Masterton To Join Wai+T Talks

Thursday, 22 May 2025, 5:31 pm
Article: Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter

Masterton will come to the negotiating table for a Wairarapa-Tararua water services entity.

But if its bottom lines around non-standardisation of charges, debt ring-fencing, and shareholding arrangements don’t get agreement from partner councils, they will leave the table and go it alone.

The proposed entity would include Masterton, Carterton, South Wairarapa, and Tararua councils.

A majority of Masterton councillors voted on Wednesday to progress work on the Wairarapa-Tararua water services delivery model, including entering into a commitment agreement with participating councils and developing a Water Services Delivery Plan.

The council would also develop foundation principles to be carried forward into the Water Services Delivery Plan and foundation documents that would include: non-standardisation of pricing and debt; share allocation; and decision-making.

Voting in favour were Mayor Gary Caffell, and councillors David Holmes, Stella Lennox, Craig Bowyer, Bex Johnson, and Marama Tuuta.

Voting against were councillors Tim Nelson, Tom Hullena, and Brent Goodwin.

Hullena was concerned that the council would be locked into the arrangement if it signed the commitment agreement and he wanted the council to “do due diligence first”.

Nelson and Goodwin were concerned by the level of uncertainty in the Wairarapa-Tararua option.

Nelson much preferred the Masterton-only option.

The report to council said there would be two “off-ramps”, one in July and another in August, once negotiations had taken place and further information was available.

In the meantime, council staff would continue developing a water services delivery plan for a Masterton-only model.

Caffell said it was “not D-Day” and that “if we go down the Wairarapa-Tararua path today, we are not necessarily binding ourselves to go the full distance”.

“What we are saying is we will enter negotiations with Carterton, South Wairarapa and Tararua to set up a joint entity,” he said.

“But if a majority of this council are unhappy with how negotiations pan out, then there remains the opportunity to go down another track.”

He said between the two options, the Wairarapa-Tararua model was “the best way to go at this point”.

He also said the Masterton-only option did not align with the purpose and intent of Local Water Done Well legislation and that it would be harder for a smaller standalone entity to compete for quality staff.

“The safer, less risky option at this point is going forward with Wairarapa-Tararua,” he said.

“I would be the first one to pull out if I thought Masterton ratepayers weren’t getting a good deal.

“Even if we move forward with Wairarapa-Tararua, our staff are still working on the Masterton model. To me, we have all bases covered.”

Craig Bowyer, who seconded the motion to progress work on the joint entity, said his support “comes with a but”.

He was opposed to standardisation within the first 10 years of the entity’s operation and described it as a transfer of wealth from one district to another “and not a Robin Hood transfer”.

Other councillors shared similar concerns and said their support was conditional.

Deputy Mayor Bex Johnson said the initial priority was “getting around the table”.

She said Masterton District Council was coming to negotiations from a position of strength and said non-standardised pricing was “imperative”.

She also wanted Masterton to have a significant shareholding percentage of the joint entity, “so that Masterton cannot be outvoted”, reflecting the value of its assets, relatively low debt levels, and the number of connections.

She said if Masterton’s conditions could not be agreed with by partner councils, “Masterton should leave the table and stand alone”.

While protections against price standardisation could be put in place, non-standardisation in the future could not be guaranteed.

After the vote, Caffell declared the end of the meeting but Hullena tried to ask a question related to the decision.

Caffell declined this and said the meeting was closed.

Earlier in the meeting, there was a heated exchange between Nelson and Caffell when Nelson said he believed council staff had been pushing the Wairarapa-Tararua option from the beginning.

Caffell interrupted and said that was an unfair statement.

“No, I’ll say what I believe. You listen to me because I’m speaking at the moment. Let me finish and then comment at the end,” Nelson said.

Caffell later said any inference that staff had played a part “in moving us in one direction is totally false”.

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