National’s Christopher Luxon says Northland councils would keep control of their Three Waters

Opposition leader Christopher Luxon in Whangārei last year. Photo / Tania Whyte

Te Tai Tokerau’s Three Waters infrastructure would remain in Northland local government control under National’s new plan, says Opposition leader Christopher Luxon.

Speaking on Thursday, Luxon said the region’s Three Waters assets would be managed by a single council-controlled-organisation (CCO) or equivalent, on behalf of Far North, Kaipara and Whangārei district councils.

His comments come after National launched its Three Waters policy, Local Water Done Well.

Central to the policy is scrapping the Government’s moves to shift billions of dollars of Northland - and other regions’ - ratepayer-funded Three Waters assets into four giant co-governed water services entities, including top-of-New Zealand Entity A that combines Northland and Auckland.

These assets plus their management and governance would instead be retained by councils, Luxon said.

The Government is planning to shift Far North District Council (FNDC), Kaipara District Council (KDC), Whangārei District Council (WDC) and Auckland Council Three Waters assets into Entity A.

It has already appointed Entity A’s new chief executive - current Auckland Watercare chief Jon Lamonte. Waipuna aa rangi, the entity’s new Northland Auckland iwi regional representative governance group speaking for 45 iwi and hapū, was also launched last month in a national first.

Luxon said FNDC, KDC and WDC had already indicated an interest in combining their Three Waters functions, in a joint submission as the new Water Services Entities Act became law.

He said combining their functions into a regionally-based organisation would not mean Northland local government becoming a single local council.

Luxon said the new Opposition policy was fundamentally based on Communities for Local Democracy (C4LD)’s alternate Three Waters proposals. FNDC, KDC and WDC are part of this nationwide Three Waters breakaway group of 30 councils representing more than a million New Zealanders.

Under the new Opposition policy, councils would have a year to set themselves up in a combined local Three Waters CCO and provide documentation to the Government on its financial management, he said.

The group would have stronger borrowing power and spread its repayments over 30 years, in contrast to trying to fund inadequate Three Waters infrastructure from short-term cashflow.

Luxon said the Government would move to make sure that happened if Northland did not get sorted on these counts within the required year’s timeframe.

Major disparity marks Northland’s Three Waters local government landscape. WDC has by far the strongest Three Waters position of the region’s district councils and is one of the top-ranked councils in New Zealand in this regard.

FNDC’s and KDC’s Three Waters positions are not as strong. FNDC has a large area with significant areas of social deprivation, many scattered smaller Three Waters plants for a dispersed population, a reduced rating base, and in some places ailing wastewater treatment plants that at times leak sewage into the sea.

KDC still carries $24 million in debt from its controversial Mangawhai Ecocare wastewater treatment project, launched in the early 1990s because of Mangawhai Harbour pollution. Only about 30 per cent of Kaipara has reticulated council water supply.

Luxon said cross-subsidisation could be used to even out these disparities. Government transition funding could also be accessed in support of more challenged districts. There could also be differences in shareholdings.

He would not be drawn on whether those living in weaker Three Waters areas would pay more in water rates, other than to say there could also be differential rating.

Luxon said his party’s policy moved away from government-mandated Three Waters co-governance. Councils, helmed by democratically elected representatives, would have the say on how their regional Three Waters setup was governed. They had Treaty of Waitangi considerations to take account of and it would be their call on this.

He said the Government’s new water quality regulator Taumata Arowai would still remain to ensure safe drinking and other Three Waters standards.

Luxon said the new Northland-based Three Waters CCO would have stronger borrowing power.

When asked whether the Opposition’s new policy would result in more local government debt, Luxon said borrowing over a longer term would enable better Three Waters infrastructure assets.

The new Northland CCO would have to make sure all its Three Waters income was used only for that budget area - in contrast to what currently prevailed where New Zealand’s councils often spent this income on other areas such as footpaths.

Headhunting for Entity A staff from among council ranks is already starting. Luxon said there would not be a problem with reversing that entity drift should the Opposition’s Three Waters plans to scrap Entity A happen. Staff who had gone to the entity could simply return to their former roles.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air