Andrew Dickens Afternoons by Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB
Radio: NewsTalk ZB Network
Categories: News & Politics
Listen to the last episode:
I was surprised that the news that Auckland had inked a deal with the Government over water wasn't the lead story on last night's TV news.
I would have thought that John Campbell would have had a deep dive on its repercussions for Auckland and the country.
Basically, water and housing are the biggest issues for this country because every single person, business and animal needs water - and we all need a roof over our head.
But maybe the kids we call journalists these days have never got water and its reforms.
There is a lot about the deal that has not been said.
Compared to 3 Waters, it's essentially 2 waters.
Watercare deals with drinking water and human waste. Waste is sewage.
That's a billion-dollar-a-year operation.
But they don't deal with stormwater and drains. That's called sewerage and that's dealt with in Auckland by an entity called Healthy Waters. Now that's a $200 million dollar a year operation. It's not a council controlled operation. It will still be funded by council borrowings.
So when people talk about polluted waterways being fixed, that's not really covered by the Watercare deal. Which is partly why Auckland's water rates increases are still at 7.3 percent.
That 7.3 percent is, as we all know, higher than the rate of inflation and a major part of the cost-of-living crisis which the Government promised to tackle. But that's another kettle of wastewater.
This deal happened because Auckland is the only council with CCO or council controlled organisations. They are the product of Auckland's amalgamation into a Super City by Rodney Hide. CCOs were actually designed to prevent Councillors fooling about in core business they know nothing about. And because of that they've never been overly popular. Yet it is claimed that this keeps water under local control.
Ask Auckland's Mayors and Councillors about how much control they really exert over CCO's like Watercare, or Auckland Transport, or Auckland Unlimited.
So, Watercare will have the remit, which is to provide water and remove waste. Operationally, they're in full control of their processes. The Council's control is limited to a majority of places on the board. So just a reminder that CEOs run companies not boards. They purely appoint a CEO and then assess how well the CEO has done.
The Auckland deal was low hanging fruit for the Government, because the structure was already in place. The real test is how this works for everywhere else in New Zealand.
The first real test will come this week when Horowhenua, Kapiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City meet on Friday to work together on a plan for a greater Wellington region water deal.
They will have to set up an entity with bureaucracy and thrash out a deal about which region receives what in funding. Just like 3 Waters.
Meanwhile, the good people in the countryside not adjacent to cities will be wondering if there's any white knights riding to their rescue regarding water borrowing. Or if they're going to be left behind.
To me this deal is 3 Waters lite, with no ‘co-governance’. And that's it.
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Previous episodes
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676 - Andrew Dickens: The new Government deal is Three Waters lite Mon, 06 May 2024
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675 - Andrew Dickens: There's worry the Government cuts will go too far Mon, 29 Apr 2024
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674 - Andrew Dickens: We need to put perspective on the current state of our economy Mon, 22 Apr 2024
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673 - Andrew Dickens: The media model is broken because of fear Mon, 15 Apr 2024
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672 - Andrew Dickens: New Zealand knows the price of everything and the value of nothing Mon, 08 Apr 2024
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671 - Andrew Dickens: Let's put SailGP on at an appropriate venue and move on Mon, 25 Mar 2024
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670 - Andrew Dickens: Did the Government know that their pre-election promises were unaffordable? Mon, 11 Mar 2024
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669 - Andrew Dickens: National's state of the nation address was blame game politics Mon, 19 Feb 2024
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668 - Andrew Dickens: This weekend showed the Greens are fast becoming unelectable Mon, 12 Feb 2024
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667 - Andrew Dickens: The Government has to learn perceptions stick Mon, 04 Dec 2023
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666 - Andrew Dickens: Is this what we can expect for the next three years? Mon, 27 Nov 2023
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665 - Andrew Dickens: There's big stones in the path to coalition Mon, 20 Nov 2023
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664 - Andrew Dickens: Enjoy this respite from criticism of New Zealand, it won't last Mon, 30 Oct 2023
