Consultation on Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) proposal to establish a Water Services Council Controlled Organisation (WSCCO) for the future delivery of water services in the district is now underway, as required by the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024 (WSPA Act).

The proposal is to establish a Council Controlled Organisation specifically created to manage and deliver drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services in the future.

QLDC Property & Infrastructure General Manager, Tony Avery said Council had carefully assessed a range of different models available, as part of central government’s Local Water Done Well plan to address Aotearoa New Zealand’s water infrastructure challenges.

“As previously shared, we wanted to ensure the model put before the public considered financial implications for consumers amongst several other factors, given the QLDC Long Term Plan (LTP) 2024-2034 is already projecting costs to increase significantly,” said Mr Avery.

“We’re now encouraging residents of the Queenstown Lakes District to get involved, carefully read through the consultation document and assessments we’ve undertaken on the matter, and give us feedback.”

The proposed WSCCO would be fully owned by QLDC, but the organisation would be governed by its own independent specialist board and management. QLDC would be the only shareholder and would appoint board members based on the skills and experience needed for proper governance of the new organisation.

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Intended legislation by central government would prevent any WSCCO from being privatised which means that the proposed WSCCO would remain wholly owned by QLDC, and the organisation would not be able to pay a dividend.

Council would set the organisation’s strategic priorities and establish measures to ensure it performs to expectations, while the Commerce Commission would use various regulatory tools to ensure water charges are fair, cost-reflective, and transparent.

The other shortlisted option evaluated was for QLDC to continue to deliver water services in-house, recognising that changes would need to be made to enable Council to respond to the new regulatory environment if such a model was progressed with. An in-house model would be similarly subject to the Commerce Commission regulatory requirements.

In addition to cost to households, the WSCCO and the in-house model were assessed on their ability to attract and retain staff, adapt to changing requirements, maximise value and minimise waste, effectively and efficiently manage water services, and deliver to community priorities.

Mr Avery said public feedback was imperative to informing Council’s decision on the best option to deliver high quality, resilient, sustainable, and reliable water services in the future.

“Drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater services all cost the ratepayer a significant amount of money, and under all scenarios, including in Council’s current Long-Term Plan, water charges are projected to increase substantially,” said Mr Avery.

“I would urge all residents to take the time to understand Council’s proposal and the alternative, what this would mean for the future, and to have a say before feedback closes on Sunday 29 June 2025.”

A detailed consultation document on QLDC’s proposed future water services delivery model and a feedback form are available online at https://letstalk.qldc.govt.nz/our-water-done-well.

QLDC Councillors agreed to consultation on the proposal to establish a WSCCO at the Full Council meeting on Thursday 29 May 2025.

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