Selwyn Water company 'continues local ownership, prevents privatisation'
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Selwyn District Council has become the first in the country to establish a company to manage water and wastewater.
Selwyn Water Limited was set up at a cost of $2 million under the government's Local Water Done Well legislation, which let councils create entities that could borrow more than councils were able to on their own.
It would provide drinking and wastewater services to about 30,000 households and more than 8000 businesses.
Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton was joined by Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Selwyn MP Nicola Grigg at a formal launch event at the Pines Wastewater Treatment Plant on Tuesday.
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Broughton said it was a milestone for the district and would future-proof its water infrastructure.
"A stand-alone CCO [council controlled organisation] to manage our water and wastewater means we have continued local ownership, prevents the privatisation of our water assets, it means we think about a long-term future and brings in governance excellence to the management of our water," he said.
The council voted for the model in April, despite about 87 percent of 424 public submissions against the proposal and in favour of keeping water services in-house.
Broughton said public conerns about potential higher costs and reduced local control had been addressed.
"We take all community feedback really seriously, we had hearings, we had people come and talk to us about what they had written down and during that process it became really clear the community congratulated us as a district for the investment that had already been made and that was part of the reason; 'why change it because you're already successful now'," he said.
"Another key factor was that people were scared of privatisation, so we've made sure that has been dealt with too and the primary legislation meant that that couldn't happen as well. The continued local ownership and influence for the community is also taken account in the set-up because this isn't a separation for the community. Selwyn Water will continue to hear from our community to be a part of future decisions."
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Water charges were expected to be higher for ratepayers initially because of set up costs but cheaper after about 10 years.
"We put aside $2 million to set up the CCO and that has been paid for and some of that will be repaid through water charges. Our water charges in Selwyn have always been separate from rates and capital values of properties so that will continue with the new organisation being set up," Broughton said.
"Anything we do with water needs to be done sensibly and thinking not just about today but for the generations to come as well."
An average 14.2 per cent rates rise took effect for Selwyn ratepayers from July.
The council said an in-house model would limit its ability to borrow for large-scale infrastructure projects needed to support Selwyn's rapid growth.
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The CCO had the ability to borrow up to 500 percent of its revenue through the Local Government Funding Agency, compared to the 280 percent cap for councils managing water in-house, it said.
Local Government Minister Simon Watts said the launch of Selwyn district's water service entity marked a significant milestone of water reform.
The council was the the first to get its plan approved by the government ahead of the national deadline on 3 September.
"I look forward to seeing similar Local Water Done Well plans progress in the coming months," Watts said.
"Selwyn District has demonstrated it has a financially sustainable plan for the delivery of water services that meet health, quality, and environmental standards, along with community expectations.
"I will be watching with interest how Selwyn Water manages the projected price increases for consumers during the initial years of their plan. I expect the Commerce Commission, as the economic regulator, will closely monitor to ensure the delivery of forecast levels of capital investment, justify the price."
Over the next six months, the council would transfer relevant assets, staff, and systems to Selwyn Water. Stormwater services would remain managed in-house by the council.
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsroom
8 hours ago
- Newsroom
Climate Commission delivers inconvenient truths to Govt
Analysis: Climate policy is in many ways one of the most wickedly complex areas of government. The workings of the Emissions Trading Scheme, aligning scientific findings about difference greenhouse gases or climate impacts with policy design and even just measuring emissions from a cow can all be embroiled in subjective, heated debates. On occasion, though, it can be as simple as basic arithmetic. That's where the Climate Change Commission has landed with its progress report on the Government's climate policies, released early Friday before markets opened. Chief executive Jo Hendy tells Newsroom it's the commission's first chance to 'run the ruler' over the Government's climate plan, released in December. It's only the second-ever progress report, with last year's version having mostly evaluated then-cancelled Labour policies because the Government hadn't yet announced its own approach. While a lot of complex analysis underpins the independent watchdog's findings, the headline information is the result of a simple adding up exercise that effectively cuts through the Government's spin on how ambitious its climate plan really is. New Zealand is on track to meet the first five-yearly emissions budget – here, the commission agrees with the Government. The rest of the picture looks far less rosy. For the second budget, covering 2026 to 2030, there are moderate to significant delivery risks – and much greater ones than featured in last year's report. The Government's own projections leave it with just a couple million tonnes of headroom, which could easily be wiped out by a dry year prompting the burning of Huntly's coal stockpile, a wildfire or big storm destroying a large enough forestry block or the failure of the already shaky carbon capture policy. The real concern comes for the third budget and the 2050 net zero target, where again the delivery risks have grown. 