Letter to minister details FNDC 3 waters concerns

Mayor John Carter has written an open letter to Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta on behalf of Far North District councillors detailing reservations they have over the government’s Three Waters Reform Programme and renewing an invitation to discuss alternative options. 

Dear Minister Mahuta,

Opposition to the proposed three waters reform model

Far North District Council accepts that the current model of three waters provision in Aotearoa is no longer fit for purpose and that reform of this sector is overdue. However, we retain strong reservations about the proposed Three Waters Reform Programme, particularly around representation, financing, and the lack of cross-party support. We will outline those concerns in more detail below. However, we want to emphasise that while it is our role to lead as elected representatives, we are also duty-bound to listen to and heed the concerns of our communities. Far North residents told us very clearly late last year that we should opt out of this programme. This followed two surveys run concurrently over four weeks. One, undertaken by research company Key Research, found that 69 per cent of those contacted by the company wanted the council to opt out of the reform programme. A full 85 per cent of those who responded to an open public survey said the same. Since those surveys, opposition to the programme has not diminished and may even have hardened.

Representation

Like other councils, the Far North District Council is concerned that the current model removes the ‘local’ from local government. These concerns have not been allayed by proposals to reform the Resource Management Act (RMA) and local government more generally, together with the promotion of more centralised decision making in provision of three waters. We fear that these reforms will reduce and undermine the ability of local communities to make meaningful decisions about the public services they receive and the infrastructure they need.

We acknowledge that the recent adoption of recommendations from the Representation, Governance and Accountability Working Party has delivered improvements to the Three Waters Reform Programme, but we do not believe this has addressed imbalances inherent within Northland’s Entity A governance model. Put simply, we believe that the voice of Northland will be swallowed by our much larger neighbour, Auckland.

Auckland Council represents more than 1.63 million people compared to the 196,000 living within Northland's three districts. Entity A’s representative group will comprise four members from Auckland Council, four from Tāmaki Makaurau iwi, one each from the three Northland councils, and three Tai Tokerau iwi representatives. The likelihood is that Auckland’s eight representatives will outvote or overrule Northland’s six.

Funding & costs

We note the government has refused to financially underwrite the new water service entities that would allow them to borrow money at the sovereign rate in perpetuity. This refusal will increase the cost of borrowing for the four entities over time and that cost can only be passed on to the consumer and ratepayer.

We also note there is no commitment to provide further government investment in three waters. This is disappointing. Many New Zealand councils rely on Crown funding for significant three waters infrastructure, particularly in rural and provincial areas like ours that have a low rating base.

This model is complex and will therefore generate increased compliance costs. We feel this will likely offset gains achieved through greater efficiencies and economies of scale. We want to highlight recommendations identified by the independent report on the financing and funding of infrastructure in New Zealand recently commissioned by the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission and ask that you consider how these could also be applied to three waters delivery in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Cross party support

As this change process progresses, there is concern that true cross-party support has not been achieved nationally. Aotearoa’s climate change response demonstrates that achieving buy-in across the political spectrum is possible. We believe this is the only way to ensure that reforms on this scale will be sustainable.

Stormwater

We believe the inclusion of stormwater within the reforms could undermine the positive outcomes promised for the people we serve and for our environment due to the complexity and integrated nature of stormwater infrastructure with our assets. These require collective planning, development and maintenance, something that will be weakened if responsibility for provision of this service lies outside local authorities.

Alternative regional response

While we accept that changes are required to the way we fund and operate our three waters infrastructure, we believe greater consideration should be given to a regional response. We have already demonstrated that Northland councils working with the Crown can achieve efficiencies and economies of scale in roading. The Northland Transportation Alliance is an example of how we can take advantage of local knowledge within each council to solve problems unique to individual communities, within each of our three districts and across Northland.

We want to resolve the challenges we all face in delivering affordable safe drinking water while protecting our precious waterways for future generations. We again invite you to meet with us so that together we find a model that will achieve that goal. 

Ngā mihi nui

Hon John Carter QSO

Mayor Far North