Councils will each receive at least $350,000 of additional funding to ensure they have the resourcing necessary to implement the Three Waters reforms, Associate Minister of Local Government Kieran McAnulty announced today.
“These reforms are about delivering clean and safe drinking water at an affordable price for New Zealanders,” McAnulty said.
“They will deliver significant cost savings to Councils and ratepayers over time, but we acknowledge additional resources are needed in the short term to get the new system set up.
Read: Some rural suppliers may avoid Three Waters
“The Three Waters reform is the largest change local government have faced in a long time and is creating additional work for councils who are already under strain from staff shortages, winter illness and covid-19.
The funding would allow local authorities to draw in expertise to support them through the Three Waters transition period and continue business as usual.
“While we always knew there would be cost in the transition, that cost is dwarfed by the $185 billion bill ratepayers would face to maintain and upgrade infrastructure over the next 30 years.”
