Three Waters opposition roadshow hits Hawke's Bay

One show of opposition to the 3 Waters plan for nationwide rationalisation of delivery of drinking water, storm water and waste water services. Photo / Paul Taylor

A nationwide tour of rallies against the Government's plan for nationalising drinking, waste and stormwater services didn't have to bother about any opposition to the opposition as it started a 48-hour leg in Hawke's Bay.

At least half of the 12-member Napier City Council-elect united with others in seeking at least a regional model in the rethink which stems from the Havelock North water crisis just 20km down the road six years ago, were at the rally on Thursday. It was organised by the Taxpayers' Union, a lobby aligned with the National Party, also strong opponents of the Three Waters plan, which is expected to come into effect next year.

A late morning rally outside the Hawke's Bay Regional Council Building in Dalton St was part of a month-long roadshow of about 36 stops, which started in the South Island and ends on July 4 in Northland.

A central figure is Taxpayers' Union executive director Jordan Williams, a son of former Hastings councillor Megan Williams and old-boy of Lindisfarne College who helped found the lobby in 2013.

There would be about 48 hours in Hawke's Bay, moving on from the open-air rally, which attracted an estimated 150 people, to a "town hall" meeting at Meeanee in the evening, a Matariki Day rally outside the Hastings District Council at 10am on Friday and a by public demand riverside stop in Wairoa at 11.30am on Saturday.

They found a voice representing a view that few, if any, disagree that the delivery of water services, hit in many cases by the need for urgent upgrading of aged underground infrastructure (ie, the three Ps of pipes, pumps and processes), needs change.

They reckoned the big problem with that future is a dearth of consultation and a lack of democracy in the way the Government has gone about imposing the plan. They also feel the Government is ignoring representations such as the combined Hawke's Bay inclination towards regional entity management, as opposed to a national body based in Wellington with what one referred to as "an 04 number."

Councillor Greg Mawson, nearing the end of his first three-year term on the Council and declaring to Hawke's Bay Today that he'll be seeking re-election in October, said after the rally he had talked to even strong "Labour" supporters who believe democracy has been thrown out of the window on the water issue.

"The reality is we [the council] listen, and we have to listen," he said.