Three Waters Reform: Hamilton City Council won't proceed with Government funding application yet

The council decided to defer a decision on the Government's Three Waters 'better off' funding. Photo / Tom Rowland

The Government's Three Waters Reform is approaching faster than many are comfortable with and Hamilton City Council has just put its foot down.

The council decided not to proceed with an application for the announced government funding until the Government provides clearer answers to financial questions.

In July last year, the Government announced a funding package of $2.5 billion to help New Zealand's councils transition through the reform. The money is split between a 'no worse off' allocation of $500 million towards costs of transition and $2 billion in 'better off' funding.

Hamilton's potential share of the funding is $58.6 million, of which $14.6m is available this year and the remainder in 2024. However, councils need to sign an agreement with the Government before receiving the money.

Hamilton has until September 30 to sign an agreement to receive the first tranche of funding.

At a council meeting last week, the council considered whether to start looking into developing projects with the $14.6m already or whether to defer a decision on funding.

The council decided to defer the decision until the Government provides some answers and the council has time to consider public submissions.

The council says the Government was yet to provide certainty on costs associated with the reform which could affect Hamilton's financial position.

Councillors noted other unanswered questions including the exact scope of assets and responsibilities set to be transferred to the new water service entities, and how the Government will calculate the amount of council debt to be transferred to the entities.

Another question yet to be answered is the shortfall between Hamilton's anticipated transition costs and what the Government has indicated it will provide.

The council instructed staff to continue discussions with government departments to get answers to the financial questions and report back before the September deadline.

Meanwhile, the council's Three Waters Reform consultation enters its final week with residents able to have their say until Thursday.

The council has assessed the first 330 community submissions which indicate Hamiltonians, like councillors, are split on the reform.

Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate says the range of community views shows how important it is for people to have their say.

"I'm pleased people are responding, and early indications are that we are getting a range of views which highlight the complexity and scale of the reform proposals. This feedback will be used to inform our feedback to central government," she says.

The assessment of the first responses showed that submitters feel like the reform has more benefits nationally, rather than locally for Hamilton.

Respondents are also more likely to agree that the reform would lead to better environmental outcomes but are polarised on whether the reform will lead to better drinking water quality or greater investment for growth or housing.

However, the council stresses that the data above is interim only and subject to change as further submissions are received.

People have a bit more time to give feedback to the Government directly as its submissions close on July 22.