Woodkirk Stone
Three Waters – the government’s proposal to reform water management in New Zealand – has been a hot political topic since its launch in July 2020.
It aims to transfer the management of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater supply systems from individual councils to the hands of four regional authorities.
But Southland Mayor Gary Tong says his councilors are bombarded with dissenting voices that “don’t have all the ingredients for the cake.”
An online petition set up by the Taxpayers Union to encourage councils to opt out of the program prompts signatories to email councilors to raise concerns.
“Just politely, I don’t think they understand the pressure on elected members,†Tong said.
“It’s just a fucking nuisance. It is only one way, dare I say it. Because there are people who say they register. Not a lot… not a lot. “
Tong said advisers opened their emails to find them overflowing with 50 to 60 messages about the reform.
Southland District Council had yet to decide whether or not to participate in the program, Tong said, and recommendations were sent to Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta on Tuesday.
He added that the council felt it did not have enough information to make a decision and wondered why the public felt so strong on the issue when the councils themselves were still waiting for information.
“They [the public] opt out of the entire proposition, for a reason within the proposition.
“My personal point of view is how can we opt or refuse to not know all the information? “
Frustrations over the email bombardment were shared by Invercargill adviser Ian Pottinger, who said he had received around 50 emails since the petition was launched on Tuesday.
“It’s really annoying because I’m one of those lazy assholes who haven’t erased their emails in ages.
“What it makes me do is browse and delete unwanted email.”
Pottinger said he gets messages from people at “all kinds of times of the day.”
“They come from people I know! This is the strangest thing. These are names that I have heard of.
“Is this legal? “
A spokesperson for the Taxpayers’ Union said support for the campaign against Three Waters had been “spectacular”.
Signing the petition did not automatically email advisers, but email addresses were provided, along with suggested wording.
“We are shocked that a councilor – someone who has literally paid to hear and reflect the views of his constituents – is trying to discourage members of his community from contacting them,” the spokesperson said.
About 20,000 people used the email tool on the website to contact the advisers.
The consultation on Three Waters ends today and Mahuta will provide his comments to Cabinet.
– by Matthew Rosenberg, local democracy journalist