three waters reform

Councils may continue to join forces to tackle infrastructure around three waters. 

The Government's confirmed its plan to repeal and replace the controversial legislation. 

It will introduce bills that attempt to make it easier for councils to determine their own water strategy, including making it easier to set up council-controlled organisations. 

Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Alex Walker told Mike Hosking that it makes sense for Hawke's Bay, as a region, to work together. 

She says communities are socially and economically connected, and this legislation could help get things off the ground for a regional model. 

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Labour's Ginny Andersen and National's Nicola Willis join Nick Mills for Politics Monday following special votes being counted.

Together they discuss whether David Seymour and Winston Peters can work constructively, if recounts can make a difference, the Mongrel Mob seeking legal advice regarding the National Party’s gang policy, and Golden Mile contracts remaining unsigned.

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Labour's Ginny Andersen and National's Nicola Willis join Nick Mills for Politics Monday following special votes being counted.

Together they discuss whether David Seymour and Winston Peters can work constructively, if recounts can make a difference, the Mongrel Mob seeking legal advice regarding the National Party’s gang policy, and Golden Mile contracts remaining unsigned.

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National Party Deputy Leader Nicola Willis and Labour MP for the Hutt South and Police Minister Ginny Andersen join Nick Mills on Politics Monday.

Together they discuss reports that Rimutaka Prison is bursting at the seams, Labour's plan to reduce class sizes by one student, the Affordable Water Reforms and 

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Three Waters is no more, as the reforms have been rebranded to Affordable Water Reforms.

The Government has scrapped the 4 mega entities in favour of 10 entities, with their boundaries established roughly along the lines of New Zealand’s 16 regional councils.

ZB Political Editor Jason Walls says the new entities will allow local councils more direct engagement with the water entities that manage the water services on their behalf.

Jason Walls also noted that the divisive co-governance aspect of the reform was absent from the initial release, but Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' statement suggests that co-governance is still on the table.

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I’m the first person to accuse this Government of lacking political courage.  

They lacked courage on tax reform. They lacked it on climate change. Jacinda Ardern even lacked the courage to say which box she’d be ticking in the cannabis referendum, lest her position cost Labour a few votes. 

But you’ve gotta hand it to it this time, regardless of how you feel about co-governance, keeping the 50-50 mana whenua representation for the strategic oversight groups in the rebranded Three Waters policy is a politically courageous move. They could’ve gone with a watered down version, Māori representation at a level lower than 50 percent. They could have scrapped it altogether.  

But they’ve kept it. And the question now is whether Kieran McAnulty and Chris Hipkins have the political talents to sell it.  

We’ve heard a lot from supporters of co-governance that the arrangement is nothing new, that there are numerous examples where iwi co-governance arrangements are already in place and working well around the country. 

This is partially true, but it’s also a bit of a disingenuous comparison. The concept of co-governance is nothing new, but co-governance for the delivery of essential public services nationwide is much greater in scale and impact than anything that’s been established before.  

That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. But if politicians are to introduce change of this nature, the onus is on them to explain why it’s necessary.  

Over the last 18 months, the Government has flipped and fudged and dodged and dived and done a generally woeful job of explaining its position. Even last week in her exit interviews, Jacinda Ardern responded to the co-governace question by telling John Campbell it was nothing to fear. 

That may well be the case. It may be nothing to fear. But dismissing it as such is not an argument in favour of breaking with the status quo. 

Labour has retained something akin to co-governance in the Affordable Water Reforms because they think it gives effect to the principles of the Treaty.  

They deserve credit for sticking to their guns. But along with the rebrand, they owe New Zealanders  a better argument for why co-governance is important.  

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Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed a Three Waters rebrand will be announced 'imminently'. 

Hipkins says this revamped water infrastructure policy will bring the focus back to "affordable water infrastructure."

ZB Chief Political Reporter Aaron Dahmen says that we're likely to find out more about the Three Waters reform within the next 24 hours.

"It'll be very interesting to see what they actually come up with and how different it actually is, bar a branding exercise to the initial proposal." 

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The Government may be looking to abandon the current layout for Three Waters in favour of a 10-entity solution.

The proposed 10-entity policy alternative has been sent to BusinessDesk as the primary recommendation that will be put to Cabinet in the coming weeks.

BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie says this alternative proposal kills off the concerns surrounding local Government say, a key issue the Government is facing with Three Waters.

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Suggestions the Government's Three Water reforms will change, but it still hasn't appeased opponents.

Sources have told BusinessDesk officials are considering merging water services into 10 regional entities, rather than four.

The recommendations are expected to go to Cabinet in coming weeks, although the Prime Minister says no decisions have been made.

Manawatu mayor Helen Worboys it doesn't address local councils' concerns about losing control of assets.

"The bottom line is that the Government don't own these assets, they belong to our community. And they've basically got no right to take them without paying compensation."

