Tauranga City Council is preparing a submission to go to government on the first water reform Bill and is looking for feedback from the community.

The Government-led water reform is currently going through parliament and public submissions are now open for the Water Services Entities Bill. This is the first of a series of legislation that will begin to confirm the law behind the reform. The Bill focuses on the establishment of water service entities; how they will be owned, and who will have influence and oversight.

The submission speaks to five key issues which have been identified as a result of community feedback received in September 2021.

Tauranga City Council Commission Chair Anne Tolley said it is important to share the draft submission with the community, to check that it addresses any key concerns.

“We are asking for feedback on our submission so that we can confirm we are covering the right issues when we speak to government about reform,” says Anne.

“We acknowledge that there is a lot of community feeling around water reform. Our position is that we continue to work with government so that we can influence decision-making around this mandated reform,” she says.

The short survey asks participants if they agree or disagree with the following key points of the Tauranga City Council submission:

1. The governance structure does not adequately provide for a local voice in decision-making
2. We support the changes that add protection from privatisation
3. Concerns about how growth and development needs will be met
4. Concerns regarding the impact on our valued workforce
5. More community understanding needed.

The Tauranga City Council submission also supports the government initiative to improve the Māori voice, and further feedback will be included from Te Rangapū Mana Whenua o Tauranga Moana (the representative group for our iwi and hapū in the Tauranga City Council area).

In order to meet the government timeframe for submissions, which close on Friday, 22 July, the survey will close on Monday, 13 July. To read the Bill, Tauranga City Council's submission and complete the survey, click here.

Individuals and organisations can also make a submission direct to parliament on the Water Services Entity Bill by visiting www.parliament.nz. The closing date for all submissions is Friday, 22 July 2022.

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