Super City will cut water costs - Hide

File photo / Greg Bowker

Aucklanders on the whole are set to pay less for their water under the new Super City council, Rodney Hide says.

The Minister for Local Government told an NZ Herald Business lunch today that from July 1 next year, all Auckland houses will pay the same tariff of $1.30 per 1000 litres of water.

Mr Hide said he had made the announcement because Aucklanders have been "anxious about water" charges.

Asked if they were not also anxious about their rates, Mr Hide said: "Yes, and that's why I say Aucklanders should be careful about who they vote for".

Mr Hide said those in Orewa and Whangaparaoa will save the most. The Hibiscus Coast residents were to pay $2.33 per 1000 litres of water from October this year.

However, only 12,000 Hibiscus Coast properties - out of the total 45,760 - are on town supply, according to the Rodney District Council. That means nearly three quarters of Rodney residents will not be paying the Supercity water charges.

Mr Hide said Waitakere and North Shore residents will save 44c and 22c respectively per 1000 litres.

Manukau residents already pay the lowest in the region so their savings will be relatively small, said Mr Hide.

He said the savings were not politically driven but have come out of the consolidation of services.

Mr Hide said there will also be savings in waste water but he could not give details. He assured reporters that there would be "no nasty surprises".

"Water Care has assured me they will be ever mindful of their requirements to be a low-cost provider but cannot return dividends or surpluses to a shareholder."

Waste water charges are due to change from July 1, 2012, when the Auckland Super City will have come into being.

"Overall, the costs of getting rid of the waste water will fall, what we do need is Watercare, along with the council to make decisions about how to spread that cost across Auckland," Mr Hide said.

Mr Hide said building inspectors across Auckland would be charging a standardised $110 an hour.

Currently building inspectors charge between $110 and and $178 an hour across Auckland's district councils.

Earlier, Rodney Hide told the conference that the Super City was about giving Aucklanders good service from the moment the phone is answered.

"This is a plan to deliver greater effectiveness, better service and democratic accountability. This is a plan for a City for the future," Mr Hide said.