Auckland’s new water plan unveiled by Mayor Wayne Brown and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown
The government claims Aucklanders will avoid a projected 25.8 percent water rates increase with the coalition’s Local Water Done Well plan.
Local government Minister Simeon Brown and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said on Sunday the financially sustainable model would also retain local control of water assets.
They say the previous government wasted $1.2 billion over several years to deliver a water reform plan that was wasteful, took away local control and was rejected by voters.
“Some said that Local Water Done Well could not be done,” Simeon Brown said. “But within the space of just six months, the coalition government has worked with Auckland Council on designing a new model for Watercare.”
The new plan, with a water rates increase of 7.2 percent, was unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s governing body.
1 – I love how the National Party have managed to frame this 7.2% water rates increase as saving Aucklanders from a 25.8% rates rise when 3 Waters was generating only a 2% rates rise.
2 – Kiwis are sooooooo racist, they will ignore 3 Waters was only a 2% water rates rise when they are being penalised 5.2% more for being racist.
I love this so much.
Drink it up it rednecks, because Māori were the punching bag at the last election and you all believed the far right agri-business astro turf groups frothing about Da Maaaris stealing da water, instead of only paying 2% rates rise for water, you are getting 7.2% and told that racist shit sandwich is a doughnut rolled in glitter.
Too. Funny. For. Words.
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Well put Martin. Not only are the borrowing costs higher per annum they will be paid back over a longer period of time.
So do the sums and work out what $1.9b over 10 years at 7% will cost compared to the same amount at 2%. Guess who will be smiling now. I think it’s the money men.
If one reads the 3Water proposal would have cost ratepayers nothing at all and many others would have benefitted financially. Right!
How the hell could labour not explain this!!
They were even more incompetent than the data suggested!
Wobbly story…
Mahuta was a bad minister and made a mess of both her briefs.She was to busy doing the angry Maori than explaining the benefits.
I am happy to pay higher rates and keep our water control
You will not be paying more than what you would have been forced to pay under the 3Waters proposal. Analysis of the Scottish Waters experience makes that abundantly clear.
We will pay more as a result of higher standards and more wastage. Higher standards (existing standards served us well enough, granted a few failures have occurred) may be justified, but wastage should never be tolerated.
” I am happy to pay higher rates and keep our water control.”
But you don’t have water control. The banks Council borrow from will own the water, until the debt is paid. And if and when Council comes under financial stress, sell , sell , sell that next asset.
Too funny.
The banks have no control connected to their loan but I would doubt the money would come from banks in the form we know .It is not like a mortgage.
Yep. Banks give it for love.
” The new model means Watercare will be able to borrow more money for long-term investment in water infrastructure and spread the borrowing over a longer period rather than front-loading the cost on to current ratepayers.”
Is the borrowed money from a magic money tree ?
So proposed is that instead of fronting the whole % increase today, whoopie , with a little slight of magic maths it’s just a weeny % now BUT a longer term loan. Hmmm ?
You need to explain the chain of logic behind that last statement… ATM, it looks more like grabbing at an argument, whether it is based on reality or not.. A pretty standard tory debating tool..
So, can you elucidate, or can I assume you have just blown smoke at us? It’s not often that we get “arguments” based purely on racism, and ignorance as obvious yours is looking like… Got any more gems of colonial intelligence to share with us?
I suggest you look up Local Government Funding Agency.
This will explain how cou oils borrow not from banks but from an Agency that sell bonds to raise funds to lend to council at less than bank rates
Do you live in Auckland Trevor? The arrangement in Auckland is not a blue print for rest of the country
The right swallowed all the anti Maori and Labour rhetoric on 3 waters at the last election. See Trevor for evidence below…(to keep our water). Apparently you couldn’t keep your water under 3 waters? Evidence Trevor never read the proposal.
I did read the information provided and I went to 3 meeting to hear the arguments for and against. I had no problem with input from Maori but I did not like the idea of them getting a 50 percent vote from an unelected group.
Change was needed but not the Labour model.
I believe the anti 3 Water vote was bigger than the anti covid .
National are doing what National do…..Kick the can down the road..
It beggars belief that keeping the same incompetent management that created the mess of insufficient capacity in charge & getting more debt that future generations can pay off will somehow fix the problem. This looks like a job for the boy’s scheme as they continue to deny that 3 waters could have fixed anything at a lower cost.
Job for mates it was. No argument about that.
Another step towards privatisation of our water that nobody is supposed to own. If the water care organisation goes down (broke or too much debt) then this will be used as justification to privatise. Despite saying there will be checks and balances its really just passing the buck like Grant said. Water meters aren’t fair too many companies, growers and farmers use too much water and aren’t charged equally so distribution is unfair same with the water bottlers who get it for a song.
spot on covid
look at the sucess water privatisation has been in the uk for a view of our future
Wayne Brown is doing such a good job. He might have a job for life. Unless the Welly council head hunt him.
You can twist it anyway you like to make it look good, but we all know that 3W would have been an uncontrollable faceless monster. It would quickly bankrupt NZ and the only beneficiaries would have been the ‘Computer Says No Bureaucrats’ with political science degrees, earning 200K each…without one single shred of accountability. “Sorry, its the system”. Three waters as packaged by Labour, was a fuck up idea. Thank fuck it’s dead.
You’ll like this one then straight from the two horses’ mouths.
Auckland Watercare was already in the shit,
” Chambers’ disclosure of the actual anticipated costs of infrastructure renewal comes with an admission: that Watercare’s board policy had been to “sweat its assets to failure”.
and Auckland still is in deep problematic territory over the long term for water supply and infrastructure over 100 years old. No matter where the money is borrowed from Auckland’s infrastructure is a never ending job and an infinite financial drain.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2023/12/04/watercare-boss-challenges-officials-three-waters-costings/
Don’t interrupt Jonzie when he’s having his usual tribal attack on Labour without any evidence or fact.
The good thing is when national are kicked out at the next election and they will be, that we will be able to approach water infrastructure with three Waters proposal.
Really….Squeaky, Labour will resurrect 3 waters??, ohhh I hope they do, was one of the main reasons they had the biggest drop in support in NZ election history.
For once, I do hope your right….they can throw in Co-governance also since they still don’t know why they lost so badly.
Water issues in New Zealand will be remedied by sensible commercial practice not by magic as proposed under the unexplained 3 Waters myth.
This country has operated with local water supply under local control for 150 years. New and upgraded physical infrastructure is required. It’s the same price whichever political or ownership model is used. The only difference is in the financing. Any rational politician would ensure the deal is 100 percent financed by money with the lowest finance cost.
Bs.
Well said Joseph.
So much for nobody owning the water. What’s next, clean air? I am confident the right could find a way to commodify this also. That’s all they have … commodification and privatisation. Look how well that has worked in education and health. Pity this doesn’t apply to the military – although this has been privatised elsewhere (e.g. Wagner group in the Russian, er “conflict” with Ukraine).
If you really want this model of government you need to consider moving to the USA – Trump and his buddies will support your mindset.