The Tauranga Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling on Commissioner Stephen Selwood to step aside from decisions related to Tauranga’s Three Waters or rule out any future role at a new water entity.

The Commission claims to be listening to the community about Three Waters but their recent statement that “Central Government needs to just get on and make it happen" [1] tells a different story, according to Alliance Spokesman Philip Brown.

“There’s a perception that Commissioners lack impartiality because the Minister driving the takeover of our assets is the same Minister they report to,” says Philip Brown.

Philip says Commissioner Selwood, in particular, has advocated for water amalgamation for several years and has advised his boss, Nanaia Mahuta, on the matter. [2]

His statements that “the time for political governance and management of our water systems is past” [3] and that he favours “a small number of providers, from one to five” [4] could create a perception that Selwood has already made up his mind, says Philip.

Philip says that Selwood “is in lockstep with Nanaia Mahuta” on the Scottish Water model that they want New Zealanders to adopt. “The Minister and Commissioner claim this will result in significant cost savings. However, they don’t tell you that people in Scotland pay roughly 50% more for their water and wastewater than Tauranga does."*

Before democracy is restored, Selwood is a caretaker of $1.6b worth of Three Waters assets belonging to Tauranga ratepayers. “In our view, it would be prudent for Selwood to declare an interest and stand aside from any vote given his ties to this issue,” says Philip.

“If you have a potential conflict of interest, you stand aside. That’s a principle of good governance” “If Selwood won’t stand down, he should at least take the opportunity to publicly rule out accepting any future position on a new water entity.”

“If Mr Selwood fails to step aside, he is opening up the Council, and ratepayers, to huge cost if the decision is challenged via judicial review. He has to come to these decisions without predetermination. Clearly he can’t.”

*Our analysis shows, currently, in Tauranga, the ‘average’ residential household pays circa $531 annually in connection and volumetric charges for 171m3 of potable water, plus a fixed charge of $539 for wastewater, giving a total of approximately $1,070. In Scotland, a residential property currently consuming 171m3 of potable water would (at an exchange rate of $1.95 to the pound) be paying circa $693 annually in fixed and volumetric charges for potable water, and circa $910 annually in fixed and volumetric charges for wastewater, giving a total of approximately $1,602 - this is roughly 50% greater than the current combined cost in Tauranga.
 

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