Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy wants budget deadline extension due to Three Waters uncertainty

Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy wants a one-year extension for the council's long-term plan. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Upper Hutt’s mayor wants a one-year deadline extension for the council’s 10-year budget due to uncertainty about the incoming Government’s plans for water reforms and transport.

National has promised to repeal and replace Labour’s Three Waters reforms with its own plan, called “Local Water Done Well”, that will effectively put water services back in the hands of local councils.

Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said such changes will have a major impact on the development of the council’s 10-year budget, known as the long-term plan.

“Around 30 per cent of rates currently go towards paying for water assets in Upper Hutt. Changes made by the new Government on how water is managed will have a significant impact on council’s financial decisions,” Guppy said.

He is also concerned about a Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency board decision in September to delay adopting the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme by two months to the end of August 2024. This was in response to the delay in the release of the draft Government Policy Statement on land transport.

Guppy said a one-year extension for the council’s long-term plan would make sure it aligned with the new Government’s priorities.

Asking the community for feedback early next year on a plan with outdated information on water management and transport would be a waste of time and money, Guppy said.

“We pride ourselves on having transparent engagement.

“With the cost of living being so high, affordability issues are top of mind for our community. We don’t want to ask people their opinion on things that are likely to change.”

The request comes as New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is in Wellington for further coalition negotiations and an in-person meeting with Act leader David Seymour.

Meanwhile, Wellington Water’s chief executive Tonia Haskell has revealed the cost of fixing the region’s crumbling water infrastructure is a “billion dollars a year, every year for 10 years”.

Haskell told Newstalk ZB’s Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills the massive cost is a sign of chronic underfunding for the capital’s water network.

“It’s an eye-watering number, and shows you the level of underinvestment and what needs to be done to catch up.”

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.