Infrastructure: Three Waters ‘the right thing to do’ - Grant Robertson

Finance Minister Grant Robertson. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Finance Minister Grant Robertson is adamant that if a co-governance role for Māori is not found in the Three Waters reforms it would “end up in the courts immediately”.

Robertson says the Government will press ahead with the controversial reforms in the face of opposition from the National Party and some mayors, saying: “it’s the right thing to do”.

Controversy over the extent of co-governance has overshadowed the merits of setting up four new publicly owned Water Services Entities to run New Zealand’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services.

These are currently operated by councils on behalf of communities.

“I think it is naive to believe you can resolve water issues in New Zealand without a role for Māori,” says Robertson. “A government who did not find place and role for Māori would end up in the courts immediately.”

The Government’s position is that nobody owns the water, he says. “But clearly within Māoridom there is a stream that would say otherwise.”

He contends that local government, which has been opposed to losing ownership control of the assets, have “almost exclusively” said that they have got really good relationships with mana whenua.

The Government last week took on board select committee recommendations to ensure a mix of rural, provincial, and metropolitan councils will be represented on the regional entities.

The entities will also have annual shareholders’ meetings, and there will also be stronger accountability measures and increased audit scrutiny.

There will be considerable focus on the Government’s infrastructure programme at Building Nations 2050, which gets underway in Wellington today.

Robertson is the opening speaker and will be followed by four other ministers during the course of the two-day summit hosted by Infrastructure New Zealand.

Political dissension is not confined to Three Waters.

National also opposes the Auckland light rail project, which includes substantial investment for urban intensification along rail corridors, taking the overall price tag to $29 billion.

“I think even if there are arguments around the exact mode and the exact route, I don’t think there is a solution for Auckland transport that doesn’t involve a mass rapid transport corridor through a corridor that links the West and the East.

“It’s a short-sighted political decision,” he says. " One that I suspect National might revisit were they to get into government.”

Robertson has also held initial discussions with Auckland mayor Wayne Brown to find a way through points of contention over some big transformational projects affecting Auckland.

A massive joint infrastructure programme is already under way through the Auckland Transport Alignment programme (ATAP): a cross-agency partnership including the Ministry of Transport, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail, the Treasury, Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and the State Services Commission.

In March 2021, the Government announced $31.4b would be invested via ATAP to fund critical transport infrastructure.

Robertson points to the Auckland Light Rail project and the work the council and Watercare are already doing to build the Central Interceptor.

“We do need to work together on that and while the mayor has had things to say about Auckland light rail, I would hope in the full context of what we are trying to do in Auckland that will be important.

“Remember, when we announced Auckland light rail, we linked it to the second Waitematā crossing.

“That is another priority for me, that as we keep investing in the Auckland area, it’s co-ordinated.

“That piece of work is really important to me.”

As much as $14b of local government infrastructure is at risk from sea level rise, according a Local Government NZ report, which calls on central government to urgently develop policies to help minimise the impact of climate change on New Zealand’s communities.

Robertson wants a national conversation over how New Zealand adapts as recent flooding events and rising sea levels make some areas marginal.

The Ministry for the Environment has released a National Adaptation Plan with 160 recommendations in a 200-page report that cover the environment, communities, dwellings, and infrastructure.

Robertson says there has been good progress on emission reductions and around the need for businesses to make financial disclosures on how they will be affected by climate change.

“But I am not sure we are in the same place on adaptation as a country. That raises really significant issues on insurance and how we take forward that conversation.”

He says it’s not just up to the Government doing everything but also to make information available to people to make good decisions.

“You think about Westport’s situation, which is very immediate. You think about South Dunedin’s, which is a longer-term thing but the planning for it needs to happen now.

“You think about Tairāwhiti with a massive economic issue associated with adaptation around forestry and ability to move logs when the road has been wiped out twice in a year.

“Clearly that is a shared responsibility across society.”