Waimakariri Mayor and Co-Chair of Communities 4 Local Democracy (C4LD) Dan Gordon, along with Co-Chair and Manawatu Mayor Helen Worboys, attended Tuesday’s meeting at the Beehive in Wellington with the Minister of Local Government Kieran McAnulty to discuss their concerns with aspects of the Government-led Three Waters Reform.
They were joined by Mayors from across New Zealand.
"We appreciated the chance to be part of the discussion," said Mayor Gordon.
"Based on Tuesday’s discussions it appears some minor changes are being considered. However, there would need to be much further movement in order to achieve broad consensus and for the reforms be palatable to our member Councils and the wider community.
"For us it’s not simply about the number or size of entities proposed, it has always been about ownership and effective control and influence of our assets. It’s an issue of basic property rights, which was a point we made clear to the Minister.
"We also made the point that there is no need to rush this reform. We renewed our offer to work together with the Government to see if we can find consensus. It would be ideal if support could be achieved that is cross party, as if it is rushed it will simply become a political football and an issue at this year’s election.
"We followed up our offer to work together in a letter to the Minister and Prime Minister. We now await the Governments response and hope that this 'reset' is exactly that and not simply a rehash of the current model window dressed with minor tweaks."