Watercare to stand alone financially: implied guarantee to be legislated away

Prime minister Christoper Luxon, local government minister Simeon Brown and Auckland mayor Wayne Brown making the Watercare announcement. (Image: Watercare)

Oliver Lewis

Sun, 05 May 2024

The government intends to legislatively sever the ability of Auckland council to bail out Watercare, a move that will achieve balance sheet separation and allow the water services provider to take on additional debt.Prime minister Christopher Luxon, local government minister Simeon Brown and Auckland mayor Wayne Brown made the announcement on Sunday, standing near the entrance shaft to the more than $1.5 billion central interceptor wastewater tunnel in Māngere.“I have long said that this was a balance sheet issue and needed to be treated...

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