Whanganui-based MP Harete Hipango labels Three Waters a 'grab on power'

Harete Hipango wants a public meeting to be called on the Three Waters reforms. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui-based National MP Harete Hipango says the Government's Three Waters reforms are a power grab, and she's called for a public meeting to air local concerns.

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta confirmed last week that the Government would push ahead with its preferred water services plan, amalgamating billions of dollars worth of council-owned drinking, waste and stormwater infrastructure into four regional bodies.

Hipango said her party's pledge to repeal and reverse the reforms if elected wasn't about scoring political points, it was about "doing the right thing".

But the MP for Whanganui, Labour's Steph Lewis, said Three Waters was not an asset grab and councils would still have ownership of water infrastructure, but in a different way.

Hipango said while water infrastructure was a huge national issue, the Government was tackling it in the wrong way.

Three Waters was another example of the Government's "grab on power and control".

"It's taking it [power] away from our local communities and regions and bringing it back to centralisation," Hipango said.

She wasn't convinced the plan would leave ownership of water assets in the hands of local government.

"Can our government be trusted? That's the big question.

"We've got a prime minister and ministers who have made promises, but they've failed to deliver or they've reneged on those promises.

"As ratepayers, what we've gone without to increase the asset value and the functioning of our water systems is going to be for the benefit of others."

In the public's eye, there had not been enough consultation to get to the current stage of Three Waters, Hipango said.

"I'm not aware of any meetings that the council or the mayor called for ratepayers to express their voices.

"Now is the time for our public to push back and mobilise. Whether they choose to or not remains to be seen."

Hipango said she was calling on the Whanganui District Council to "stand up and call a public meeting".

"There needs to be an opportunity for our Whanganui community to come together and express what their concerns are, rather than hiding behind social media or having it trickle through that forum."

Steph Lewis says Three Waters is not an "asset grab" by the Government. Photo / Bevan Conley

While it was a huge reform, it was a necessary one, Lewis said.

"We've had decades of underinvestment in our water infrastructure, and nobody can deny that even here in Whanganui it's an issue that's been highly politicised.

"You only have to look back to the 2016 local body elections, and the way certain people were campaigning against the very necessary upgrade and rebuild of our wastewater treatment plant.

"It ended up costing ratepayers more than it necessarily had to."

While the Whanganui District Council had done "better than most" when it came to water infrastructure, next year's water services bill meant requirements around the safety of drinking water in particular were becoming stricter, Lewis said.

"All councils are going to need to up their investment in water infrastructure to be able to meet their obligations under the Bill.

Conversations between central and local government regarding water reform had been ongoing for the past four years, and various models were considered and discussed before the current plan was announced, Lewis said.

"At the end of the day, how much longer are we prepared to kick this problem down the road and say 'we'll talk about it later, we're not ready yet'?"

"What is the Government gaining from this? They are going to provide pretty substantial funding and they won't have ownership of the assets.

"The only thing it gets is hopefully some comfort in the knowledge that we'll be reducing the fact that 34,000 people a year get sick from drinking our water in New Zealand."