Talking Point: Can Three Waters be aspirational? Maybe

Perhaps the Government's Three Waters entity proposal has merit says Shelley Burne-Field. Photo / Warren Buckland

The new Three Waters entity proposed by the Labour Government for Hawke's Bay and the rest of Aotearoa could be an aspirational organisation of the future ... maybe.

I think that's why so many government and local government bods agree that it's vital.

The politicians and citizens who work in and around government over the years have been there, done that. Ministers, advisers, experts, iwi, business leaders, consultants, even some farmers, are all resigned to the fact that something must be done.

But, cutting through the rhetoric of local mayors and councillors who can see a severing of their responsibilities and, um, salaries, staring down the barrel of their future, they know it's needed too.

Many of these people have seen rivers, lakes, streams, and accompanying aquifers being impacted by human use, with a resulting resource-grab that dwarfs any gold rush Aotearoa has ever experienced.

They've also seen people having to boil their drinking water - they may have had to do it themselves. They've seen poor communities situate drinking water facilities directly beside sewage fields. And sadly, they all know about the four Hawke's Bay citizens who needlessly and heart-wrenchingly died from a contaminated town water supply. It can never happen again.

Don't get me wrong, I have concerns. Any new water entity could become an operational behemoth with a narcissist at the helm, pushing through substandard solutions for some, and Rolls Royce solutions for others. Oh right, that's how we got into this mess in the first place ... but it could happen all too easily again.

Yet, the Government's proposal has merit.

In Central Hawke's Bay where I live, the current and future costs for delivering water and taking away sewage and runoff could easily bankrupt our little population.

Small town rates are zooming up like the cost of petrol, heading steadily into the stratosphere (and Josh, I still don't have a footpath). It's not a laughing matter. I believe affordability for ratepayers across Aotearoa is tenuous.

I hesitate to confidently say that cost savings are imminent with a new entity … but they could be. If it's done right. Aspirationally.

My three caveats include:

1. Make sure some savvy young 18-25-year-olds are part of the Water Entity Board. Our future leaders must be able to have a say.

2. Resource the Consumer Group very well with administration and communication funding - this group will be our people's voice.

3. Dream big. What do we want our water solutions to be in Hawke's Bay? Swimmable rivers? Fresh, clean drinking water for all? Pretty simple really.

Shelley Burne-Field is a former CHB District councillor