'Current plans are insufficient to meet the third budget and further action is required. There are also significant risks for meeting the 2050 target unless further action is taken,' the commission writes. The Government's projections show it still has to cut emissions by over nine million tonnes over the third budget period. While Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says the Government will sort out how to do so in its third emissions reduction plan in 2029 (a point by which he also presumably hopes to no longer be responsible for sorting that out), the commission says that leaves it too late. Watts' current climate plan cuts emissions by just 3.3 million tonnes in the second budget period and he's already pretty confident that's everything the Government can do. (The commission, for what it's worth, has found tens of millions of tonnes of additional cuts that a sufficiently motivated government could implement.) How, then, is a future government to nearly triple that total with a plan in 2029? 'The Government needs to act ahead of the next emissions reduction plan (due in 2029) as many options that would make a difference will take time to take effect. For example, New Zealand Steel's electric arc furnace took three years to progress from funding approval to operation,' the commission insists. Fortunately, the commission finds there are significant opportunities for the Government to make up the difference if it starts now. There are nearly 20 million tonnes of cuts New Zealand could achieve in the third budget period through fixing up the Emissions Trading Scheme and implementing additional targeted policies. Agricultural and power generation emissions alone could fall by enough to plug the gap through regulatory reforms and incentives for uptakes of new technologies. 'This isn't just about hitting a number on an emissions reduction target, it's also about doing it well so that we cut energy costs, create those new jobs, protect market access and ultimately it's about our competitiveness and resilience as a country – as well as making that better future for our kids,' Hendy says. The ball is now in Watts' court, but don't expect him to do much with it. The commission returns repeatedly in this report to another issue that Watts is sitting on: Whether the budgets actually need to be revised to be more ambitious, as it recommended last year. In brief, the commission found last year that accounting changes for how we measure the emissions of cows, cars and other greenhouse gas sources mean it will now be easier to meet the budgets. Those changes don't represent real action New Zealand has taken. If we wanted to preserve the original ambition the budgets represented when they were set in 2022, the commission reported, we would need to revise them downwards. Because those new recommended budgets are still on Watts' desk, the majority of the commission's report today checks progress against the existing targets. However, it does also note at points how much additional effort would be needed to meet its recommended budgets. For the second emissions budget, that would be another 15 million tonnes of cuts over the second half of the 2020s. For the third budget, another 18 million tonnes on top of that. Collectively, the revisions represent about half of New Zealand's annual gross emissions – or more than 30 times the reductions the Government claims will arise from its carbon capture policy. While there are some subjective inputs to these calculations by the commission, the bulk of it comes down to hard maths. Or, as Watts might label it, an inconvenient truth.
NZ Herald
8 hours ago
- NZ Herald
New World Pt Chevalier to open next to derelict building and abandoned tyre site
Next door is a third of a hectare ex-Magnum Motors corner site, also fronting 8 Parr Rd North but looking in very poor shape. New World Pt Chevalier, Auckland nearing completion. 22 July 2025 New Zealand Herald photograph by Jason Dorday The contrast between the two sites could hardly be greater. How did such a situation arise and what do council and local board people say about it? The state-of-the-art supermarket is aiming to draw tens of thousands of shoppers weekly in the suburb, which currently only has a small Woolworths. The unsightly empty site next door is owned by New Zealand-registered company Hobson One. Its director is Zhengzheng Guo of Remuera. Derelict buildings in front of and around the New World Pt Chevalier which is planned to open in August. Photo / Jason Dorday He has applied for resource consent for apartments to be built in blocks beside the New World. But he is yet to succeed. 'An application was lodged in December 2024 for a three-storey mixed-use building - retail and residential,' a council spokesman said. The application was now on hold, awaiting further information, the spokesman said. Advertising showed he did try to sell the site two years ago, before downscaling plans. In June 2023, he advertised it with Bayleys. 