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NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Māori role in new Northland water services company sparks concerns
The Northland councils must now work against the clock to put together a water services delivery plan, before the Government's September 3 deadline, despite their differences. FNDC councillor Tāmati Rākena. Kaipara District Council (KDC) axed its Māori ward and its mayor banned karakia from meetings, whereas FNDC promotes the use of te reo in meetings and Māori practices, and voted to retain its Māori ward. FNDC councillor Tāmati Rākena said he didn't look forward to working with KDC after it canned its Māori ward and other changes. 'KDC has thrown their toys out of the cot. They don't want to hang out with Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi,' Rākena said. Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson said he disagreed, and he and his council had a good working relationship with Māori. Jepson said water belonged to all and creating the CCO was about equal access. Rākena said meaningful iwi and hapū partnership was not optional but foundational in what evolved in the new Northland water regime. Explicit commitment to Te Mana o te Wai and to upholding the Treaty of Waitangi in governance arrangements was needed, he said. Councillor Hilda Halkyard-Harawira said it appeared hapū and iwi were shut out of the discussion, as well as representation on the shareholder group. Far North mayor Moko Tepania. Far North Mayor Moko Tepania said his councillors' concerns over Māori involvement, loss of democracy and rural communities getting left out of the picture would be addressed moving forward. Iwi and hapū leaders had a lot of power that councils could benefit from, he said. 'This is what I remind Kaipara,' Tepania said. Jepson said Tepania was entitled to his views and he looked forward to continuing their working relationship. WDC kick-started the Northland councils' move toward a regional three-council CCO on July 24. KDC voted for the joint CCO on Wednesday, July 30. Far North towns, including Kaikohe, will be served by a regional company rather than their local council delivering drinking water and wastewater services from 2027. An FNDC water model where it instead kept its drinking water and wastewater in-house was seriously considered by the council. This built on iwi and hapū submissions from Ngāti Korokoro Hapū, Ngāti Kopaki Hapū, Te Rūnanga o Te Rarawa, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rēhia, Te uri Taniwah, Te Rūnanga o Whaningaroa, Te Hiku Ngāti Kuri, Te Aoupouri, Ngāi Takoto and Te Rarawa (joint submission). But Tepania said the council's performance and standards would be under such close scrutiny with the new water regime, that option was untenable. The Far North council's challenges include the large amount of spending needed to make the council's waters infrastructure compliant with new quality rules. Eight of the council's 15 wastewater treatment plants were currently non-compliant with Northland Regional Council resource consents – two of those were majorly non-compliant. Seven had active abatement notices. Only five of the council's nine drinking water plants complied with bacterial standards and five with protozoa standards. Tepania said consumer user water charges under the restructuring would be lower with a regional CCO. By 2034 users would be paying $3400 in charges for drinking water and wastewater. This compared with $2046 under the cross-subsidised CCO model. He said the proposal still had off-ramps if the council felt too uncomfortable about what was happening. Far North Deputy Mayor Kelly Stratford said her council was being forced into the regional CCO in a manner that wasn't comfortable. It removed local democracy, Stratford said. ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Kaipara councillor warns Northlanders face $4000-plus water rates
Affordability for users was the big elephant in the room, Paniora said. She said financial metrics for the new CCO meant user charges within 2.5%-3.5% of household income. Paniora said that meant Northlanders paying between $2888 to $4430, based on Infometrics' average $115,536 annual household income. Drinking water and wastewater assets, debts and services for about 100,000 Northlanders will shift from the three councils to the CCO. KDC yesterday voted to become part of the region's Local Water Done Well (LWDW) plan at a meeting in Mangawhai. WDC kick-started the councils' move toward the regional three-council CCO on July 24. FNDC councillors will decide on whether to step into the plan today. Whangārei's strong drinking water and wastewater asset position has become a hot potato amidst the changes. KDC chief executive Jason Marris said his council had won the inclusion of cross-subsidisation in the new CCO. This had meant concession from Northland's two other district councils. The new CCO's agreement says cross-subsidisation, which it calls harmonisation, will be considered within three years of the company's 2027 establishment. But KDC will be pushing for it to happen as soon as possible within that timeframe. KDC general manager corporate services Sue Davidson said the CCO's initial principles required ring-fencing of debt and pricing, with a pathway to harmonisation to be considered within three years of establishment. 