'Government has stolen our water assets': Invercargill city councillor

Wednesday, 27 October 2021

Invercargill city councillor Ian Pottinger believes Invercargill will be worse off with the Government’s three waters reform.

The Government has “effectively stolen” $1.3 billion of the Invercargill City Council’s water assets, an upset councillor says.

Ian Pottinger, the council’s infrastructure committee chairman, has slammed the Government’s Wednesday announcement that it would press ahead with its controversial reform of water management.

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta said the Government would legislate in early December to create four new water entities that would take on the water assets currently owned by councils.

It would work with councils to ensure local input into the next phase, she said.

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Pottinger said Invercargill’s $1.3 billion dollars of water assets had been effectively stolen by the Government - a claim dismissed by Mahuta.

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta says $185 billion is needed to fix, maintain and upgrade the country's water services over the next three decades.

“Can I be really clear, any concern coming from councils that this is a confiscation of assets is misplaced. Councils will continue to own the water assets alongside other councils within an entity.”

The reforms were affordable because it was a nationwide solution, she said.

Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks says his district needs to have a “local voice” on the Government’s new water entity in the South Island.

“By aggregating the assets in the way we are proposing, it enables water benefits and leveraging from those assets to be able to fund the massive level of infrastructure that’s required across the nation.”

She said 43 of the 67 councils did not have the revenue to cover their water services operating expenditures, but Pottinger said Invercargill was not one of them.

The country’s southernmost city was capable of looking after its own water assets, was in a financial position to do so, and had budgeted to spend $197m on its water services in the next 30 years, including on a second drinking water source, he said.

He did not believe the new entity would deliver those services and suggested Invercargill may be punished for its prudent management of its water assets.

“We will be paying the same rates, if not more, but we won’t get the results for our money … because they will use our money in other communities.”

Councils had initially been given an “opt-in or opt-out option” so the mandating of the four water entities was “disappointing”.

He claimed the Government had used “despicable tactics” in promoting its three waters reform by using a television advert showing brown water flowing out of a tap, while it was “capitalising politically” on the tragedy in Havelock North where people died through water contamination.

But Mahuta said 34,000 people were estimated to get sick from drinking water in New Zealand each year.

The outbreak in Havelock North was the worst case scenario and it wasn’t good enough.

“This is not the future we want for our people and communities and that why we are making changes.”

Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said councils now had certainty around the delivery of water services, with the Government decision predictable but not what Gore had petitioned for.

He wanted the working party to address where service delivery and the “local voice” sat on the new water entity.

Southland District Mayor Gary Tong was disappointed councils didn’t get more information, and get to have discussions with their residents, before the decision was made.

His focus was also on ensuring the local and rural voice was retained on the new water entity, and on the assets being managed fairly.

Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds said the Government’s mandating of the three waters assets were an asset grab that would take power and control away from local communities.

Southland MP Joseph Mooney said the Government’s decision to steamroll ahead with the reforms showed a disregard for the voices of New Zealanders and due democratic process.