Three Waters feedback sought

Consultation opened last Friday seeking Aucklanders’ views on how the Government might set up a new water entity for Auckland and the northern councils. 

Auckland Council is seeking feedback on how the entity tasked with managing water services and assets will be accountable to the people of the region.

Feedback must be submitted by Sunday December 19. Information, including how to sign up for online webinars, a consultation document and an online submission form is available at www.akhaveyoursay.nz/3waters

In October, the Government announced its proposal to reform New Zealand’s water sector. This included legislating for four publicly-owned water entities to provide drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services. This reform will be mandatory for all councils across New Zealand. 

Consultation and research feedback will be used to inform Council’s input.

Council says it supports: 
• Lifting the quality of water supply and wastewater treatment across Aotearoa NZ
• Providing more investment into water infrastructure across the country
• The need outside of Auckland to achieve greater scale and capability in the delivery of water
• Improving water quality in our lakes, rivers and beaches.

But has concerns with:
• The complexity of the governance framework for water entities
• Loss of direct control of water assets and services for Aucklanders
• Limited representation for Auckland, in proportion to the assets and population served
• Limited benefits, given existing scale and efficiency our current structure provides
• Less integration with Auckland Council’s planning and development functions.

Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers says ratepayers across Auckland should pressure their local councillors to seek a judicial review of the Government’s Three Waters reforms. The call comes after Mayor Phil Goff rejected the judicial review idea in favour of participating in the working group to try to persuade the Government to make changes to the reforms.