rural community supplies.

“Councils around New Zealand entered into the process with the understanding that the Three Waters Reform was an opt-in or opt-out proposition; and that we would be given time to consult with our communities – now that has changed,” Mylchreest said.

“Waipā District Council still don’t support the reforms in its current format, and we wanted time to consult with our community, in a public forum, which we were not able to do. We also had questions we wanted answers to. It is very disappointing to say the least.”

“Now we need to look ahead and to what we can do. How can we make this work best for Waipā – even though we are not happy about it.”

Councils across New Zealand will have their waters assets divided between four entities. Waipā will be part of Entity B, made up of 22 councils across the central North Island.

Waipā District Council Group Manager Service Delivery Dawn Inglis said with the announcement of the reform becoming mandatory across the country, the focus now changes.

“We need to plan how we ensure job security for those people in our teams who are impacted, and what their path forward will be,” Inglis said.