Opinion - Battle lines have been drawn over the three waters reforms.
The government is pressing forward with its plans to redefine how three waters infrastructure is operated in New Zealand through centralisation, but a faction of district councils, including Ashburton, are trying to stop it in its tracks.
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta says co-governance in three waters is about Crown meeting Treaty obligations, and maintaining a relationship between councils and mana whenua. Photo: RNZ
The Water Services Entities Bill, the first of several pieces of legislation to establish a new system for national water services, has been introduced to Parliament, so the wheels are in motion.
The dissenting councils openly admit the status quo can't remain but do not agree with the government's reform pathway - the 'one size fits all approach'.
Some groups are calling it an asset grab, others the seizing of neglected infrastructure.
There is division no doubt but there is agreement on one thing - something drastic has to be done.
New Zealand needs between $120 billion and $185b spent on water infrastructure - not just drinking water but storm water and wastewater too - over the next 30 years to meet standards and provide for future population growth.
Councils know they can't raise that capital from ratepayers alone and need government assistance.
What is being proposed is a government takeover, a merger into one big entity, managed by four regional entities.
What that change will mean for the customer may not be visible.
Water will still come out of the tap - depending on the Taumata Arowai decisions it may be chlorinated, the toilet will still flush, and rain will flow into drains.
It's who they pay for the benefit of that infrastructure, and how much it costs that will change.
The government says bringing everything under one roof shares the load and will bring costs down, but the opposing view is that that is going to be achieved through borrowing which will need to be paid back at some stage.
For Ashburton the concerns being raised have been that while the charges may not go up, the money will be filtered elsewhere.
The initial work of the reforms will be on compliance and bringing the historically underfunded and underdeveloped areas up to code.
That doesn't sit well with areas like Ashburton which still has areas requiring infrastructure investment but has already relied on its ratepayers to invest millions in improving and upgrading its networks.
Opponents suggest their communities will be paying to subsidise upgrades in other areas which haven't made the same sort of investment.
The government has so far established the new management structure, but how the system will operate is work still to be done.
The Water Services Entities Bill has been introduced to Parliament Photo: RNZ
There is plenty to be ironed out, and the national water regulator, Taumata Arowai, is only just getting into its work of identifying which councils need to do what.
One wrinkle raised at the Ashburton District Council is around storm water infrastructure, specifically who will control kerb and channelling on roads.
While it remains a work in progress there are all manner of alternative options that have been put forward.
One that makes a lot of sense is to hit pause; a hold on the progress of the three waters management reforms until there is a clear picture of the scale of the work ahead to bring this country up to the required standard, and the most important thing, the costs and where they are located.
From there the reforms can be worked to address a known set of problems, rather than charging ahead with changes without a clear road map of where the investment is most needed.
Like preparing a round patch to fix a leak, only to find out the hole is square.
The fact the Water Services Entities Bill is before Parliament suggests the current government is intent on proceeding with its July 2024 deadline regardless.
Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air.
