Three Waters, mayor Smith wades in

JULIA WADE

09 May, 2022

Kaipara mayor, Dr Jason Smith, has continuously voiced concerns regarding Three Waters and says while he is disappointed the Government has accepted most of the recommendations from 3 Waters Working Group (3WWG), he is not surprised.

“This model of reforms for stormwater, drinking water and wastewater reaches beyond those pipes and will now absorb all Kaipara District Council’s drainage districts, which will mean a real shake-up for local decision-making for these places,” he says. “A different model proposed by Communities for Local Democracy also exists, and would keep the ‘local’ in local government.”

A former member of 3WWG, Smith left in March due to believing the reforms ‘are the wrong answer to the right question’.

“I participated in the working group in good faith… to seek greater understanding, in the hope that I would be able to then share that with others,” he says. “Although there was much that was good, it become clear to me that while there is a need for some kind of water system reform, the ones proposed fail to address the fundamental issue of funding investment in our infrastructure and seeks to adjust governance in a way that limits the ability of all people and communities to engage.”

Not allowing public participation and engagement was a missed opportunity he says and is ‘simply good governance’.

“Considering the size and scale of problems to be fixed with the Three Waters tasks we need the ideas of everyone to help lift us out of the mud. There’s a risk if people aren’t allowed to participate in the input and creation of all the plans and, instead, plans and directives are imposed on them by others, then they are more likely to reject what’s imposed.”

Smith also says government have ignored his request to increase the majority vote for Entity A (Auckland/Northland) from 75 percent to 90 percent saying ‘the bespoke voting arrangements would better align with the bespoke participation arrangements in Entity A’.

“Overall, I regard the proposed government reforms as an insult to democracy… but they are proceeding with this model of reforms so there will be a Select Committee process later in the year to which Kaipara people may all want to contribute.”

“Overall, I regard the proposed government reforms as an insult to democracy…”

– Dr Jason Smith, Kaipara mayor