Whanganui District Council survey reveals strong opposition to Three Waters

Aerial photo of Whanganui's waste water treatment plant. Photo / Bevan Conley

A community survey has revealed strong opposition to the government's proposed amalgamation of council water services known as Three Waters.

In July, Whanganui District Council chief executive David Langford opened a community survey on Three Waters and local government reforms.

Now the results have been presented to councillors, with 88 per cent of the 706 people surveyed opposing the proposal.

More than 75 per cent, or 489 people, opposed cross-subsidisation of water services with any other area.

Councillor Rob Vinsen said he thought the results were a fair reflection of how Whanganui's general population felt about the reforms.

"Whichever way you slice and dice these figures, it's clear this community is right against anything to do with Three Waters," he said.

"I think we are under no doubt at all that the resolutions passed by this council unanimously that we oppose the government model have been reflected by those that put us in these chambers."

Another question was whether the voting age should be lowered to 16.

Of 593 responses, 487 said no.

It was close in terms of what people thought gave Whanganui its identity, with 189 saying it was the people who lived there and 187 saying it was its heritage and history.

Te Awa Tupua - The Whanganui River was the preferred choice for 178 people.

At the other end of the scale, 21 people said it was key businesses or attractions located in the city and 78 said it was Whanganui's geographic location compared with other places.

Councillor James Barron said that result filled him with a lot of confidence for the future of the city.

"That says we are a strong place with a strong sense of identity, and that is very positive," he said.

James Barron says he is filled with a lot of confidence for the future of Whanganui. Photo / Bevan Conley

Most respondents said the council shouldn't deliver any new functions if its scope was widened in the future.

Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall said that, while he didn't expect the council to grow into a "vast, monolithic organisation", he wanted it to have a greater governance voice.

Central government made many decisions with "no local input about expenditure".

"We are the only people in the world who are looking after Whanganui," McDouall said.

"There is an expectation in the community that we address housing yet we are bound. It's a central government role, largely.

"I would love to be let off the leash. That also goes for education and maybe social services."

Alan Taylor, in his last council meeting, said the survey was a good start in finding out what the community wanted but it needed to be taken into account that it represented only 3 per cent of the voting population.

For the future, making Whanganui safe for everyone was the most important to respondents, ahead of economically thriving, environmentally sustainable and welcoming for all.

Health and social issues needed to be prioritised to make that a reality, along with business attraction and growth and affordable housing.

Of those who responded to the survey, 52.85 per cent were male and 41.62 per cent were female.

Most were aged between 45 and 74.

The overwhelming majority were of European descent. The survey was open to the public from July 9-22.