‘Washing machine’ changes leave councils waiting for what’s next

Tuesday, 24 October 2023

Waikato councils are waiting to see if a stack of Labour-led changes will be undone with National in power.

The past three years were like being in a “washing machine” according to an east Waikato mayor working through changes including the Three Waters Reforms and for the RMA.

National has indicated they would dump the two major projects within their first 100 days and revert to the old versions during a total rewrite.

But with special votes not fully counted and a Port Waikato by-election to come, local councils were far from reassured.

Blanket changes aren’t helpful “when there’s individual issues that haven’t been addressed,” says Matamata-Piako District Council Mayor Adrienne Wilcock.

“Councils have been in a washing machine really, just constantly tossing and turning, said Matamata-Piako District Mayor Adrienne Wilcock.

Water woes have plagued her district, with regular water conservation notices, treatment plant breakdowns and reservoir pressures.

But the Three Waters Reforms, now Affordable Waters Reforms, had been controversial in the area and the people had spoken, Wilcock said.

“A lot of us were definitely for change… The community did not support [3 waters],” she said. ”Really, a lot of money was wasted.”

But a switch to a new government also came with a fresh set of challenges. While some national direction was needed, Wilcock wanted any solutions to be local government-led.

National has committed to getting rid of three waters in its first 100 days of government, says MP for Waikato Tim van de Molen.

“We all need services for fresh drinking water but when you blanket it across everybody when there’s individual issues that haven’t been addressed, there’s a lot of complexities.”

Local MP Tim van de Molen was reassuring constituents that a stable government was on the way in - and three waters was on the way out.

A National government proposal would give councils more “control and autonomy” to find their own solution, Van de Molen said, and would not force them into collective arrangements.

National says it has its own proposal, called Local Water Done Well (file photo).

“An election is always an unsettling time in terms of the potential uncertainty it can create based on which major party is in. We’re at the back end of that now.

”We just don’t see three waters being the right solution so we’re committed to getting rid of that within our first 100 days…and replace it with a proposal we put out…Local Water Done Well.”

Getting enough funding for water infrastructure could now be a challenge, Thames-Coromandel District Mayor Len Salt said.

For the cyclone-hit Coromandel Peninsula, the region was deep in recovery strategies and restoring its tourism industry.

After a three waters U-turn it would be challenging for Thames-Coromandel to get funding for water infrastructure, making it hard to deliver essential services, Mayor Len Salt has previously said.

“These challenges are at the forefront of our discussions with the Waikato Mayoral Forum and our combined iwi leaders.”

The current model was “widely seen as unsustainable for the majority of councils” and there would be increasing pressure on the government to act.