Councillor Don Paterson said councils were being 'bullied' by central Government. Photo / Laura Smith
Councillor Don Paterson said councils were being 'bullied' by central Government. Photo / Laura Smith
Rotorua Lakes Council has opted to keep water services in-house until 2028 and work with willing neighbours to develop a joint water services council-controlled organisation (CCO).
Councillors opposing the plan have raised concerns about “heavy-handed … pushing" and councils being “bullied” by the Government to form joint CCOs.
A recent letter to Bay of Plenty councils from Local Government Minister Simon Watts emphasised the programme’s “financial sustainability requirements”.
Councils should actively consider working with neighbours, and keep all options on the table to deliver the “most affordable outcome”, he said.
“Collaboration enables resource sharing, efficiency gains, better access to financing, and lower costs for ratepayers.”
At a meeting on Wednesday, the council resolved to establish a working group to engage with Kawerau, Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne councils to consider a multi-council CCO.
Mayor Tania Tapsell recommended water services stay in-house until July 1, 2028, then transition to a CCO.
Tapsell said the Government and opposition parties had been clear their preference was for councils to establish a “wider regional plan” for water services.
“From my perspective, the writing’s on the wall ... ”
Keeping services in-house initially would allow time to properly investigate the CCO option and engage with the community and iwi before a final decision in three years selecting the best model for the district, Tapsell said.
If the council decided against a multi-council water services CCO, the fallback would be an in-house business unit.
Rotorua Lakes Councillor Don Paterson said he had 'grave concerns' about the CCO option. Photo / Laura Smith
Councillor Don Paterson said he had “grave doubts” about a CCO, including concern about a “lack of voice” for iwi partners.
He said Rotorua was among New Zealand’s “richest” districts for water, and the “asset of the people” must be protected.
“The idea of handing it over to some faceless CCO who [cannot] be voted in or voted out by our community is dangerous.”
He said he felt “bullied” into going with a multi-council CCO, rather than Rotorua alone.
“I think Rotorua’s being bullied, and most other councils are being bullied into this by central government.”
He said Rotorua had delivered Three Waters well but was being “punished” because other councils had not. “Leave us alone.”
Councillor Robert Lee was disappointed by the coalition Government's water programme. Photo / Laura Smith
Councillor Robert Lee said the Government campaigned on doing something different to Labour’s Three Waters but had just put “lipstick on this pig”.
He said the Government was being “heavy-handed” in “pushing us ... to go with a CCO together with a whole bunch of other councils”.
He said Local Water Done Well was a misnomer for the reality: “Regional waters done well”. “Council-controlled” was another, given the limited control under standard CCO models.
Councillor Conan O’Brien said he had opposed Three Waters because its plan went against local representation, decision-making, and consultation.
He was “not opposed to reform” but was not convinced a multi-council CCO would deliver efficiencies given Rotorua’s relative “isolation”.
He warned colleagues the decision would “follow” them when “rates hikes” arrived.
Rotorua Lakes Council will keep its water services in-house until 2028. Photo / Laura Smith
Councillor Lani Kereopa supported Tapsell’s recommendation and said she did not have faith in the in-house water services or iwi engagement.
“The water sources … are not protected in the way that they would be across all decision-making if mana whenua weren’t excluded from these decisions.”
Keeping water services in-house would be “business as usual”, she said.
“Business as usual is not acceptable to mana whenua.”
Councillor Karen Barker said Tapsell’s recommendation provided “the time and the space for us to do the work”.
“We have put considerable resources into our three waters infrastructure as a council … so it’s very challenging to actually be asked to amalgamate with councils who may not have done the same level of work.”
Chief executive Andrew Moraes said other councils Rotorua was talking to were going down similar paths towards developing an opt-in joint model. There was “significant scope to craft it” by being part of the discussion.
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell. Photo / Laura Smith
Tapsell said Three Waters was “significantly different” as it would have been mandatory for councils to be part of “massive mega entities”.
“Our one would have been all the way to Taranaki ... ”
She said working with other councils could allow Rotorua to borrow more to deliver critical infrastructure, and it was also “only one natural disaster away” from facing significant extra infrastructure costs.
She said the minister had visited Rotorua and met with Bay of Plenty council leaders, and he was listening to their concerns.
The council’s water service delivery plan must be submitted to the Government for approval by September 3.
