Post-Cabinet press conference: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announces repeal of Labour’s Three Waters under urgency
NZ Herald
12 Feb, 2024 03:45 PM
Christopher Luxon holds post-Cabinet press conference
The Government will repeal the controversial Three Waters reforms by 23 February and will pass two two laws to replace it – the first by mid 2024 followed by the long-term replacement by mid 2025.
“The Government will pass a bill to repeal Labour’s divisive and unpopular Three Waters legislation by 23 February 2024 as part of our 100-day plan. This will restore continued local council ownership and control of water services, and responsibility for service delivery,” Brown said.
The repeal law would include some provisions to allow councils to address water services in their long-term plans ahead of the permanent changes.
He said the government’s replacement would be put in place through two separate pieces of legislation. A technical advisory group was being set up to advise on the implementation of it.
Brown said the first bill would be passed by the middle of this year and would set out provisions related to council service delivery plans and transitional economic regulation.
That would include streamlined rules for setting up council-controlled organisations under the Local Government Act 2002 to allow councils to start moving the delivery of water services into more financially sustainable configurations, if they wished to do so.
The second bill would set up the long-term replacement regime. It would be introduced by December, and passed by mid-2025 – just ahead of local body elections in October that year.
He said that second bill would also set up regulatory backstop powers, to be used if councils were failing to meet the requirements to deliver financially sustainable and safe water services.
The long term regime would include requirements for financial sustainability, an economic regulation regime, and a new range of structural and financing tools for councils.
Those included a new type of financially independent council-controlled organisation.
It would also change the water regulator’s legislation to ensure it was fit for purpose and workable for drinking water suppliers.
He said the technical advisory group would include experts in finance, infrastructure and local government. It would provide advice on policy and legislation that would allow local councils to appropriately recover costs and access the long-term debt needed to fund the required investment in water infrastructure.
The Technical Advisory Group members
Andreas Heuser (chair), managing director at Castalia Limited. Andreas has a background in economic and policy projects specialising in energy sector strategy, water reform, and natural resource economics.
Raveen Jaduram, director of the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. Raveen has a background in water infrastructure, including six years as the Chief Executive of Watercare.
Wendy
Walker, chief executive of Porirua City Council. Wendy has a background in local government, strategic planning, and public management.
Mark Reese, partner at Chapman Tripp. Mark specialises in finance and infrastructure and has knowledge and experience across legal and financial aspects of project and asset financing.
Simon Weston, chief executive of Whangārei District Council. Simon has a background in infrastructure, construction and local government in the United Kingdom, Auckland, and Northland.
Coalition government set to repeal Three Waters this week.
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