Stop IAWAI group told ‘the ship has sailed’

Sunday, 28 June 2026

An eleventh-hour public effort to stop the creation the new water company for Hamilton City and Waikato District has been rebuffed.

A series of speakers at Hamilton City Council’s public forum on Thursday, delivered a sharp rebuke of the new water services entity IAWAI, warning of spiralling household costs, excessive debt, and perceived inadequate consultation - only to be told “the ship has sailed“.

Several submitters, all part of a new Stop IAWAI Facebook group, argued that the water company’s operating model would impose unsustainable “intergenerational“ financial pressures on Hamilton households.

Horiana Henderson said it was not in Hamilton’s best interests for “household water charges to increase by around 71% over the next three years to support up to $3 billion worth of debt”.

John McDonald highlighted the practice of “price smoothing”, suggesting IAWAI was deliberately running operational deficits in the first three years, and increasing debt to suppress early price rises, arguing that “hints that in the future costs are going to rise rapidly to pay back that debt they’ve borrowed.’’

However, their major concern was a lack of awareness about the changes and creation of IAWAI in the general populace, and a sense that decisions around water will now be made at arm’s length from ratepayers.

Pictured in March, celebrating the transfer of water assets to IAWAI are, from left, Waikato District Mayor Aksel Bech, IAWAI board chairperson Kevin Lavery, IAWAI chief executive Peter Winder and Hamilton City Mayor Tim Macindoe.

“Many Hamiltonians still have little idea what IAWAI is, or what it will mean for their household budgets,’’ Henderson said.

Submitter Jane Lawrence said she was “dismayed and somewhat angry” at the “ill‑considered decision‑making process” led largely by the previous council.

“I believe there was insufficient engagement with the public… an insert in the council website was not sufficient information.”

Stuart Aitken, who created the Stop IAWAI Facebook group, cited the rapid growth of the site, which now has 284 followers, as evidence of a broader democratic deficit.

“There are an enormous number of Hamiltonians who had no idea IAWAI existed, far less what it was and what it meant for Hamilton water users. ”Once they found out the feedback was almost identical… ‘Where was the consultation?’”

While the group wants the council to stop the process, IAWAI chief executive Peter Winder pointed out there was no going back, ahead of the July 1 date when the council-controlled company, jointly owned by Hamilton City Council and Waikato District Council, will officially go live.

Winder said both councils have already approved the transfer of $3 billion of assets and land, and those transactions are lined up.

Around 240 staff transfers, from HCC and WDC, are already contractually in place, with staff having signed new agreements and received notice from the councils.

“The ship has sailed. The time now is to focus on what comes next, not revisiting the decisions that have already been made,’’ Winder said.

Winder said water charges were already forecast to be high before the creation of IAWAI but accepts there are still challenges and major decisions yet to be made with the board and management expecting and welcoming “the highest levels of public scrutiny and probity”.

Councillors at the forum pointed out that IAWAI’s establishment was approved unanimously by both councils, adding that there had been a communications campaign.

Although that attracted only 220 public submissions (74% in favour of establishing IAWAI), it was not through want of trying.

In March 2025, Hamilton City Council approved formal public consultation on options for future water services delivery.

The subsequent social media campaign had a reach of 298,264 users, with TikToks about the consultation viewed 162,852 times.

The campaign also sent 3037 emails to “stakeholders and public sign-ups’’

“The main ‘Next for Water’ webpage was viewed 11,395 times, of almost 20,000 total views across our waters website pages,’’ an IAWAI spokesperson told the Waikato Times.

IAWAI is the new council-owned company responsible for water and waste-water services in the Hamilton and Waikato District Council areas. It was set up in response to the Government’s Local Water Done Well legislation, which takes responsibility for funding water infrastructure off rates bills.