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663 - Andrew Dickens: New Zealand is confused Mon, 16 Oct 2023
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662 - Andrew Dickens: We've got an incompetent cohort of politicians Mon, 09 Oct 2023
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661 - Andrew Dickens: National has abandoned their plans for social investment from 2017 Mon, 02 Oct 2023
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660 - Andrew Dickens: I don't know why National is so wedded to these tax cuts Mon, 18 Sep 2023
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659 - Andrew Dickens: Luxon shoots himself in the foot, time and time again Mon, 11 Sep 2023
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658 - Andrew Dickens: New Zealand needs smart leadership- but no one's offering Mon, 04 Sep 2023
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657 - Andrew Dickens: Misguided, naïve, or just plain timid Mon, 28 Aug 2023
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656 - Andrew Dickens: This country won't survive drastic cuts to the public workforce Mon, 21 Aug 2023
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655 - Andrew Dickens: Will they have any mandate at all come October? Mon, 14 Aug 2023
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654 - Andrew Dickens: There's one piece of infrastructure working well- Eden Park Mon, 07 Aug 2023
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653 - Andrew Dickens: We're not nearly as bad as so many make us out to be Mon, 31 Jul 2023
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652 - Andrew Dickens: Hipkins is a lame turkey waiting for Christmas Mon, 24 Jul 2023
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651 - Andrew Dickens: Matariki is not going away Mon, 17 Jul 2023
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650 - Andrew Dickens: Cancel culture continues to grow Mon, 10 Jul 2023
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649 - Andrew Dickens: The treatment of the Police is regrettable Mon, 26 Jun 2023
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648 - Andrew Dickens: This policy should've been placed in the "not now, not ever" pile Mon, 19 Jun 2023
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647 - Andrew Dickens: Green's tax policy is barely worth the paper it's written on Tue, 13 Jun 2023
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646 - Andrew Dickens: A bit of a culture shock Mon, 29 May 2023
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645 - Andrew Dickens: Why did so many mainstream outlets miss the point of the coronation? Mon, 08 May 2023
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644 - Andrew Dickens: King Charles makes a useful sideshow from the drudgery of everyday life Mon, 01 May 2023
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643 - Andrew Dickens: We need to pay people more Mon, 24 Apr 2023
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642 - Andrew Dickens: Infrastructure planning is a lesson we fail to learn Mon, 17 Apr 2023
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641 - Andrew Dickens: It's time for politicians to back away from the bluster Mon, 03 Apr 2023
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640 - Andrew Dickens: Posie Parker's visit and the fallout played out exactly as predicted Mon, 27 Mar 2023
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639 - Andrew Dickens: We ignore what's possible when we talk about crime and policing Mon, 20 Mar 2023
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638 - Andrew Dickens: We have to admit our health system is broken Mon, 13 Mar 2023
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637 - Andrew Dickens: How can you reduce both public servants and consultants if you want anything done? Mon, 06 Mar 2023
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636 - Andrew Dickens: Tribute to Chester Borrows Mon, 27 Feb 2023
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635 - Andrew Dickens: I won't be voting for a party that doesn't have a cogent water reform policy Mon, 27 Feb 2023
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634 - Andrew Dickens: It's time to stop doing only enough to get by until tomorrow Mon, 20 Feb 2023
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633 - Philip Duncan: WeatherWatch Mon, 13 Feb 2023
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632 - Andrew Dickens: Much to unpack from the Auckland Floods Mon, 30 Jan 2023
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631 - Andrew Dickens: It's making for a great election Mon, 23 Jan 2023
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630 - Andrew Dickens: The by-election needs to be taken with a grain of salt Sun, 11 Dec 2022
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629 - Andrew Dickens: Saturday's Billy Joel concert gave me perspective on transport investments Mon, 05 Dec 2022
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628 - Andrew Dickens: We've been used as a rubbish bin and the Aussies know it Mon, 28 Nov 2022
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627 - Andrew Dickens: Qatar's money has taken their humanity Mon, 21 Nov 2022