Gisborne water services: 90% favour locally run model with targeted rates

Top right inset: Former Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon was in favour of keeping the region’s water services in council hands in his verbal submission to the Local Water Done Well Hearings. Photo / Paul Rickard, Gisborne Herald Bottom right inset: Ngāi Tāmanuhiri chairwoman Pauline Hill (left), and Maraetaha Incorporated trustee Beth Tupara-Tekene and chairwoman Bella Hawkins. Photo / Zita Campbell Background: 123RF

An overwhelming 90% of Gisborne submitters are in favour of keeping the region’s water services in council hands, with ring-fenced funding and targeted rates.

The favoured model could result in households connected to water services facing an average rate increase of $100 per year, while unconnected properties may have an equivalent decrease, according to council estimates.

During a meeting on Wednesday, Gisborne District councillors voted to approve the modified in-house delivery model for its future water services delivery plan.

Councils must submit their water plans to the Government by September 2025 under the Local Water Done Well reforms.

Previous Mayor Meng Foon was among those who submitted, writing in his submission, “water is a public good” and it should stay in public hands to prevent exploitation.

Former Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon verbally submitted to the Local Water Done Well Hearings at the Gisborne District Council chambers on Wednesday morning. Photo / Paul Rickard, Gisborne Herald

“CCO and private businesses are there for profit, as they are responsible for making a profit,” Foon said.

Consultation ran from April 1 to May 1 this year, with 204 submissions received.

Just one in 10 submitters supported establishing a council-controlled organisation (CCO), governed independently of the council, with water services funded through user charges and external financing.

Under the CCO model, stormwater charges would remain with the council because of its connection with other services like roads and parks.

This option would involve higher set-up costs and debt in the short term, but would have more borrowing capacity for upgrades.

At the hearings, Foon spoke on his submission, supporting the council’s recommended option to retain water services under council control.

“Your mana in ensuring that you control and have direction of our waters is utmost.

“Even though it’s a CCO, your private organisation cannot borrow money as cheaply as the council.”

However, Maraetaha Incorporated, a Māori land entity of Ngāi Tāmanuhiri shareholders, wanted the CCO option to enable an independent governance structure that could accommodate “formal Māori representation and co-governance”.

Ngāi Tāmanuhiri chairwoman Pauline Hill (left), and Maraetaha Incorporated trustee Beth Tupara-Tekene and chairwoman Bella Hawkins. Maraetaha Inc, a Māori land entity of Ngāi Tāmanuhiri shareholders, wanted the CCO option to enable an independent governance structure that could accommodate “formal Māori representation and co-governance”.

Trustee Beth Tupara-Katene said the Maraetaha lands were taken under the Public Works Act to develop the region’s water infrastructure, including three supply dams.

“These sites now form a critical part of the city’s municipal water supply, yet our shareholders and whānau have long been excluded from the decision-making, governance and benefit streams associated with that infrastructure,” Tupara-Katene told the hearings.

She said the Waitangi Tribunal and Supreme Court have affirmed that Māori hold customary rights to water, which are protected under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Local Water Done Well intends to make services more efficient, locally accountable and future-proofed.

“From our perspective, this can only be achieved if the model is built on the right foundations, recognising Treaty obligations, Māori property rights and our deep and enduring connection to our water,” Tupara-Katene said.

Submitters opting to maintain council control emphasised the value of local control (60 mentions), trust in council governance (44) and concern over affordability (62), according to the council’s meeting report.

“[The CCO option] was commonly associated with increased bureaucracy, reduced community voice, and a risk of future privatisation.”

“Our preferred option avoids the high setup and transition costs associated with CCO, resulting in the lowest short-term impact on rates,” the document reads.

The council could also choose to shift approaches later on if they choose to, by exploring shared service arrangements with other councils or a transition to a CCO.

Tupara-Katene said if the in-house model is selected, iwi must be formal partners in decision-making alongside the council.

“One of the highest levels of participation in co-governance is the wastewater committee ... and that has come through a consent condition,” she said as an example.

There needs to be a formal decision-making group that can make those decisions alongside the council, she said.

During deliberations, councillor Aubrey Ria said if an independent committee was set up to include mana whenua, it should reflect the Mangapoike dam, the Maraetaha community, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri Iwi and Waipaoa mana whenua, as water is drawn from the Waipaoa river.

She also noted it could be like the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan committee, which had two technical specialists who gave “really sound technical advice”.

“A make-up of another community board within the council to help guide, shape and mould the governance in that space, I think, would be really beneficial,” Ria said.

The council signalled all water service costs will transition to a fully ring-fenced funding structure, from July 1, 2027, as required under the Local Water Done Well legislation.

Borrowing under the in-house model still provides “stable financial headroom” within the council’s Local Government Funding Agency cap of 280% of operating revenue, according to the report.

Under the ring-fenced housing structure, “households connected to water services are expected to see an average rate increase of $100 per year, while unconnected properties may see an equivalent decrease.”

The council will need to decide on introducing water metering, which had a “mixed” reception during submissions, according to the council report.

If approved, the new water service model will take effect on July 1, 2027.