Three Waters Steering Committee Update - 18 March 2021
Return to: Three Waters Reform Programme Steering Commitee updates
Tēnā koutou katoa,
This email from the joint Central/Local Government Three Waters Steering Committee has been sent to Mayors, Chairs, and Chief Executives only (more information on the Steering Committee is provided at the bottom of this email*).
Please distribute this information within your council
We are approaching a key part of the reform process, where important decisions are to be made. It is vital for council staff and elected members to be fully informed with all the information to help them in this process.
We urge that you share this important information, invites to workshops, and webinars to your elected members, and appropriate colleagues, and encourage them to participate.
However, we understand as a council you may want to supplement our communications with your own information and therefore ask that you cascade this information internally.
Reform programme workshops -- your opportunity to engage and provide feedback
We are currently half way through our series of workshops with local government and iwi.
We would like to thank the many of you that have already attended a workshop. We know that a day of your time is a large investment, and we hope you have found the workshops as informative and valuable as we have.
These discussions are extremely important in testing our reform proposals and refining our thinking ahead of providing advice to Cabinet later in the year.
We strongly encourage those of you that have not yet registered for a workshop to consider whether you might attend one of the remaining workshops. These include:
- Tomorrow, 19 March– 9.30-4.30, Wellington Rydges Hotel, 75 Featherston Street;
- 23 March – 9.30-4.30, Christchurch (Zone 5), Addington Racecourse and Events Centre, 75 Jack Hinton Drive, Addington;
- 26 March – 9.30-4.30, Rotorua (Zone 2), Holiday Inn, 10 Tryon Street; and
- 30 March – 9.30-4.30, Whangārei (Zone 1), Semenoff Stadium, 51 Okatara Drive.
Your feedback at these workshops will influence future advice to decision makers on key reform design features, set to be decided by mid-2021.
This is also an opportunity for you, mana whenua, and your neighbours to come together and discuss these proposals alongside one and other.
If you have not done so already, we ask that you and your colleagues please RSVP to the upcoming workshop you will be attending through the following link: https://3watersworkshopsmarch2021.rsvpify.com
This is crucial for planning, set-up, catering and COVID contingency purposes.
Looking forward
A key focus of the Steering Committee over the coming months will be to support engagement to test the reform proposals ahead of advice to decision makers.
Following our engagements the teams will work at pace to finalise advice to Ministers, informed by workshop feedback.
We anticipate decisions on the reform proposals to be taken by Cabinet in mid-2021 and communicated to the sector shortly after this.
Over the following months Councils will be supported in engaging with communities on the reforms with a package of information, including likely implications for communities of opting out of the reform process.
Useful resources
- Information relating to the Steering Committee’s work and the Three Waters Reform Programme can be found here
- Information relating to the RfI process can be found here
- Information covering the earlier work of the Three Waters Review can be found here
- Information relating to the establishment of Taumata Arowai can be found here
Ngā mihi,
Three Waters Steering Committee
Email: 3WatersSteeringGroup@dia.govt.nz
