It’s time for new PM to rescue water reforms

The signal from Prime Minister Chris Hipkins that the proposed Three Waters reform will be reviewed, has been welcomed by Hurunui District’s Mayor Marie Black.

Hurunui District Council is one of the 30 councils to join Communities 4 Local Democracy He hapori mō te Manapori (C4LD), collectively representing more than a million New Zealanders.

All members of C4LD are calling on the new Prime Minister to take a fresh look at the government’s model for water reform and working with them to find a model that works for local communities.

Mayor Black said this is a positive opportunity for Prime Minister Hipkins to deliver on government aims for three waters while bringing districts like Hurunui with him.

“Keeping the control of water service delivery in the hands of local communities is a major collective aim for all councils represented by C4LD,” said Mayor Black.

It is a year now since C4LD presented to the Ministerial Working Party with its credible Reform alternatives, highlighting the flaws in the government’s proposed model.

“It is not too late to rescue this reform, all that needs to happen is for the government to place some trust in local government, and listen to what we have to say,” said Mayor Black.

Manawatu District Mayor and C4LD Chair Helen Worboys said the detailed proposals C4LD has brought to the table enable the government to deliver on all its aims, create opportunities for strong and lasting partnerships and deliver safe, sustainable and affordable water services for all New Zealanders.

She added that local councils should be given the opportunity to use their wealth of knowledge to deliver better alternatives to the current proposal, which independent analysis shows has a significant number of flaws and in many areas will deliver worse outcomes than the current system.

Better alternatives will in turn enable building on existing partnerships, the continuation of local influence and community property rights, and forging new relationships with Mana Whenua at a local level.

“We’re confident that our plans are in line with what the majority of New Zealanders want. We’ve presented a reform framework that is directly supported by nearly half of councils in New Zealand and is aligned with the views of the majority of others,” said Mayor Worboys.

C4LD’s 10 point proposal for compromise - supported by all members - reads:

1. Foundation principle - community property rights in Three Waters assets are to be both respected and meaningful.

2. The Government should agree to amend its current reform process and allow time for the revised approach to be reflected in legislation.

3. With respect to investment decision-making, asset owners should actively seek to initiate authentic discussions with mana whenua at a local level that acknowledge and enable Te Tiriti based pathways at a local and regional level.

4. In return, asset owners agree to commit to meeting health and environmental standards, once known, within an appropriate time frame.

5. The regulatory framework should specify a “backstop” provision that identifies a set of circumstances which would justify future Crown intervention if an asset owner was not making acceptable progress towards meeting those regulatory requirements.

6. Progress should be reported on annually by asset owners and be benchmarked across the sector.

7. To further incentivise sector progress, a formal process might be established that requires an asset owner to prepare a plan that would map out the steps it proposes to take to meet the required standards in a financially viable and sustainable manner.

8. A process to finance and allocate funds to areas that will require financial assistance be designed that is national in application and independently administered accordingly to objective and transparent criteria.

9. This subsidy scheme will be designed to meet investment shortfalls until such time as sufficient progress has been made. At which point the scheme will cease and asset owners will finance matters on a business-as-usual approach.

10. A sector-wide sector best-practice improvement process be created and membership made compulsory. (In a similar manner used to implement successfully the One Network Road Classification Framework and now One Network Framework in the road infrastructure area and governed by Waka Kotahi and the Local Government Sector.)

For more information on Communities 4 Local Democracy He hapori mō te Manapori (C4LD) visit https://www.communities4localdemocracy.co.nz/