'However, KDC will work towards including harmonisation as early as possible in the implementation phase,' Davidson said in meeting agenda papers. This means Whangārei ratepayers will likely be subsidising those in Kaipara. If KDC didn't move on to the regional CCO, it faced a potential Local Water Done Well financial crisis, she said. KDC could not achieve financial sustainability delivering water services, if it adopted an in-house business unit to do so. The council is still carrying debt from the controversial Mangawhai sewerage scheme and has little financial room to move for required drinking water and wastewater services fixes to meet tougher new water reform requirements, which are monitored through regulator Taumata Arowai. KDC initially wanted to shift its council water services into Auckland's Watercare instead of joining with a Northland CCO. But Auckland Council turned that move down, before the September 3 deadline for regions to get their water services plan to the Government. Financial contributions to KDC from developers operating in Kaipara's Mangawhai, New Zealand's fastest-growing coastal settlement, have been significantly factored into the new Northland CCO meeting LWDW financial sustainability requirements. Davidson said there was significant risk around the amount of development contribution money factored into the new model's financials. 'The initial calculations were considered too aggressive and were moderated on request of elected members. The numbers remain ambitious and continue to carry significant risk of being achieved,' Davidson said. Paniora said the new arrangements did not regard water as a taonga as had already been established by the Treaty of Waitangi. She said Māori as tangata whenua had been left out of the conversation regarding the new plan. Paniora said the only hope for consideration of this aspect lay with FNDC. She said she couldn't vote in favour of today's KDC decision and wanted to wait for the outcome of tomorrow's FNDC decision. The new three-council CCO plan for Northland allows an off-ramp for FNDC not to sign up. In that case there would be a two-council CCO. Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson, Deputy Mayor Jonathan Larsen and councillors Mike Howard, Gordon Lambeth, Ash Nayyar, Mark Vincent and Rachael Williams voted to be part of the Northland plan. Paniora and councillor Eryn Wilson-Collins voted not to be. ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Kaipara Māori ward councillor Pera Paniora: District should get its say
Immediately after the Government signalled its August legislation change, Jepson said he wanted his council's Māori ward gone before the coming elections. KDC's single-term Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward will disappear at the local elections as a result of the council's August decision, without any poll. There will also be no vote in October on the presence of an electoral area of this type into the future. That's in contrast to Far North District Council, Whangārei District Council and Northland Regional Council, which in August decided to keep their Māori wards. But with that decision, communities will be asked what they think of the wards' continuing existence in polling at the October elections. Paniora said it was unfair KDC could abolish its Māori ward without having to poll its people, but councils with Māori wards were required to poll to keep them. Polling has traditionally resulted in Māori ward plans failing. Paniora said 2025 polling about the future of Māori wards should be only for those voters on the Māori roll, as was the case for those voting for Māori ward councillors. She is the only Māori ward councillor in New Zealand to lose her position at the end of this current term because the ward is being abolished. Paniora will stand again in the Wairoa general ward for the council elections. She said doing so offered two-for-one, where she would continue to represent Māori as part of doing so for the wider community. About 40% of the west Kaipara ward's population is Māori. Paniora said Māori ward councillors in Northland and around New Zealand should make sure their communities know the value of these electoral areas. And she said people should make sure to get out and vote. Paniora also encouraged more Māori to stand in Māori wards, as councillors in these wards were kaitiaki (guardians) of the positions. She said that even if incoming Kaipara councillors decided to reinstate a Māori ward, it would be 2031 before that could happen. Paniora wanted the ward continued in Kaipara, because democracy required councils to represent the demographics of all their people. However, she said she wouldn't have stood in the ward, even if it had remained. Paniora said it was valuable for those who won a seat via a Māori ward to do their time in that arena, but then move into general wards, to allow others the opportunity to stand in the Māori ward. She said her time in what would be KDC's one-term Māori ward had been challenging. Paniora said she was young, Māori and a woman, in contrast to others on the council who were older, Pākehā and male. Since the 2022 local elections, KDC has canned karakia (ritual chants, prayers) to open and close council meetings and ended its Māori relationship agreements and associated funding with local iwi. Paniora was elected to Te Maruata, Local Government New Zealand's (LGNZ) Māori elected politicians' group in 2022, but this position ended when KDC pulled out of LGNZ. She recently won a Te Maruata award for her contribution to Māori. Paniora said it was ironic that the ward she named was disappearing. ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Borneo Post
6 days ago
- General
- Borneo Post
Over 2,000kg of rubbish collected from clean-up drive in Song District
The volunteers place bagfuls of rubbish at the collection zone during the work party in Song. KAPIT (July 26): A clean-up drive jointly carried out by Kapit District Council (KDC) and Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) on Thursday recorded 2,080kg of rubbish collected across a riverbank section of Sungai Katibas near here. The volunteers included the local residents, representatives of local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as personnel of the KDC and Song District Office, Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), Civil Defence Force (APM), and People's Volunteers Corps (Rela). The clean-up activity covered the riverbank area along Jalan Mission, between SMK Song to Song Express Terminal. 'I cannot stress more about the importance of maintaining a clean environment that will protect our nature and heritage, and help us achieve balance in development. 