Hamilton City Council wants Government to reconsider its proposed Three Waters Reform structure, and instead look at a regional waters organisation which better reflects the needs of high-growth Councils.

Council yesterday approved a submission requesting the changes, and other improvements, to a Government-appointed Working Group looking at governance and accountability of the new waters structures.

Mayor Paula Southgate says Hamilton, and other high-growth metropolitan councils, have different needs to rural and provincial councils. The large-scale, multi-region entities proposed by Government aren’t right for Hamilton, she said.

“I don’t believe the model currently proposed is the best thing for Hamilton. In fact not one single Councillor thinks that,” she said.

“The government has definitely taken on board some of the feedback we’ve already provided which is good. But we need to see more work on options, and we need to see a clear pathway for how water reform is going to support the massive need for infrastructure spending in high-growth councils like ours.”

“The reality is we have a huge wave of water infrastructure and other infrastructure costs coming to simply keep up with growth. Whatever structure is put in place has to reflect that reality, otherwise we are not going to get the benefits for our city that we need.”

Mayor Southgate said she saw scope for a smaller, more tailored organisation which brings together a potential partnership between Hamilton and Tauranga, and possibly others.

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“It’s about working with those councils with common interests while still getting benefits of scale. The model as it is proposed doesn’t cut it for me and doesn’t cut it for other councillors either. But we will still be part of the process and we will still keep pushing for change in the best interests of our city.”

Council’s submission will go to a Working Group considering an ‘Exposure Draft’ of proposed legislation to create four new entities to manage water, wastewater and stormwater in New Zealand. In 2024 the new entities are proposed to replace 67 separate local authorities as the bodies responsible for managing Three Waters assets, delivering services, and investing for the future.

After feedback from councils and others late last year which identified concerns with the proposed governance structures of the entities, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta set up the working group of 20 members, with public sector advisor Doug Martin as independent chair. The working group will report back to Government by the end of this month.

Much of Hamilton’s previous feedback has been addressed in the Exposure Draft, including guaranteed representation for Hamilton in the entity’s governance structure, provision for voting that recognises Hamilton’s scale in the region, and stronger ability for the city’s representative to influence Board appointments. Council’s rights as joint owners of the entity’s assets have also been strengthened.

Yesterday's meeting notes Mayor Southgate will meet with Tauranga City Council Commissioner Anne Tolley and senior Ministers to propose an alternative waters entity model for the central North Island. Mayor Southgate will also write to all Waikato and Bay of Plenty Mayors to develop the case for a Waikato and Bay of Plenty entity.

Council will continue to consider other proposals or concepts on reform models from other councils, and from other submissions made to the Working Group.

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