Thames Coromandel snubbed by the Western Bay, left out of waters group

Tuesday, 2 September 2025

Thames Coromandel deputy mayor Terry Walker said Western Bay pulling out of the three-way water services agreement was ‘a surprise at the 11th hour’.

Thames Coromandel District Council’s attempts to join a multi-council water services group have been blocked by one of the councils involved, leaving it to fend for itself.

The snub has seen the council call on the Government to appoint a facilitator to resolve the impasse which has been labelled “a surprise at the 11th hour” by deputy mayor Terry Walker.

The council had previously voted to join Tauranga City and Western Bay of Plenty District councils in a council-controlled organisation (CCO) it said would save money for residents over the long-term.

Western Bay of Plenty mayor James Denyer said Treaty of Waitangi issues raised by local iwi lead his council to exclude Thames Coromandel from its water services plans.

However, while Tauranga were keen to buddy up, Western Bay pulled out of the three-way partnership saying unresolved Treaty of Waitangi settlement issues with local iwi could be comprised further if Thames Coromandel joined the CCO as planned.

Last week, Thames Coromandel approved its version of the government-mandated Local Water Done Well legislation opting for plan B, an internal water services delivery unit “while exploring a joint Water Services Organisation (WSO) with other councils”.

The council said an in-house water services unit was a viable option only for the short and medium term.

Tauranga mayor Mahé Drysdale said his council had left the door open for Thames Coromandel to join its water services organisation in future.

“But over the longer term a joint WSO that includes a metropolitan area can deliver greater efficiencies of scale, particularly in procurement and securing skilled staff.

“Our detailed analysis and financial modelling carried out over many months identified a joint WSO as the best long-term option in terms of future affordability for local ratepayers.”

The council has asked the government to “help find a pathway to navigate the iwi/hapū matters that have been raised” through a Crown facilitator, and if successful would seek to join the Tauranga and Western Bay’s WSO in future.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts has been asked to appoint a facilitator to help resolve problems with Thames Coromandel’s joining of a water services organisation with two Bay of Plenty-based councils.

In a recent statement, Western Bay of Plenty District mayor James Denyer said his council voted to partner with Tauranga City marking “a shift away from a previously considered three-council partnership”.

“This decision wasn’t made lightly,” Denyer said.

“It’s clear from the kōrero we’ve had with our community, iwi and hapū that a focused partnership with Tauranga [City] is the most appropriate way forward.

“We greatly value the hard work and good faith Thames Coromandel has put into this process,” he said.

Thames Coromandel district councillor Peter Revell said time constraints were ‘the villain of the peace’ when it came to problems encountered with the government’s Local Water Done Well legislation.

On August 15, Tauranga’s council voted to proceed with a WSO with its Western Bay of Plenty neighbour but not with Thames Coromandel.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said the door had been left open for Thames Coromandel to join the two-council WSO in future.

Drysdale said after “a request from the Western Bay of Plenty District Council for help and certainty … a majority of councillors voted to help out our neighbour and deliver certainty to both staff and our potential partners”.

“The best outcome for our people is that we all work together. Through scale and efficiency, all councils involved will deliver significant savings to their ratepayers.”

Mayor Len Salt said the council were “working through a delicate process” and he’d prefer to be “overly cautious” by not making a public statement.

“I don't want to say anything that kind of tangles that up in the weeds,” he told the Waikato Times.

Deputy mayor Terry Walker said Western Bay’s decision came “as a bit of a surprise at the 11th hour”.

“We’d done a year of due diligence with a working group of councillors, staff, and consultants to go through and work with these other two councils.

“During those discussions there were no issues around iwi brought up … Tauranga had already resolved those issues.

“Western Bay of Plenty, who had shown us no issues, raised the same problem.

“We just want to show that there's some huge benefits, about a 20% saving for our local ratepayers, by doing this water services agreement with those councils.

“We think it's worth the effort to fight for the better deal for our ratepayers.”

Councillor Peter Revell said the council were disappointed but “want to try everything we can to get the deal done … it’s in the best interests of our ratepayers”.

“The villain of the peace here are the time lines for this process … they have been incredibly tight and has left us no margin for error if there was a delay like this.”

Revell said he hoped Thames Coromandel would be allowed to continue with its involvement with the WSO as the two Bay of Plenty councils enter into formal agreements.