'I call upon all of you to practise the good habit of disposing of rubbish inside the proper bins, and to never throw them into the river. 'Maintaining cleanliness is a collective responsibility of all quarters,' said Lidam. He also pointed out that the government had agreed to gazette Sungai Katibas as an 'Empurau Belt', and Song District as a 'Dabai Belt' stretching from Katibas to Ngemah. 'The Ka'tibas River is famous for the highly-prized indigenous freshwater fishes such as 'semah', 'tengadak' and 'empurau', which can fetch prices as high as RM1,000. 'Thus, maintaining a clean environment for our rivers is very important, as progress should not sacrifice nature,' added the assemblyman. Song District officer Harry Bruce Edwin, SRB Kapit officer Carol Bungan Leo, Song Information officer Joseph Lingga, Song Education officer Etam Linggi, as well as local community leaders Temenggong Jarmit Untam and Pemanca Lim Eng Hock were among some 250 volunteers taking part in the work party. Kapit District Council lead rubbish Sarawak Rivers Board
RNZ News
24-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Northland's biggest water services changes kick off in Whangārei
Whangārei's strength in provision of drinking water via plants such as this one at Whau Valley stands out regionally, where Kaipara and Far North face challenges for similar servicing. Photo: LDR / SUPPLIED Whangārei could end up subsidising Kaipara and Far North water users in a move described as historic for Northland. Whangārei District Council voted on July 24 to set up a Northland-wide council controlled organisation (CCO) as part of the Government's Local Water Done Well change requirements. Photo: The decision was a major milestone starting the ball rolling on massive changes to how drinking water and wastewater services are structured and delivered in the region. Council-owned assets - and debt- which provide drinking water and wastewater to about 100,000 WDC, Kaipara District Council (KDC) and Far North District Council (FNDC) consumers would be shifted into the CCO starting from July 2027. WDC councillors voted unanimously for the proposed regional CCO - based on major work by the three councils in recent weeks. That's in spite of the council being in a relatively strong water services position, in contrast to Kaipara and the Far North. A memorandum of understanding created by the three councils must still get the formal okay from KDC which will vote on it at its meeting in Mangawhai on Wednesday, and FNDC at its council meeting the following day. Whangārei Mayor and Northland water services working group chair Vince Cocurullo said the move toward a regional CCO for drinking water and wastewater was historic. "This is huge," Cocurullo said. He said initial principles were proposed for the regional CCO, including ring-fencing each council's drinking and wastewater financials . There would initially be no cross-subsidisation of water charges across the three council areas. The CCO would review those two things within three years from start-up. The mahi that led up to Friday's decision involved the three district councils working closely together. The inter-council working group of local politicians has met several times over the last month. Crown-appointed advisor David Hawkins was also part of the group. Hawkins, a former Papakura Mayor, was involved in putting Auckland's Watercare together. The group looked at what was best for Northland, rather than solely a district-by-district basis. WDC councillor and working group member Ken Couper said the regional proposal was a "cool mix" and "the elegant solution". Northland councils must submit a regional water services delivery plan to the government by September 3 under its Local Water Done Well goals. The plan would include seeking Government funding for critical Northland water services projects. But yesterday's decision allows for FNDC not to play ball in the region-wide CCO. The resulting scenario would then be a two-council - WDC and KDC - CCO. WDC council meeting agenda papers said this alternate two-council plan would help address Kaipara's water delivery challenges without adversely impacting Whangārei. The papers said under Local Water Done Well, WDC could continue to deliver water services through an in-house business unit. There were greater challenges for Kaipara particularly around growth, and in the Far North around compliance, delivery and affordability. The papers said a regional CCO was the most effective way of delivering safe, affordable and sustainable waters services for Northland. It balanced regional collaboration with local accountability and provided a platform for long-term resilience and improvement. Whangārei's cash reserves provided "early funding flexibility". The spike in capital spending would initially be driven by FNDC. KDC would follow and WDC after that. Cocurullo said the regional CCO proposal provided councils with off-ramps. He said the CCO acknowledged that Whangarei's water services position was stronger than that of the KDC and FNDC. WDC Infrastructure chair Cr Simon Reid said the move was a crucial step forward for the North. "Potable water and wastewater are the two most critical areas we need to focus on," Reid said. The new regional CCO proposal would allow for more borrowing than councils are able to do. It could borrow up to a 500 percent debt ceiling, contrasting with individual councils' 280 percent. Outside of Whangārei, Northland's water services delivery challenges include ageing infrastructure and compliance issues, particularly in the Far North, the need for significant investment to support population growth and renewing existing infrastructure and the high cost of capital spending needed in smaller communities. The new proposal would see a shareholder council set up with two representatives from each council with at least one of those being an elected councillor. Stormwater provision will stay with individual councils and not be part of the regional CCO under the proposal - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
