The cost of upgrading water infrastructue (3 Waters) will have to be paid by future New Zealanders. Our children, grand children and great grand children. Councils will have to go into debt to pay for urgently needed infrastructure, and will be forced to pass on the cost to taxpayers and ratepayers. Meanwhile, the government is reducing taxes, which will also push up debt.

Debt is a demand that future New Zealanders will have to pay, for today’s expenses. At the same time, we are reducing the ability of future citizens ability to pay off these debts, and the interest, by depleting the resources they will need.

Resources we are drawing down at an unsustainable rate include fossil fuels, minerals, topsoil, biodiversity, and the absorbing-capacities of the planet. These resources are being depleted in a ‘best-first’ manner, meaning that future generations are being handed the worst. For example, remaining fossil fuels are in hard to reach places, which means much more energy will be required to obtain the same amount of fossil fuel energy. (Not to mention the environmental costs of burning more fossil fuels.)

This begs two big questions:

1. Can the debt be repaid?
2. Can the things we build, be maintained?

The assumption that growth would diffuse debt, is well past its use-by date. Wise Response suggests we need a different method of accounting. A method that determines whether debt is actually repayable, and takes into account physical realities.

© Scoop Media