At the end of September, we will be providing feedback to the Government on the proposed Three Waters model. We have concerns about the new model and intend to include as part of our feedback some ideas that make better sense to us.

This week we debated a series of questions that all Entity B members will be answering. We are one voice amongst many, and at this stage in the process we would like to find out what views other Council’s have on the reform. If we are going to suggest alternatives to what the Government’s proposed, it would be helpful to know who if others share similar concerns.

This week's workshop sessions covered -

• Areas of less importance
• Timeframes
• Influence and accountability
• Collective approach
• Entity boundaries
• Workshop three video

As we weigh up the pros and cons of the proposed reform your comments and questions are welcome. Sign up if you would like future updates sent directly to your inbox.

The questions helped us to start identifying those areas that are unlikely to influence our decision, such as the Government’s financial sweetener of $17.2m for our district. And the discussion started to gravitate around some key themes.

We believe the Government’s timeframes are unrealistic. Our concerns include: the time we’ll be given to consult with our community on the reform, we believe the lead-in to have the new water entities up and running is too short, and the expectations of the entities are unlikely to be achieved in the timeframes given. We’d prefer the Government extend the timeframes, or delay the process.

Across the country, there is general concern amongst Councils about the level of accountability and influence smaller communities will have under the proposed entities.

The reform is about how we manage our water assets - the water pipes and treatment plants. While the water assets will be moved off our books, we will continue to own them, and as the asset owners we want a greater level of influence over the entity, including who sits on the new water entity board.

It was encouraging to learn about Tasmania’s water amalgamation, where the council’s are shareholders of TasWater and very happy with the arrangement. We believe there are models, such as TasWater, that should be explored and potentially adapted for this situation.

There are also other governance aspects we need to explore further, such as, whether we want to have some level of influence on the proposed Consumer Panel.

Councils to deliver three water services in the future. Even without the proposed reform going ahead, we will be facing new challenges in the form of a new water regulator and increasing water standards. This will be costly, is likely to require specialist skills and take up more of our time - potentially reducing the time spent on other services we deliver.

To make sure our district is well placed to cope with future change we doubt that continuing on our own is an option.

The size of the entity areas is also a challenge for smaller districts like ours. If the reform goes ahead, we would prefer to amalgamate our three water services with a smaller number of councils. This may not be as financially efficient according to the Government’s economic modelling, but it could be more effective. For example, only joining forces with our Waikato neighbours means relationships are already established and we have a track record of working together.

Due to technical difficulties we were unable to record the first 10-15 minutes of the workshop.

The three waters reform is being led by the Government. Councils currently have an opportunity to raise any issues/concerns on their communities’ behalves and we welcome the community to be part of the process.

If you have a question or comment you want us to consider please click here. All feedback will help inform our conversations with the Government.

• August to September 2021 - period for Council to raise issues/concerns and seek clarification with the Government
• 1 October 2021 - Our feedback to Government is due
• October 2021 – Government to consider the feedback  and decide how it will progress, including how and when councils will consult with their communities