Hamilton City Council is divided on joining local government action group Communities for Local Democracy but united in ensuring Hamiltonians get their say. Photo / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism
Hamilton City Council is divided on joining local government action group Communities for Local Democracy but united in ensuring Hamiltonians get their say. Photo / Hamilton and Waikato Tourism
The Three Waters Reform is near with the working group due to give feedback on Monday as Hamilton City Council prepares for the next steps.
While Hamilton deputy mayor Geoff Taylor is urging the council to join local government action group Communities for Local Democracy (C4LD), Mayor Paula Southgate wants to keep an open mind to more than one alternative Three Waters model.
Taylor says he has continuously been advocating for Hamilton to join C4LD.
"Twice now over the last six months, myself and a group of really concerned councillors have literally begged our council to join this well-intentioned group of councils, only to have them belittled as ... 'a whole lot of rural councils'. The truth is anything but.
"These are councils up and down the country concerned about local voice but trying to come up with a constructive alternative."
Southgate says it was important to know that "not one single councillor" would support the Government's proposal.
"Communities for Local Democracy have some good ideas, but so have Wellington Waters and other groups. It is one approach of many ... [and] we don't want to exclusively rely on one approach. We need to be, and stay, as open-minded as possible.
"We want to be as constructive as possible ... we need to keep participating, keep asking questions, keep thinking and keep looking for alternatives."
Hamilton deputy mayor Geoff Taylor. Photo / Supplied
She says the council needs to take a metro approach.
"But many of the metro councils ... like Tauranga, New Plymouth and Auckland ... are not part of Communities for Local Democracy."
Taylor says he was ashamed that his own council has not engaged in any active consultation with Hamilton residents, despite pleas from six city councillors.
"No one has asked Hamilton residents what they think of the reform. Can anyone tell me why our council keeps refusing to do so?
"This is about preserving local voice while we can. This council should be consulting residents and joining the opponents, not trying to play cute games with Wellington."
Southgate says the council was not refusing consultation.
"We will be doing community consultation, but not until the Government's final draft bill is available. There is no point in consulting until we finally know what is in it ... [because now] there is nothing to consult on."
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate. Photo / Supplied
On the establishment of the Three Waters National Transition Unit Board, Southgate says: "It is disappointing the DIA established the transition board ahead of receiving feedback from the working group, but that's not the end of the play."
She says she was waiting to hear the official feedback and once the draft bill was available, the council would share it with the community and start the consultation process. The community's feedback would then shape HCC's submission to the select committee.
"I know the Government is definitely looking for change, but it would be a sad situation if they wouldn't have listened to any feedback at all."
