MPs need to hear the voice of the people

During the annual plan consultation, the community has again said they wanted Kawerau District Council to retain the Three Waters assets and operation.

Kawerau Mayor Malcolm Campbell said, “We encourage people to talk directly to the three Members of Parliament who represent the Kawerau and Eastern Bay region. It is Central Government who are mandating the Three Waters reform. The MPs who are the people’s representatives to Central Government need to hear the voices and concerns of the people.

“Our standing at Kawerau District Council is that we remain a member of Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ). They are our family.”

“We also remain obliged to conform to the Minister’s requests for information about our Three Waters assets and continue to work in good faith with them.

However, in response to the community saying they do not want to lose our Three Waters assets and ownership, Kawerau joined the ‘Communities 4 Local Democracies’ with 31 other Councils last year. 

“This group of Councils all agree with the need for reform. But, we do not agree with the current reform model whereby the ownership and management of Council’s Three Waters assets are centralised into mega entities.”

For Kawerau, it would mean becoming part of Entity B, which represents 22 other councils in the wider Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taupo and Taranaki regions. 

“Kawerau is committed to finding a better solution and working model that will enable the retention of our assets which the community is invested in, and autonomy to manage these assets.”

Kawerau is currently in year two of the drinking water pipe replacement project, which will see some 8km replaced in the River Road area in the first half of the 2022-2023 year.

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For more information please contact Tania Humberstone on 0274643785.