KEY POINTS:
Water bills for 142,000 households and businesses across Auckland City will rise 9.1 per cent on July 1 after a last-minute bid yesterday to cut the increase to about 5 per cent failed.
The move by four Citizens & Ratepayers Now and Action Hobson councillors to reduce water bills "right now" was labelled election-year politicking by City Vision-Labour councillors and bad governance by Mayor Dick Hubbard.
Mr Hubbard voted with five City Vision-Labour councillors to defeat the move by six votes to four at a finance committee meeting.
It was the second attempt in a month to reduce the 9.1 per cent increase. On May 23, City Vision councillor Glenda Fryer unsuccessfully tried to halve the increase this year and a similar amount over the next eight years.
On that occasion, the four C&R Now and Action Hobson councillors promoting yesterday's amendment - Doug Armstrong, Christine Caughey, Toni Millar and Scott Milne - voted against it.
Mr Milne said yesterday that Ms Fryer's amendment would have created a financial crisis for the council by reducing dividends from the council-owned Metrowater by $220 million over 10 years.
However, yesterday's amendment meant a one-off reduction in the charitable payment (dividend) from Metrowater from $24 million to $18 million while an independent review of the entity took place.
Glenda Fryer said she voted against the move because the reduction from $24 million to $18 million was "not enough".
"I wanted it to go down to just a $5 million charitable payment.
"At the last finance committee meeting I had moved an amendment to try to get it to $5 million and Citizens & Ratepayers Now voted against it.
"That's why I was cross with them coming along now with a compromise."
Christine Caughey, an Action Hobson councillor, said increases in water bills of 9.6 per cent and 9.1 per cent in consecutive years had gone too far and the amendment was a practical solution while the fundamental principles relating to providing safe, high-quality and affordable water were reviewed.
City Vision-Labour co-leader Richard Northey said C&R Now had voted for water price increases at every stage and, now that October's local body election were looming, they were having a "death-bed repentance".
Deputy Mayor Bruce Hucker said the amendment was about "short-termism" and then went on to take a different line on City Vision-Labour's new water policy.
Less than 24 hours after the centre-left issued a new policy promising to stop big rises in water bills, Dr Hucker reiterated his support for higher water bills. He said the existing council policy of higher water bills to provide for higher dividends from Metrowater was "extremely prudent and extremely sensible".
Dr Hucker, who was dumped as leader last week over his hard line on higher water bills, had refused to tell the Herald if he supported City Vision's new water policy.
Mr Northey said Dr Hucker had assured him he supported the policy and would advocate it at the election.
Immediately after the meeting, the full council met to confirm this year's overall rates rise of 3.6 per cent. The increase for households is 5.4 per cent because of a long-term strategy to reduce higher rates for business. This strategy will result in business rates rising this year 1.9 per cent and, in central Auckland, 1.6 per cent.
Finance general manager Andrew McKenzie said the council's 10-year plan included rates increases of 10.2 per cent, 10.1 per cent and 13.2 per cent over the next three years.
If Mr Hubbard and City Vision-Labour are re-elected with a majority after October, they plan to reduce these increases by borrowing money.
This year's projected overall rates increase of 8 per cent was reduced to 3.6 per cent by borrowing $23 million.
* Next Thursday, a parliamentary select committee will investigate water pricing in Auckland City in response to a petition from the Water Pressure Group.
How They Voted
On reducing the 9.1 per cent increase:
FOR
Doug Armstrong (C&R Now).
Christine Caughey (Action Hobson).
Toni Millar (C&R Now).
Scott Milne (C&R Now).
AGAINST
Mayor Dick Hubbard.
Neil Abel (City Vision).
Glenda Fryer (City Vision).
Bruce Hucker (City Vision).
Richard Northey (Labour).
Vern Walsh (City Vision).
