Govt to steamroll three waters reforms

Local government minister Nanaia Mahuta is staring down noisy opposition to water infrastructure reforms. (Image: Getty)

Pattrick Smellie

Wed, 27 Oct 2021

The government will legislate to force local governments to tip their drinking, waste and stormwater assets into four, new national bodies to govern the so-called ‘three waters’ after failing to get local government agreement to the plan.As recently as July, government ministers were still hoping to convince most of the country’s 67 local bodies to sign up voluntarily to the amalgamation proposal, but opposition hardened despite a $2.5 billion package of central government funding to help fix ageing water infrastructure that i...

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