“We are all much relieved,” Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said. “We very much look forward to working with Gisborne District Council on this new entity. This is a natural boundary already linked through the number of government services that cover the Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti regions, including police, education and MSD.”
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said it was “very pleasing” that the views of the councils and the communities had been listened to.
“This is really good news, and it was very pleasing to have our work acknowledged.”
During discussions with the Government, CHB Mayor Alex Walker stressed the need for a regionally based response when water infrastructure was damaged during natural emergencies.
“We talked about what would have happened with Cyclone Gabrielle when many parts of our region were cut off. We are very relieved to see this new proposal,” he said.
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said “we all collectively agreed that it was a step in the right direction, and now it is about the devil in the detail”.
She said that included how local voices would be included in the decision-making processes and how councils would be involved as shareholders of water assets.
One criticism around the move from four entities to 10 has been the proposed increased cost to households.
According to a report by the Scottish water authority, commissioned by the Department of Internal Affairs, the increase in the number of entities from four to 10 will end up costing households more in the long run.
However, Wise said she had serious concerns about that modelling, including whether assumptions had been made based on Scottish water services.
“I have always had some concern about the modelling which has been done by central government,” she said.
“We have had some initial costings come through for the 10-entity model which I will be taking some time to drill down into and form opinions on, but like I say the financial modelling has always been a source of concern for me.”
New changes see that every council will have a seat at the governance table, making councils accountable for including community input into decisions. That will be matched by equal mana whenua representation.
Iwi chairman Barber was happy to see that necessary reform was still happening, adding: “Equal representation for Māori on the governance is still there, which is great. My question is around affordability, especially for regions like ours without a large urban population to offset some high-needs rural and mainly Māori communities across Te Tairāwhiti.
“Generally I think the other key parts of the reform remain, such as balance sheet separation and local ownership, which is positive.”
Wise said having local input into decision-making was important, and added: “One of the key areas of concern for our communities was the protection of local voice in the decision-making and prioritisation of Three Waters investment. The inclusion of a representative from every council – and therefore every community – on the entity’s regional representative group is a welcome change.”
McAnulty’s statement said councils would “receive a ‘shareholding’ of the water entities in exchange for handing over water assets to the new entities, which would be able to raise funds to repair and maintain failing systems and run the day-to-day operations of the assets”.
Hazlehurst said: “This new East Coast model will ensure we meet the standards imposed by new water standards regulator Taumata Arowai, enabling us all to have access to safe drinking water and to dispose of wastewater in the most responsible way possible.”
Gisborne District Council and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council are the current regulators for storm and wastewater in their respective regions.
The change will see the regions working closely together on regulatory requirements, Ormsby said. “We will work together on solutions around environmental regulation and how that might look for both regions.”
The Havelock North water crisis erupted in August 2016 after campylobacter entered the village’s water supply. Of about 13,000 residents, 5500 fell ill, 45 were hospitalised and four died.
Breakdown of estimated costs per household for water services (by 2054):
Napier City Council
Status quo: $4880
Under reform: $4010
Hastings District Council
Status quo: $8150
Under reform: $4010
Wairoa District Council
Status quo: $20,860
Under reform: $4010
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council
Status quo: $9890
Under reform: $4010
Tararua District Council
Status quo: $19,130
Under reform: $3020
* Figures provided by NZ Government
