Focus Live: PM Jacinda Ardern gives infrastructure announcement on Three Waters plan
Opinion by Thomas Coughlan
Thomas Coughlan, Deputy Political Editor at the New Zealand Herald, loves applying a political lens to people's stories and explaining the way things like transport and finance touch our lives.
Central government has never been afraid of its local government counterparts. Parliament could abolish all 78 councils in a few sitting days if it really wanted to - in fact, in 1989, Parliament nearly did just that, amalgamating 850 local bodies into 86.
But if the Government isn't afraidof local government, it is occasionally afraid of local government politicians, who have the power to frustrate and delay central government policies, and whip up extraordinary levels of support for things the Government doesn't want to do.
This is particularly true in the case of Auckland, which since the creation of the Super City has become the first political body that can seriously challenge the political power of central government. Auckland has used its might to rinse the Government for the City Rail Link, the ability to implement a regional fuel tax, and the expensive ATAP programme - things other councils can only dream of.
Now, Auckland is on the verge of leading a revolt over the Government's Three Waters reforms, which would see 67 councils essentially stripped of their water assets, allegedly for their own good.
Mayor Phill Goff's scepticism is justified - Auckland won't benefit from the reforms to nearly the extent that some small towns and cities will, and he is rightly concerned that after doing the right thing and investing in water assets, councils could potentially see them privatised under a future government.
He might also point out the hypocrisy that ministers have decided to ignore Treasury's concerns about superannuation and healthcare unaffordability in 40 years' time before effectively confiscating water assets based on unaffordability figures projecting 30 years into the future.
Auckland could lead a revolt of councils over the Government's three waters reforms. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Auckland's concerns reflect a wider disquiet across councils with government policy. In a survey of mayors and chairs, released today to coincide with the LGNZ conference, 80 per cent of those surveyed said central government policies and decisions were the biggest impediment to achieving results for their communities, and just 10 per cent of councils considered Three Waters reform to be the greatest opportunity for councils.
As Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta weighs up forcing councils into her water reforms, she should consider how much the Government needs not just friendly councils, but friendly councillors.
Labour took office in 2017 with ex-Labour ministers as Mayors in Auckland and Christchurch, and a Labour Mayor (with ministerial ambitions) in Wellington. That alliance - already fractured by Justin Lester's shock loss in Wellington in 2019 - could disappear entirely at the local body elections next year, with Goff looking like he might not seek another term in Auckland and Lianne Dalziel announcing she won't run again in Christchurch.
What the Government doesn't want is the election of a host of uncooperative councils, who could make its life very difficult as it tries to fix the housing crisis. Councillors elected next year will be responsible for incorporating the final dramatic NPS-UD changes into their plans by the Government's 2024 deadline.
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The NPS-UD is the Government's way of essentially forcing councils to build more houses by forcing them to earmark important land for high-density development.
Despite the triumphalism over Wellington's high-density spatial plan, which was recently passed, it's really the council's district plan, which will still be undergoing consultation after elections next year, that will put many of the final NPS-UD measures into force. Wellington, like councils around the country, is gearing up for long rounds of messy, costly litigation as it grapples with implementing the policy.
It's easy to crow that the NPS-UD changes will go over the head of development-shy councils, forcing them to free up land they otherwise might not. That's only partly true. Already, early moves in Auckland is showing us that there's plenty of wriggle room in the document over things like what constitutes "walking distance", which, if interpreted narrowly, could lead to far fewer homes being built.
The Government will only have itself to blame if next local body elections sees a tide of councillors elected on a platform opposing Three Waters and development. Over the past four years, it's contributed to rates rises across the country as part of effectively forcing councils to spend more on water infrastructure ahead of the Three Waters reforms, which will likely culminate in water assets effectively being seized.
It then announced massive urban planning changes with limited consultation at the central government level, which will be implemented by councils grappling with RMA changes which will limit consultation at the local government level.
All of this is hardly policy which will engender local government voters to councillors friendly to central government ambitions.
All the positive stuff - like new funding tools - that might bring local body politicians to Mahuta and Labour will come after Mahuta's future of local government inquiry reports back in 2023.
That's one year after next year's elections, when Mahuta and the Government could be reckoning with very different and even less cooperative councils.
