Submission to the select committee on the Local Government Amendment Bill 2002 on behalf of the Kāpiti Water Action Group.
We strongly oppose the extension of the maximum term for private companies to be contracrted to supply of water from 15 years to 35 years. water infrastructure from 15 to 35 years (Clause 31, subsection 1). This may mean that private contractors will gain effective control of water delivery. We consider water delivery to be a basic need that must serve the needs of the community as a whole, and as such, this service requires democratic oversight.
We are also concerned that such long-term contracts will lead to a running down of council expertise and technical ability in the field of water delivery. This may lead to failure of supply and/or large costs, should a private contractor fail to maintain supply to the required standard, or go bankrupt during the period of the contract.
We are also concerned that this bill removes the requrement to maintain ownership of water infrastructure for the duration of the contract. This may lead to large costs for council’s at the end of the contract period if infrastructure is poorly maintained.
We note that the bill retains the obligation of local government responsibility to provide water services, though it is unclear what power the councils will have to enforce the provision of water services if such a service has been contracted out.
We propose that the extension of the maximum period of a contract for water services be removed from the bill. We instead propose that:
1. Delivery of reticulated water to households be made an obligation of local government or other democratically-constituted body;
2. Ownership of household water-supply infrastructure, other than for individual properties, be limited to or to local government or other democratically-constituted bodies.
We are opposed to the requirement to focus on core activities (Part 1, Clause 5) as this may restrict the democratic operation of local government and reduce the flexibility of local bodies in responding to the future, or present, needs of citizens.
Kāpiti Water Action Group is a small group of Kāpiti-Coast-based citizens who oppose private and user-pays regimes for the supply of reticulated water. The group has been active since 2006.
