Submission on the Water Services Entities Bill
Federated Farmers of New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to submit to the Finance & Expenditure Select Committee on the Water Services Entities Bill.& Expenditure Select Committee on the Water Services Entities Bill.
Federated Farmers has a longstanding interest in local government policy, including on the issues of roles and responsibilities, funding and financing, regulation, and representation – all of which are touched by Three Waters Reforms in general and by this Bill in particular.
Most farmers are either self-suppliers or their water supplied by private water schemes. They should not be directly affected by the move to Water Services Entities (WSEs). However, there are a number of community ‘mixed use’ rural water supplies (i.e., human drinking water and water for livestock or irrigation) which are owned or operated by local authorities. They will be affected by the move to WSEs.
In addition many farmers are concerned about issues such as local democracy and representation. They are opposed to complicated layers of governance including appointees who are not accountable to the local authority owners or their voters. They worry about the loss of local control and decision-making over their councils’ three waters infrastructure and the remoteness of decision-makers from their communities.
Our full submission can be reviewed on the right.
For further enquires or queries, please contact:
Nick Clark
Manager General Policy
027 217 6731
[email protected]