The Three Waters reforms are now being rolled back - but what are they being replaced with?
OPINION
Waikato-Tainui commemorates the 30th and 15th anniversaries of our whenua Raupatu and River settlements next year.
It should be a time to reflect on a pathway of reconciliation between the Crown and our people, but the latest political environment has reignited significant tensions between the two partners.
This coalition Government has been waxing lyrical about their position on Three Waters - in particular the repeal of the previous Government’s commitments policy platform.
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has just appointed a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to provide him with advice on water reform as they dismantle the current water reform legislation. None of the appointees represent an iwi/Māori perspective, which will present major problems further down the track as the repeal process progresses.
The role of this TAG’s scope is poorly defined. In reality it is in place because Brown does not trust his own taxpayer-funded officials. Effectively, he is paying for advice that he wants to hear, rather than what he should be told.
Brown reckons his group will be focused on providing advice and assurance on policy and legislative settings that will enable councils to recover costs and access the long-term debt needed to fund the required investment in water infrastructure.
What does that mean?
Waikato Raupatu and River settlements both include legislative settings that are directly related to our waterways and catchments. It is worth noting none of Brown’s appointments are Treaty settlement experts and therefore cannot provide him with strong, robust advice on these bespoke legislative mechanisms. It appears this is a whitewashing exercise to surreptitiously redefine the nature and extent of our Treaty settlement by stealth.
The Waikato River Settlement provides for the establishment of Joint Management Agreements (JMAs) between local authorities and Waikato-Tainui. The settlement requires the Waikato Regional Council and territorial authorities, Hamilton City Council, the Waikato District Council and the Waipā District Council and Waikato-Tainui to enter into JMAs with respect to the Waikato River and activities within its catchment affecting the river.
We were relatively satisfied the last Government’s regime protected those rights and interests because our nuanced relationship with the Waikato River meant our views were represented at the decision-making table. The minister’s TAG lacks any expertise around our rights and interests and therefore means we will be forced to seek remedies via an expensive litigation process.
Rather than present a generic recycled speech at Waitangi last week, Christopher Luxon should have been honest about the direction of travel, however unpalatable the message. It was an opportunity to add detail to the Government’s 100-day plan. Instead, they have committed to develop policy on the run which really amounts to no forward-thinking plan.
Far North District Council Mayor Moko Tepania told Radio New Zealand that 14 of the 15 wastewater treatment plants in his area discharge to natural waterways. He expressed utter frustration at the pressure this change in policy direction places on small councils with finite resources. In the absence of any proactive policy direction, it will mean cuts to services, an increase in rates, or a combination of both.
This same theme is playing out in Auckland and Hamilton with both mayors considering huge rates rises over the next 10 years. We are in a cost-of-living crisis and so the cost burden creates social inequity by squeezing a social demographic that is overly populated with our people.
The only way forward for small councils like Waipā, Waikato District and Waitomo is to go cap-in-hand to the larger entities like Hamilton City Council and beg them to create a joint council-controlled organisation.
Why would the larger entity entertain the prospect in the absence of a government commitment to underwrite the amount of debt that will be required to fix decades of under-investment?
I suspect councils will be forced to adopt more band-aid quick fix solutions to the serious water infrastructure issues they are all facing. This spells bad news not just for our people but entire communities across middle New Zealand.
As a post-settlement entity, we are one of the biggest ratepayers in the Waikato region. A 25 per cent rates increase adds millions to our annual bill for land that was illegally confiscated from our people by a colonial government in the 1800s. This is simply another iteration of that same behaviour.
We have made it very clear that we will not tolerate any Government-sponsored raid on our Treaty of Waitangi settlement arrangements.