2 September 2021

Kawerau District Council to share independent review and ask for feedback 
Under the government’s proposed Three Waters Reform, Kawerau’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater assets would be part of Entity B with 22 other Councils from the wider Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taupo and Taranaki regions. 
Kawerau District Council has now received the independent review of the Three Waters Reform proposal from Castalia, international consultants. 
Mayor Malcolm Campbell said the review was commissioned to ask two specific questions:
1.    Will the Kawerau Council District and Residents be better off under Three Waters Reform?
2.    Are there significant risks to Council should Council decide to opt out of the Three Waters Reform programme?
Councillors held a workshop to discuss the initial findings on Tuesday, August 31. 
Council stands by its decision to share this independent review with the Kawerau community and to give residents an opportunity to have their say. 
Mayor Malcolm Campbell said, “We have always intended, no matter the results, to share this information with our community. We also want to gather feedback from residents with their thoughts, issues and concerns regarding the reform.”
Kawerau has been asked to submit a report to the government’s Department Internal Affairs (DIA) with any amalgamation issues and concerns by the end of September. 
“Gathering feedback from the community now will enable us to also add any issues and concerns raised by residents into our report back to the government.” 
Mayor Campbell reiterates no decisions have been made by Kawerau District Council to opt in or opt out. 
“When change is warranted and the outcomes stand up to scrutiny we would always support it, whether it is a reform or a change of practices.” 
“We sought an independent review as we had concerns about the modelling being taken from the Water Commission for Scotland and comparing that to New Zealand, and specifically to Kawerau.” 
“There were also concerns with the data and assumptions used in its analysis by the government’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) funded Tūhura Partners.” 
Mayor Campbell said, “All evaluation outcomes will be shared firstly with our community and then between Councils to ensure the best possible picture of the reform can be created.” 
Kawerau continue to collaborate with other Councils in the proposed Entity B region, many of whom are doing their own evaluations with external consultants. 
Kawerau District Council will release more information onto the Council’s website, newsletter and social media channels and via local media to advise the timelines and how people can provide feedback.

[ENDS] 

Background 
Kawerau District Council currently has no debt, and through its recent Long Term Plan 2021-2031 process aims to replace all of the old drinking water pipes by 2026 by borrowing $12 million. Council’s Long Term Plan 2021-2031 also outlines the strategy for upgrades and renewals of wastewater and stormwater assets.