Three Waters removes local council control

• Published date: 12 August 2022
• Publication title: New Zealand Herald, The (Auckland, New Zealand)

The subject was the Government’s contentious Three Waters Reform Programme, which will transfer tens of billions of dollars’ worth of water assets — treatment plants, pipes, and drains — off the books of 67 local councils to four newly created water services entities

Shareholding of the new entities will remain with councils, though individual councils will no longer control the assets in their region because their interest will be changed from direct ownership to shares in an agglomerated entity.

But that’s not the only way in which local control of water assets will be up-ended.

Under the new scheme, councils will choose just 50per cent of representatives in a group that will in turn appoint the board of directors to govern their new water entity.

The other half of the representatives will be chosen by iwi.

To choose these representatives is to control the water entity.

Tame was driving at these details when he asked the Prime Minister: “if you and I as Pākehā people have the same level of representation [on water entities] guaranteed as Māori people?”

The PM took a few twists and turns in her response. Tame was being “overly simplistic” she said: “I’m arguing it’s...