Not content with giving control to Wellington, Tauranga City Council’s commissioners now appear to be lining up to hand over Tauranga’s fresh, storm, and waste water assets as part of the Government’s proposed Three Water reforms. The Tauranga Ratepayers’ Alliance is joining its sister groups, the Taxpayers’ Union and Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance, in a nationwide campaign calling for ratepayers to speak up now before it is too late by emailing Tauranga’s Commissioners at
www.ThreeWatersSubmission.nz.

“The proposed Three Waters reform would see our community assets expropriated to an unaccountable, unelected, and co-governed ‘super water entity’," said Michael Oneill, a Spokesperson for the Tauranga Ratepayers’ Alliance. "The new entity wouldn’t even be based in the Bay of Plenty, and would make community control of local assets impossible.”

“More and more councils are choosing to ‘opt-out’ of the Government’s reforms. Tauranga must too, and if we can swamp the Council with feedback demanding they do so, we’ll see whether the Commissioners' ‘we are listening’ billboards are truthful.”

“Anne Tolley knows that Three Waters would be bad for Tauranga. She needs to stand up to her boss Nanaia Mahuta and represent the interests of Tauranga not Wellington. This is the true test of her allegiance and her claims that she is listening to locals,” said Mr Oneill.

The Taxpayers’ Union, with the support of the Ratepayers’ Alliance, has created a tool for New Zealanders to email their local councillors/commissioners. It takes just a few minutes at
www.ThreeWatersSubmission.nz

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