The Mayor and Councillors of Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) have today published an open letter to the Minister for Local Government opposing the move to mandate three waters reform.

In the letter sent to Hon. Nanaia Mahuta, Council has urged that she “demonstrate leadership and transparency in the delivery of this reform programme and re-establish a full programme of meaningful engagement with New Zealanders before taking any further steps.”

Mayor Jim Boult confirmed that he and his fellow elected members felt compelled to express their significant disappointment and to uphold their collective commitment to oppose a Government mandate strongly and actively.

“This Council is in no way questioning the need for safe drinking water, to protect our precious environment and ensure effective Māori partnership as expressed through these proposed reforms. Our own commitment can be seen in the significant investment the Council is making in its 2021-2031 Ten Year Plan with more than $750M allocated to water supply, wastewater and storm water.”

“But public and stakeholder consultation needs to remain at the heart of such important decisions. These reforms have the potential to affect generations to come and should be underpinned by meaningful and genuinely open engagement,” said Mayor Boult.

The Council position also reflected that the programme for reform needs to be re-designed to tackle three waters, resource management and the Future for Local Government review.

A copy of the letter to Min. Nanaia Mahuta can be found on the QLDC website here: https://qldc02w1.azurewebsites.net/media/b33foisl/21-12-23-letter-to-min-mahuta-3w-reform-final.pdf

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