May 06, 2024
Auckland Council splits off watercare
The Government has agreed to let Auckland’s water company, Watercare, borrow money for infrastructure in its own right rather than the debt going on the Auckland Council balance sheet.
Making the announcement yesterday at Watercare’s Central Interceptor construction site in Māngere yesterday, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said rather than a projected 25.8 percent water rate increase in July, there will be an annual 7.2 percent increase for water and wastewater services for the next three years.
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown says it justifies the council’s opposition to Labour’s three waters plan, which would have put Watercare into a new regional water entity.
“We didn’t like it. The new Government asked us to come up with a preferred model and they have agreed to implement it, which is good. It means those 25 percent price hikes are off the table,” Mayor Brown says.
The legislation for the new entity will stop Auckland Council bailing out Watercare if it gets into trouble, and in the unlikely event of the company collapsing its assets will be taken over by its debtors.