4 June 2021
Media: NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)
Topic: Government's 3 Waters reform
Enquiry
I'm working on something regarding Three Waters and would like to put some key qs to you please. Can you please tell me:
- In your opinion, is the proposed Three Waters overhaul fair? (given some councils have been investing in water infrastructure over the years compared to other councils which have not) Any elaboration on this is welcome.
- Do you feel smaller councils will have a fair chance at having their say, if merged with others in this move?
- What concerns, if any, do you have about the proposal? In your opinion, is this removing a core duty of traditional councils and what impact do you think this will have on councils?
- Minister Mahuta says she met with local government representatives, at their request, recently. She also hosted a workshop in Rotorua in March. Did you attend either of these? And were you part of the 'request' for the recent meeting? If so, please elaborate why you asked for the meeting and what you gained from it.
Please feel free to include any other information or comments you feel would be important.
Response
From Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick
I did attend the workshops and it was great to be able to participate, share our views and hear first-hand from the Minister. As Mayors we all agree that more investment in three waters infrastructure is needed for the wellbeing of our community, and council is committed to being part of the discussions around the proposed reform.
The recent reports released look at the reform at the national level. We need to understand and see council specific data and analysis before we can speak to what the implications will be for each district. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t necessarily meet specific needs of our community.
Part of our involvement as elected members has been to agree on some high level principles which include the need to ensure that any reform does not compromise the role of local leadership and local direction, the ability for local input into decisions and the need to preserve relationships with iwi so that we can continue to work in partnership with Te Arawa to achieve good outcomes that benefit our whole community.
We still have a long way to go and a lot to consider but we will continue to have an active role in the discussions.