The mayor and councillors of Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) have published an open letter to the Hon. Nanaia Mahuta, minister for local government, opposing the move to mandate three waters reform.

In the letter (dated Thursday December 23) council has urged that Nanaia “demonstrate leadership and transparency in the delivery of this reform programme and re-establish a full programme of meaningful engagement with New Zealanders before taking any further steps”.

Mayor Jim Boult said he and fellow councillors felt compelled to express their significant disappointment and to uphold their collective commitment to oppose a government mandate.

“This council is in no way questioning the need for safe drinking water, to protect our precious environment and ensure effective Māori partnership as expressed through these proposed reforms,” Jim said.

“Our own commitment can be seen in the significant investment the council is making in its 2021-2031 Ten Year Plan with more than $750M allocated to water supply, wastewater and stormwater.”

“But public and stakeholder consultation needs to remain at the heart of such important decisions. These reforms have the potential to affect generations to come and should be underpinned by meaningful and genuinely open engagement,” he said.

The letter is critical of the government’s lack of consultation on the proposed three waters reform which would see government-established entities taking control of councils’ water services and assets.

The country’s 67 councils are currently each responsible for water management in their regions but the government plans to change that model by creating four entities, governed jointly by an appointed board and Māori, to own and manage drinking water, wastewater and stormwater.

In October Nanaia acknowledged the decision would be unpopular but said it was necessary to fix a “broken system”.

“It is clear that without the establishment of these entities we will continue to see a frail network and contaminated water in many communities,” she said. 

“To delay will only push the problem on, increase future household costs and put livelihoods at risk.”

QLDC is urging the government not to mandate the transfer of council assets, to remain open to different reform options, and to adopt a pathway towards implementation that allows communities to formally participate in the decision-making on the future of their three water assets

The council also said the programme for reform needs to be re-designed to tackle three waters, resource management and the Future for Local Government review.

A copy of the letter to the minister can be found on the QLDC website.

PHOTO: Wānaka App