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Labour MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti Meka Whaitiri and National MP Chris Bishop join Nick Leggett for Politics Tuesday.

Together they discuss Green Party MP Elizabeth Kerekere calling colleague Chlöe Swarbrick a "crybaby", Waka Kotahi fixing 54-thousand potholes on the state highway network during 2022, and what will come of the Three Waters overhaul.

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Every month Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau sits down for a catch-up with Nick Mills live on Wellington Mornings and takes listeners' calls.

This time they discuss National's policy to scrap Three Waters, why young people might not be moving to the capital, if rates increases are imperative and troubles with the Cook Straight ferries.

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National Party Deputy Leader Nicola Willis and Labour MP for the Hutt South Ginny Andersen join Nick Mills every week for Politics Monday.

This time they discuss the devastating floods across Auckland, whether Wellington is prepared for similar disasters, increasing the minimum wage and developments to the Three Waters entrenchment saga.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson joins Nick Mills live in the studio for the special Christmas edition of Wellington Mornings. 

Together they discuss MP safety, Three Waters, co-governance, Restore Rail Protesters and how 2022 has been in general for politics.

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Every week Labour MP for the Hutt South Ginny Andersen and National's deputy leader Nicola Willis join Nick Mills for Politics Monday.

This week they debate what was behind National's win in the Hamilton West by-election, expected retirements within the Labour Party, Three Waters passing into law and youth crime.

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Chief Political Reporter Aaron Dahmen joins Nick Mills just moments before the Three Waters Reforms Bill passes into law. 

He also discusses the possible existence of an offshore Chinese police centre here in New Zealand, and Willie Jackson's diabolical interview on Q + A. 

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National MP Chris Bishop and Labour MP for the Hutt South Ginny Andersen join Nick Mills for Politics Monday.

Together they debate the entrenchment clause in the Three Waters legislation that sparked outcry, just 22 percent of Kiwis supporting the TVNZ and RNZ merger, the murder of Malachi Subecz and crime across the country.

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Every week National Party Deputy Leader Nicola Willis and Labour MP for the Hutt South Ginny Andersen join Nick Mills to talk politics. 

This week they debate a recent amendment to the Three Waters Reforms, support to retailers enduring crime, Waka Kotahi's speed reduction plan and The ACT Party's truancy policy.

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The Three Waters entrenchment amendment has inspired discussions and debate, and this may be going on within the Government itself.

Political editor Barry Soper has observed that there may be some friction going on between some key members of cabinet regarding the entrenchment amendment.

Barry Soper also states that Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins have both admitted to not being aware of the plan to entrench this segment of the Three Waters bill, which is likely to create further issues.

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The controversial Three Waters Bill, which the Government hopes to pass through Parliament in time for Christmas it throw up another interesting and unusual issue last week - the question of entrenchment.  Entrenchment is a tool that is normally reserved for constitutional matters, governing how our elections run, for example: things like the voting age or the length of a parliamentary term or the method of voting and how electorates are drawn up. 

So, issues that require more than a bare majority of MPs to change. Therefore, it was quite a surprise to see a last-minute clause in the Three Waters Bill last week, meaning any future law change allowing public water assets to be sold would require a vote of 60% of Parliament or a successful public referendum - entrenchment in other words.  It means a super majority of 72 MPs, more than the usual majority of 61 MP’s would be needed by Government to change the prospective law in the future.  One of the major concerns of Three Waters is the privatisation of water assets and the loss of control in revenue.

So surely this might sound like a step in the right direction to some of you. You may think so, and I'd like to know whether it gives you more faith in this bill, because this is a major concern. We don't want to lose control of our water assets and the revenue.

But actually, in a way, this is not about the Three Waters Bill. This is a major overreach by the Government to use entrenchment in this situation. When laws are created in New Zealand by the Government of the day, they had done so in the knowledge that the Government of tomorrow are free to come along and undo them. That is part of our constitutional setup and the concern here is, of course, that it could open the door for more laws to be similarly entrenched in the future. 

The future of our water ownership is really important, but it is still a matter of policy. Should we be using this tool of entrenchment in a situation like this? No other law requires such a majority for it to be overturned. It's no light issue. It does actually require serious debate. And the Government's determination to get the Three Waters bill rushed through Parliament at this stage with urgency has a sense of desperation to it. 

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A public law expert says he won't be surprised if the Government back tracks on moves to entrench part of the controversial Three Waters reforms.

Under a last minute change, 60-percent of MPs would have to agree to overturn part of the Bill protecting water assets from privatisation.

A group of legal academics have written to the Government, raising concerns about the entrenchment of non-electoral law.

Otago University's Andrew Geddis says even if it's motivated from a good place...it's not been done properly.

He says even if it was motivated by really not wanting to see water go into private hands, the process that's been used is a bit shoddy.

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