Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

No call yet on whether Three Waters HQ will be in Northland or Auckland

Susan Botting
By Susan Botting
Local Democracy Reporter·Northern Advocate·
20 Dec, 2022 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Whangārei District Council's wastewater treatment plant - one of Northland's ratepayer-funded Three Waters assets. Photo / Micheal Cunningham
Whangārei District Council's wastewater treatment plant - one of Northland's ratepayer-funded Three Waters assets. Photo / Micheal Cunningham

Whangārei District Council's wastewater treatment plant - one of Northland's ratepayer-funded Three Waters assets. Photo / Micheal Cunningham

Three Waters architects say it is too soon to identify where the head office for the government’s planned new Northland and Auckland water services entity will be.

The government is going ahead with work to shift Far North District Council (FNDC), Kaipara District Council, Whangārei District Council and Auckland Council-owned Watercare’s Three Waters assets into the new top-of-New Zealand inter-regional Three Waters organisation called Entity A.

Councils which participate in the reforms will no longer control Three Waters assets for their regions. The restructure will see the entity take over that responsibility for their currently council-owned drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. The future of Northland’s more than $1.76 billion in intergenerationally ratepayer-funded Three Waters infrastructure assets servicing 200,000 Northlanders is at stake.

Three Waters national transition chief executive Heather Shotter said it was too soon to say if Entity A’s head office would be in Northland or Auckland.

“The location of the head offices for the four water services entities is a matter that is currently under consideration by the national transition unit and is yet to be determined,” Shotter said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She said the national transition unit was working to set up establishment entities that would in turn become the water services entities A, B, C and D across New Zealand from July 1 2024. Their “head offices and other business locations” would be established “well before then”.

Shotter said the number of people working for Entity A’s head office would be addressed by the middle of next year when detailed organisational design was expected.

“The priority will be ensuring appropriate people are employed in the range of roles required to meet the reform’s objectives of ensuring affordable and sustainable drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services,” Shotter said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Entity A staff servicing Northland would be based at its head office and elsewhere. Central functions such as senior management and core IT capability would be based at the head office, but some entity staff would potentially be working from other locations including a central hub, satellite office or home.

“There will be some roles that can work effectively from anywhere ... and we expect the water services entities’ policies and practices to support flexible working,” Shotter said.

She said the overall number of people directly employed in Three Waters services would be similar or slightly less than would be the case without the Three Waters reform.

Increased investment in Three Waters asset maintenance and replacement would create up to 210 full time equivalent jobs across Northland’s wider economy over the next 30 years. There would be more boosts on the ground in local communities, with more staff working to maintain and improve services, she said.

Northland council employees other than senior managers and who primarily delivered or supported water services would be guaranteed a role with the region’s new water services entity under legislated job guarantee.

Any location change for staff covered by the legislated job guarantee would need to be in substantially the same locality and within a reasonable commuting distance, she said.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'Boxing saved my life': Kiwi champ set for historic showdown

Northern Advocate

Tasman 'preparing for the worst' with more heavy rain on the horizon

Northern Advocate

Is $4 an hour too much to pay for car parking in central Whangārei?


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Be in to win a double pass to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Promotions

Be in to win a double pass to see Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Last-gasp Lions try sees Australia surrender test series in Melbourne
Rugby

Last-gasp Lions try sees Australia surrender test series in Melbourne

Lawson takes top 10 finish in Formula 1's Belgium sprint race
Formula 1

Lawson takes top 10 finish in Formula 1's Belgium sprint race

Fire crews extinguish blaze at smoke-logged Mitre 10 Westgate
New Zealand

Fire crews extinguish blaze at smoke-logged Mitre 10 Westgate

Auckland Lotto player wins $1m, Powerball jackpots to $12m
New Zealand

Auckland Lotto player wins $1m, Powerball jackpots to $12m

Black Caps meet South Africa in Twenty20 Tri-series final
Black Caps

Black Caps meet South Africa in Twenty20 Tri-series final



Latest from Northern Advocate

'Boxing saved my life': Kiwi champ set for historic showdown
Northern Advocate

'Boxing saved my life': Kiwi champ set for historic showdown

Lani Daniels will fight Claressa Shields in Detroit on July 27 (NZT).

26 Jul 12:00 AM
Tasman 'preparing for the worst' with more heavy rain on the horizon
Northern Advocate

Tasman 'preparing for the worst' with more heavy rain on the horizon

25 Jul 06:00 PM
Is $4 an hour too much to pay for car parking in central Whangārei?
Northern Advocate

Is $4 an hour too much to pay for car parking in central Whangārei?

25 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search