John Robertson. FILE PHOTO
It is challenging to lead an organisation when you have no idea what its future is. This is the reality facing councils.
Central government, the determinant of the form and role that local government plays, announced its desire for change to the sector in 2021 without specifics.
Instead, the Government appointed a panel to develop ideas on the “Future of Local Government”.
It spent several years consulting. The panel has recently published a draft report suggesting devolution of certain responsibilities from central to local government.
Central government has remained silent.
Devolution to local government rarely happens – in fact it is more likely that the reverse occurs, as is the case with Three Waters reform.
The future of Three Waters remains uncertain. Governance of our water infrastructure is even more muddied now than it was last year. In his first few days as Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins implied that Government would review its stance. As I write this column, no further indication has been given.
Meanwhile, the model is becoming more bureaucratic, more complex, and more costly by the day.
Hanging over all this is the possibility of a change in government in just eight months.
National have now advised their policy on Three Waters. If elected in October, they promise to reverse Labour’s Three Waters reforms in their first 100 days, terminate the four large water entities that are currently being set up, and leave the governance and ownership of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater in the hands of councils.
The way that water services are delivered to our communities is up in the air. It has been for three years. The function of local government has been up in the air for two years. This uncertainty makes long-term planning by councils most difficult. Besides all this, sorting out the function of local government should have happened before water reform.
This is all major reform. It deserves better process. It needs a cross-party approach to agree upon the way forward.
Cross-party approaches to major reform are hard but some have been successful before. The move to MMP in 1995, Auckland’s amalgamation, and Treaty settlements since the early 1990s are all examples.
I wish that the proponents of the current reforms would adopt a similar approach.
I am scheduled to be heard by the select committee on the third piece of legislation on water reforms this week. I will once again make this point.
