Water reform costs ‘very disturbing’

Gisborne District Council has labelled the projected 218 percent projected price increase for households under the relaunched three water reforms as “quite frankly, very disturbing”.

The council submission to a parliamentary select committee on the Water Services Entities Amendment Bill, refers to the cost per household increasing from $1260 under the original Three Waters, to $4010 per household under the new Affordable Water Reform.

The council submission stated affordability was a critical concern in Tairāwhiti, and included material showing the district was a high deprivation area.

“As a region with one of the highest deprivation rankings, many of our people are more vulnerable to changes that raise costs of living.”

The large price increase received much publicity in April when the new Affordable Water Reform, covering drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services, introduced 10 Water Services Entities (WSE) instead of the original four WSEs under Three Waters .

Ten WSEs ensures every council has representation, but at the cost of losing economies of scale.

The council made its submission with some urgency after a first reading of the Bill in late June and with the select committee expected to report back to Parliament by July 27.

The Government wants the Bill passed before Parliament rises on August 31 for the election.

When councillors discussed the Bill at their last full meeting Mayor Rehette Stoltz said she wanted the submission to show their concern over the rushed process, involving “a massive piece of work” which would have a significant impact on the district.

The submission describes the council as being extremely disappointed at the short submission period.

“It coincides with key milestones across several other parts of the Government’s reform agenda that have significant implications for local government.

“The pressure of tight time frames has been compounded by our ongoing efforts to recover from the three severe weather events we have experienced since January this year.”

The Bill allows for regions to change from one WSE to another.

Gisborne is currently in Entity F alongside Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, Hastings District Council, Napier City Council and Wairoa District Council.

The submission supports the Bill’s provision of allowing mergers of WSEs.

“If the current structure of 10 WSEs proves to be unaffordable for communities within a WSE area, a merger may be an option for ensuring affordable water services for all communities.”

During a debate at the council meeting Councillor Tony Robinson raised the possibility of moving to a WSE with “a healthier balance sheet”.

The council’s submission questioned why there was a different set of rules for a WSE merger request from a representative of the Crown compared to a request from other eligible parties.

Each WSE includes a Regional Representative Group (RRG) representing all territorial authorities within the region, and an equal number of mana whenua representatives.

The RRG acts as a strategic oversight group which appoints the WSE board.

The 50/50 nature of the RRG is part of the Government’s co-governance policy and is supported by the GDC in its submission.

The submission pointed out that a 50 percent agreement of the RRG membership was needed when the Crown made a request for a merger.

“But a 50 percent threshold is not a majority and could prove divisive regionally,” the submission pointed out.

For all other intents and purposes, a RRG was required to have a consensus or a 75 percent majority at least on its decisions.

Merger requests from other eligible parties would be subject to the higher 75 percent threshold.

“We view the discrepancy between the two types of requests as unnecessary.

“The consensus-based decision-making at the RRG layer of governance ensures local voice on strategic decisions such as a merger.”

The council supported provisions around shared services between WSEs which could save some of the economies of scale that would be lost with the shift to 10 WSEs.

The Bill introduces Community Priority Statements which can be presented to Regional Representative Groups by persons that have an interest in water bodies within the entity area.

Mana whenua may submit a Te Mana o te Wai statement to a WSE board.

The council’s submission said the Bill did not clarify where the Community Priority Statements sat in relation to Te Mana o Te Wai statements.

“It is critical that a community priority statement not be able to override or conflict with a Te Mana o Te Wai statement if the promise of honouring the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is to be realised.”

The submission said two principles guided the council’s response to Affordable Water Reform:

• The wellbeing of all our people in Tairāwhiti is (at least) no worse off in the short term and better off in the long term.

• Council is able to continue to deliver its statutory obligations for promoting local democracy and delivering services that maximise the wellbeing of our communities throughout the transition and after it.

The Government has stated that the combined costs to consumers of water bills and rates bills should not change when the water reforms are introduced.

The Bill staggers the introduction of the 10 WSEs to between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2026, with the “transition” of Auckland/Northland  going first.

Mayor Stoltz told the Herald she met with Hawke’s Bay mayors two weeks ago, but there was no transition date for Entity F yet.