1150-1160 Great North Rd, Pt Chevalier, Auckland, outlined in red. This was in 2023 when Bayleys' agents were marketing the property for sale. Since then, the New World Pt Chevalier has been built on the ex-RSA site next door (above the red line). Photo / Bayleys The big lot was marketed as a development site, with a 177-unit resource consent. Bayleys agents Gerald Rundle and Marty van Barneveld marketed it but were unsuccessful in selling it. Derelict buildings in front of and around the New World Pt Chevalier which is planned to open in August. Photo / Jason Dorday 'The development potential of the site under the zoning has been greatly enhanced by an approved Resource Consent for an eight-level [including basement] development of 177 apartments and three ground-level commercial units over approximately 18,000sq m according to the consented plans,' Bayleys said. Construction progresses at the site of the new New World Pt Chevalier on Great North Rd, Auckland. The store, developed by Foodstuffs North Island and designed by Wingate Architects, is due to open later this year. Photo / Jason Dorday The new supermarket has been set back from the street, with a partly covered walkway now being finished beside the Kumho Tyres building, short-stay parking out the front and a big underground basement for parking. Auckland Council documents describe buildings on the Hobson One site: '1150 and 1158 Great North Rd are occupied by a vehicle workshop, tyre shop and paint and panel beaters. Plans for apartments on Great North Rd beside the new $73 million New World Pt Chevalier. Photo / Auckland Council consent documents 'Built development within these lots comprises two-level industrial style buildings located centrally with a canopy extending over the forecourt in front, a double garage and electrical transformer at the rear of number 1150, and concrete/asphalt driveway and parking areas across the remainder of the land,' the council document says. A larger scheme was once planned. Consent was granted non-notified on February 20, 2023, for an eight-storey apartment block, with basement parking, three commercial units and 177 dwellings, the council noted. Derelict buildings in front of and around the New World Pt Chevalier which is planned to open in August. 22 July 2025 New Zealand Herald photograph by Jason Dorday But the market changed and now only about 50 units are planned. 'Given the changing demands of the market, the applicant wishes to achieve a similar development in terms of land use, albeit on a much smaller scale in terms of the height of the built form, but also notably the depth and volume of earthworks required will be significantly less,' the council document said. Kendyl Smith, chair of the Albert-Eden Local Board, said the site was private property which the council had boarded off. Smith was aware of safety and crime concerns. New World Pt Chevalier, Auckland nearing completion. Photo / Jason Dorday 'The council is actively working to maintain safety in and around this site, which involves working with the property owner to determine the next steps,' Smith said. The board had completed a review of crime prevention through environmental design in the wider area, Smith said. That identified safety-related improvements for Pt Chevalier. New World Pt Chevalier, Auckland nearing completion. Photo / Jason Dorday 'There are also ongoing patrols of the area from the council's community safety wardens, working with NZ Police,' Smith said. 'We're also looking forward to the new modular library, with full library services, joining the town square this October.' The New World opening would provide a welcome addition for locals and for the wider village, Smith said. Kāinga Ora has also developed new social housing in the town centre. This shows work on the block, long since finished. These are the new state homes in Pt Chevalier. Photo / Michael Craig On the corner of Great North Rd and Pt Chevalier Rd, a block of apartments was imported fully built from China. That is for people aged 55-plus moving into or from existing state housing. Kāinga Ora contracted Tawera Group and Teak Construction on this job. They assembled the 61-unit block of single-bedroom new units. Kāinga Ora said the modular homes were all one-bedroom apartments to cater for high demand for those types of places. They are single, factory-built modules. Last year, when New World Pt Chevalier was being built, and the home next door. Photo / Jason Dorday A man in his 90s is yet to find a buyer for his home next to the new supermarket. The Herald reported last year on 12 Parr Rd North. That has been in Albert John Andrews' family for 70 years. Foodstuffs said last year it had been working closely with the family, other neighbours and the community throughout the build process. Anne Gibson has been the Herald's property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
Scoop
8 hours ago
- Scoop
Ratepayers Win In Collaboration Over Local Water
Minister of Local Government Hamilton City and Waikato District Councils have delivered the first multi council water services delivery plan, an achievement that will be welcomed by all ratepayers, says Local Government Minister Simon Watts. 'We have been very clear that local government needs to focus on core business and I am delighted that these two councils are the first to embrace the benefits to ratepayers of collaboration under Local Water Done Well. 'Not only does this mean safe and reliable drinking and wastewater, it means cost increases necessary to fund vital infrastructure are more affordable for ratepayers. 'This collaboration means 280,000 New Zealanders served by the combined local organisation will be assured of the ongoing financial sustainability of their water services at affordable cost. 'Investing in infrastructure is critical for our communities' success and critical for growth. This plan significantly boosts investment in Hamilton and Waikato District's water services infrastructure over the next decade, supporting new housing, businesses and improved service quality. 'The cost of delivering water services has been a driver of higher rates across the country. By getting water services on a stable footing and making critical investment now, councils keep rate increases down.' This increased investment is supported by better access to finance from the Local Government Funding Agency. 'Mayors Paula Southgate of Hamilton and Jacqui Church of Waikato District have done a great job in getting this result and I congratulate them on working in the best interests of their respective ratepayers to establish this new joint water services organization,' Mr Watts says. 'I am also pleased that both councils are willing to consider forming a larger regional model with other Waikato councils over time. 'I look forward to other councils following the example of Waikato and Hamilton in delivering excellent locally-directed services that benefit their communities.'
