Anger at Three Waters call

Waipā District Council and Federated Farmers have reacted angrily to the government’s decision to take away its water assets in favour of four new mega entities.

Nanaia Mahuta

Local Government minister Nanaia Mahuta made the announcement yesterday that its Three Waters reforms – drinking, waste, and storm water – would go ahead.

Under the plan, four publicly-owned multi-regional entities will take on responsibility for the country’s water infrastructure – a role now carried out by 67 local authorities.

Waipā mayor Jim Mylchreest said councils had acted in good faith, but the government had now removed communities’ rights to have a voice on the future of water entities.

Jim Mylchreest

He called on Local Government New Zealand to consider any legal avenues available, particularly whether the government was constitutionally allowed to make the decision it did.

“I don’t think the (Waipā) community is ready to accept this and they would expect us to fight.”

Waipā councillor Susan O’Regan, who represents a rural ward and been a vocal opponent around the council table, said she was “furious” at the decision.

“It is unacceptable that the minister has refused to listen to the overwhelming opposition expressed not only by councils the length of the country but from its citizens.

Susan O’Regan

“Mandating these reforms in the face of this almost unanimous opposition clearly sends the message this government is focused on fulfilling its ideological agenda rather than consider the views of its citizens,” she said.

“It is clearly an audacious move in an unpopular week for this government.”

Federated Farmers president Andrew Hoggard urged rural residents to “gear up” to have their say.

New Zealanders have voiced serious misgivings over the government’s plans, he said.

“We remain opposed to this plan.

“The government’s announcement today that this will be mandatory is a huge call.”

More Recent News

Libraries – ‘more than books’

The man helping take Waipā District Libraries’ public services into the age of technology has been nuts about computers since he was about four. Now in his late 20s, Joe Poultney is a self-confessed techno-nerd…

Fears over waste plan

The proposal to build a waste to energy plant in Te Awamutu is the antithesis of all the district stands for, says Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan. O’Regan appeared before an independent Board of Inquiry in…

Five councils take the plunge

Ōtorohanga District Council led the way last week as the first of five councils to decide to hand its drinking and waste water over to a council-controlled water authority. Ōtorohanga councillors voted to join stage…

Brilliant bare necessities

The deft hands of a veterinary surgeon and scientist are the same hands that have crafted the brilliant costumes for the upcoming St Peter’s Catholic School production of The Jungle Book. The three performances in…