Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

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 / Waikato News

Three Waters Reform: Hamilton residents have two weeks to give feedback to city council

Danielle Zollickhofer
By Danielle Zollickhofer
Multimedia journalist, Waikato Herald·Waikato Herald·
21 Jun, 2022 01:20 AM3 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

The long-awaited community consultation on the Three Waters reform opens for Hamilton on Wednesday. Photo / Supplied

The long-awaited community consultation on the Three Waters reform opens for Hamilton on Wednesday. Photo / Supplied

Hamilton City Council's long-awaited community consultation on the Government's Three Waters reform started on Wednesday.

However, the time for Hamiltonians to give feedback is short. People can have their say for two weeks, between June 22 and July 7, helping to shape the council's official submission to the select committee.

People have more time to give feedback to the select committee directly as its submissions period closes on July 22.

Despite the short timeframes, the city council and Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) say they are committed to making their communities' voices heard in Government.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate says the council needed to hold off on community consultation until the final legislation was available to know what to consult on.

"It's frustrating that now [the legislation] is available, the consultation time given to us by Government is so short."

Southgate says the short timeframe meant that the council had to respond to government timelines very quickly.

"Way too quickly than any of us are comfortable with. Frankly, the government's communication has been pretty poor. But this is the government's reform, and we have to work to their deadlines if we want our views heard."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Deputy Mayor Geoff Taylor says he supports the consultation but was "really disappointed" that the council didn't do it earlier.

"If we had done it earlier, we would have had a better impact.

Hamilton Deputy Mayor Geoff Taylor says the two-week consultation was pathetic. Photo / Supplied
Hamilton Deputy Mayor Geoff Taylor says the two-week consultation was pathetic. Photo / Supplied

"Our normal consultation period is a month... Two weeks for something this huge is pathetic. It's an insult to ratepayers."

Southgate says the council is now pulling out all the stops to get the best result for Hamilton, including offering a chance for people to sign up to receive consultation details as soon as it's available.

Discover more

Hamilton keeps options open on Three Waters Reform

18 May 07:20 PM

Rural Three Waters working group gives feedback

08 Jun 07:20 PM

Three Waters Reform bill in Parliament sparks outrage

08 Jun 05:38 AM

Council-iwi partnerships guide key decisions for new road and park names

27 Jun 06:20 PM

"We have done everything we can to make it easier for Hamiltonians to understand this reform and be part of it."

Taylor agrees that most people would "have their heads around" the reform by now which is why the council should have trusted the community and consulted earlier. His message to Hamiltonians now is to "Keep trying, folks".

"All we can do now is to follow the process and make a submission... [But] there is a lot more to come, so we need to do better in the future. We can't do much worse."

Meanwhile, Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) says they will also make a submission to the select committee.

LGNZ president Stuart Crosby says: "We will be doing everything to ensure that the model and legislation are in the overall interest of our communities.

"Our submission will focus on how local voices can be expressed in the new system and whether this is strong enough. This includes whether local authorities on behalf of their communities have enough connection and influence with the proposed water services entities to meet the communities' needs."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He says the connection between councils and the community was "vital" and "cannot be lost" when the reformed system is in place.

The first piece of legislation, The Water Services Entities Bill, passed its first hearing in Parliament on June 9 and is now in front of the Finance and Expenditure Committee.

The Water Services Entities Bill will establish the controversial four entities, once it passes the third reading and becomes law through receiving the royal assent.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Waikato News

Waikato Herald

'A newfound faith': Rapist says the Lord will help him as he’s sent to jail

Sport

Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes

Waikato Herald

Revealed: ‘Major milestone’ for education system announced by Government 


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Waikato News

'A newfound faith': Rapist says the Lord will help him as he’s sent to jail
Waikato Herald

'A newfound faith': Rapist says the Lord will help him as he’s sent to jail

Joshua Tepania was jailed for eight years for raping a younger woman after work.

14 Jul 07:00 AM
Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes
Sport

Netball: Magic narrowly lose to Pulse after scores still tied in final minutes

14 Jul 04:28 AM
Revealed: ‘Major milestone’ for education system announced by Government 
Waikato Herald

Revealed: ‘Major milestone’ for education system announced by Government 

14 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
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
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • 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
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP