“ACT has launched a petition which urges the Government to adopt ACT’s three-point plan to speed up the clean-up of Auckland’s beaches,” says ACT’s Environment spokesperson Simon Court.
“Aucklanders often can’t go in the sea because of raw sewage in the harbour from the leaks and overflows from our old stormwater system.
“This problem isn’t being fixed fast enough. Auckland Council can’t afford to fix things up on its own, and the Labour Government's expensive and divisive Three Waters plan won’t help.
“ACT thinks it’s unfair that Aucklanders will have to swim and play in water contaminated by raw sewage for years when the problems could be fixed much sooner.
ACT’s practical plan to speed up the clean-up.
ACT’s solution is to give Councils the tools and the money they need to fix the problem. ACT will:
- Return half the GST Government collects from new builds to councils so they can afford to upgrade stormwater infrastructure.
- Let Councils use Public-Private Partnerships for major projects, attracting investment from financial entities such as KiwiSaver funds, ACC, and iwi.
- Establish 30-year Central Government-Local Government Partnership agreements to plan water infrastructure upgrades tailored to specific regions.
“ACT’s plan lets communities keep control of their water assets and get cleaner beaches sooner.
“We’re launching our petition at the Auckland boat show, and we welcome all New Zealanders who think clean beaches should be a priority to sign our petition here.”