Wellbeing and Water – a necessary conversation with Local Government
30 November 2018
NZ Government:
The Government has announced plans to initiate
a strategic conversation with
Local Government about community
well-being and proposals to overhaul the regulation of
water. Led by the Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta, the
multi-agency Three Waters Review has been investigating the state and
performance of
New Zealand’s drinking water,
wastewater and
storm water systems.
“Equally important is the need to engage our Councils and Central
Government in what we can do collaboratively to enhance wellbeing
through regional growth, strengthening the role of our communities and
engaging the potential of our young people – essential to that will be
the challenge of our waters infrastructure,” said the Hon Nanaia Mahuta.
The Cabinet paper Local governance for community well-being can be found
at:
www.dia.govt.nz/Central-Local-Government-Partnership
and the Cabinet paper Future state of the three
waters system: regulation and service delivery can be found at:
www.dia.govt.nz/three-waters-review
‘It’s important to initiate the
conversation about how Central and Local Government can contribute,
enhance and support the types of expectations that communities seek
around environmental stewardship, urban planning and place-making,
public services and amenities, housing and community development and
intergenerational wellbeing,” said Nanaia Mahuta.
“We also need to address the issues creating pressure and impacting on
Council balance sheets and that’s the burgeoning cost of waters
infrastructure as citizens seek higher assurance about safe, reliable
drinking water and higher environmental expectations around urban and
freshwater.
“Our three waters system faces critical funding and capability
challenges in delivering this. With pressures such as aging
infrastructure, population changes, increased tourism numbers and the
need to build in resilience against climate change and natural events,
the situation will get much worse if we do not address it.
“We are advancing policy work towards new regulatory arrangements to
ensure drinking water safety and reduce environmental damage and
contamination from wastewater. Along with my colleagues the Minister of
Health and Minister for the
Environment, I expect to take detailed proposals on the shape and
form of the arrangements to Cabinet in June 2019.
“We need to have the right conversation about the future of local
government and three waters reform. I acknowledge that there remains
anxiety about ‘three waters’ service delivery but I want to encourage
those in the sector who are already working towards improved service
delivery that we want to engage.
“I have made it clear to the sector that my work programme will develop
high-level service delivery options for further consideration. This will
not be done in a vacuum and we will engage the sector. I have also said
on numerous occasions that continued public ownership of water assets is
our bottom line.
“It’s important to lift the focus on to the real challenges facing us as
we consider strategic opportunities to strengthen the role of local
government in delivering prosperity and well-being for our communities,”
said Nanaia Mahuta.
--ENDS--
Source: New Zealand Government - www.beehive.govt.nz
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