Three Waters reform: Māori leaders in Wellington region welcome changes, focus is on wellbeing of people

Friday, 29 October 2021

The Government will push ahead with Three Waters reform despite considerable opposition. Video first published on October 27, 2021.

In his lifetime, Helmut Modlik has seen Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour – once beautiful and a place to heal wounds – degrade into a pond full of bacterial pollution and industrial waste.

Over in Tītahi Bay the surfing beach was frequently shut down and the nearby wastewater treatment plant is spilling over in dry and wet weather, the chief executive of Ngāti Toa said.

Flooding happens frequently in Takapūwāhia – water takes over the streets and the marae.

So when Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced on Wednesday that the Government would push ahead with Three Waters reforms and take control of water services and assets, Modlik welcomed the announcement – a different perspective compared to the considerable opposition the reforms had so far received.

* Waikato-Tainui says iwi voice crucial in three waters reform

* Sparks fly over three waters, social media and misinformation

The entrance to Porirua Harbour and Pauatahanui Inlet looking toward Papakōwhai and boats at Mana Marina. (File photo)

* Western science isn't keeping you safe from the poo in Porirua

Chief executive of Ngāti Toa, Helmut Modlik, says “the priority is the wellbeing of our people and there’s a fundamental linkage to quality and the wellbeing of our environment, and in particular, our waterways'.

“The priority is the wellbeing of our people and there’s a fundamental linkage to quality and the wellbeing of our environment and, in particular, our waterways,” Modlik said.

“From Ngāti Toa’s point of view, what should be dead centre in the debate is this question: ‘What is required to have healthy people, healthy environments and healthy waterways?’ That's what it should be all about.

Te Raukura Te Wharewaka O Pōneke chairwoman Liz Mellish says she congratulates Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta for being committed to the reforms around water.

“I’m hopeful we can get these outcomes as soon as possible. The degraded state of our waterways and the impacts on the wellbeing of people and the community – we wanted that remedy yesterday,” Modlik said.

He said opposition to the reforms was being seen as self-interest from councils and people whose jobs were tied to balance sheets.

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced on Wednesday that the Government would push ahead with Three Waters reforms and take control of water services and assets.

The provocative opposition statements reminded him of David Lange’s public discussion on the electoral forum. “He said ‘asking politicians to design electoral systems is like asking panel beaters to design intersections'.”

Aotearoa’s ratepayers had paid for water services and assets, and they did not care if there was one or four public entities – what they wanted was an outcome, he said.

“The Government’s plan will provide a focused delivery without wider, political shenanigans … from an iwi perspective, this has introduced and strengthened our voice and role in bringing to bear our views on these sorts of issues and quality of water.”

Modlik said Ngāti Toa was looking to co-invest and was having conversations with Wellington Water and local councils to stand up what was necessary.

“That’s how urgent it is.”

Te Raukura Te Wharewaka O Pōneke chairwoman Liz Mellish, from Te Āti Awa ki Pōneke, said her initial response to the Three Waters reforms was “thank goodness”.

“I congratulate Nanaia Mahuta for being committed to reforms around water,” Mellish said.

In Wellington City and the Hutt Valley, there had been huge concerns around the care of waterways since colonisation, she said. And in the 1980s, Māori fought councils in both areas to stop them from pouring untreated sewerage into waterways.

None of the councils had a good record of caring for freshwater rivers and streams, she said.

“They’ve altered water courses, particularly Te Awakairangi, without thinking of the consequences of that.”

“Our role as Te Āti Awa ki Pōneke is to look after the land, the water, the air and the people over and under, and around it. We see it as a responsibility and obligation to our culture,” Mellish said.

“My hope is that this comes somewhat out of the political arena.”

She did not want to see the reforms become more about politics than it did about people and wellbeing..

As part of the reforms, the Government would legislate in early December to create four new water entities that would take on the water assets currently owned by councils.

A working group of local government, iwi and water industry experts would work on how the entities would be governed.