“The ACT Party will today meet with the newly formed Communities for Local Democracy – He hapori mō te Manapori, as it fights the Government’s undemocratic Three Waters policy,” says ACT’s Local Government spokesperson Simon Court....
“The ACT Party will today meet with the newly formed Communities for Local Democracy – He hapori mō te Manapori, as it fights the Government’s undemocratic Three Waters policy,” says ACT’s Local Government spokesperson Simon Court.
“Representatives from more than 20 councils will come to Parliament today to express their concerns about Three Waters. ACT is listening. We will hear their concerns.
“It is critical that New Zealanders have access to safe drinking water and high-quality infrastructure for storm and wastewater.
“Currently the system is not up to scratch, but the Government’s proposed reforms simply miss the mark.”
ACT’s Water Infrastructure Plan would:
• Provide for councils to enter into voluntary “shared services” agreements, gaining the benefits of scale, while retaining local ownership and control
• Establish long term 30-year Central Government-Local Government Partnership agreements to plan water infrastructure upgrades tailored to specific regions
• Establish a Public-Private Partnerships (through our proposed Nation Building Agency) to attract investment from financial entities such as KiwiSaver funds, ACC, iwi investment funds, etc
• Expand the exemption from domestic supply for a single dwelling to also include all small water suppliers sup plying fewer than 30 endpoint users.
“Simply shifting water assets from one government body to another is a recipe for more bureaucracy and less local input, not an enduring solution to upgrade water infrastructure in New Zealand.
“ACT’s plan will better balance community control of water assets alongside a plan for levelling up the necessary infrastructure to ensure safety and efficient water allocation.
“These councils represent over a million New Zealanders. Their communities have rejected Three Waters. The least the Government could do is hear them out.”