NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

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 / New Zealand

Three Waters alternative will keep infrastructure in councils’ hands - Waimakariri mayor

RNZ
1 Nov, 2022 03:27 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

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

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Photo / 123RF

Photo / 123RF

Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon says the Government’s Three Waters proposal is too divisive to succeed.

Gordon, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger say their new plan - unlike Three Waters - will build consensus across the country.

Their proposal, unveiled yesterday, would maintain key aspects of Three Waters, including the new water regulator, Taumata Arowai, while maintaining local ownership and allowing for what the mayors describe as meaningful roles for mana whenua.

Gordon said they hoped other mayors, local councils, Local Government NZ, the Government and opposition parties would look at it.

It’s been developed over the last year by consulting councils, community groups and sector experts.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“The critical aspect is that councils maintain their effective management and control and that is the crux of the issue for all our communities,” Gordon told Morning Report.

“No one’s arguing that we don’t want to have a water regulator in place and that we want great water quality.

“But the way this has been gone about - the entity model - has just created huge division ... there’s a better way of doing this.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said he was encouraged by the Government’s indication that it wanted to talk.

Gordon did not accept that much of the country’s water infrastructure was mostly in a bad way under local ownership.

Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon. Photo / Supplied
Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon. Photo / Supplied

While investment was needed in some places, all councils had 30 to 50-year infrastructure plans for investment.

“A lot of these problems are overstated to try and sell a plan which to be honest we don’t think will work.”

He denied the new plan was an attempt to get rid of co-governance. He valued the relationship with mana whenua in his region even though the head of the Ngāi Tūāhuriri hapū in Canterbury, Dr Te Maire Tau, has expressed disappointment in the three councils’ opposition to the Government’s plan.

Conversations with mana whenua should happen at local and regional levels, he said.

“I highly value my relationship with mana whenua - it’s important to me and it’s important to councils across the country.

“But it shouldn’t be forced in the way it is proposed [by the Government].”

Working together at a regional level had already started before the government came up with Three Waters.

Cost details for the new proposal were still being worked on, Gordon said, but it proposed a new water infrastructure fund managed by the Crown that councils would access.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

There would also be a support fund which would address funding deficiencies for smaller councils, similar to the way Waka Kotahi operates.

There could be no assurance from the new proposal or for the Government’s plan that ratepayers would not face increases due to the need to pay for water infrastructure, Gordon said.

Water had become a divisive issue and the focus needed to go back on rebuilding local relationships.

“This division is not helping anyone and I don’t want to see it.”

Wairoa Mayor, Craig Little. Photo / File
Wairoa Mayor, Craig Little. Photo / File

Backing from Wairoa mayor

The new proposal is already gathering support with a group of 31 councils opposing Three Waters in favour.

Wairoa mayor Craig Little said he supported the mayors’ proposal because the key was ownership and local decision-making.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It is estimated $28 billion needs to be spent on water infrastructure in the next 10 years, however, Little said much of that was already part of many councils’ long-term plans.

He was concerned that under Three Waters, funding would not be allocated for small schemes in areas such as Wairoa.

“Wairoa will be the losers, so will every other little council.”

Lack of funding was the biggest issue facing councils and the Government would be wasting money forming four major entities.

“I still don’t believe bigger is better.”

Wellington’s mayor Tory Whanau still backed the Government’s plan but was interested in hearing more about the alternative.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She said the new proposal was similar to how Wellington Water was operating. The council had put aside $2.6 billion in its long-term plan for water infrastructure but needed some extra funding for pipes and other work so that was why it was supporting the Government’s plan.

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Whanau said poor communication from the Government had allowed a lot of “negative rhetoric’ to spread about Three Waters.

She said under Tiriti o Waitangi, there was an obligation to have mana whenua involvement in water infrastructure.

“It’s a positive thing. There’s been a misrepresentation out there that Māori want to grab assets ... that’s absolutely not the case. I do think Government needs to step up here and explain why that will be beneficial for New Zealanders.”

Little said if the relationship with mana whenua needed to be enshrined in legislation, councils had it wrong - unlike his council which has 50/50 Māori and general wards, a Matangi roads board and a Māori standing committee.

“It’s not about 50/50, it’s about genuine relationships and partnerships.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Smoke from plane at Christchurch Airport, fluid leak suspected

19 Jun 11:45 PM
New Zealand|crimeUpdated

One 'critical' after assault in suburban Auckland, as police hunt suspect

19 Jun 11:23 PM
New Zealand|crime

'He should have been prosecuted': Couple's call for justice after police assault

19 Jun 11:00 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Smoke from plane at Christchurch Airport, fluid leak suspected

Smoke from plane at Christchurch Airport, fluid leak suspected

19 Jun 11:45 PM

Firefighters responded shortly before 9am on Friday.

One 'critical' after assault in suburban Auckland, as police hunt suspect

One 'critical' after assault in suburban Auckland, as police hunt suspect

19 Jun 11:23 PM
'He should have been prosecuted': Couple's call for justice after police assault

'He should have been prosecuted': Couple's call for justice after police assault

19 Jun 11:00 PM
Celeste Howell and Anaru Mano want justice.

Celeste Howell and Anaru Mano want justice.

Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • 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
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP