As HB’s five councils do with every other matter of real significance to the region, now our four territorial councils (TAs) have outsourced the development of a ‘3 Waters’ (stormwater, wastewater, drinking water) strategy.
Normally the device for such delegations is to create yet another ‘Joint Committee’ (JCs) with councillor and staff representatives from each affected council, as well as Māori representation. This is the way we handle, for example, civil defence, climate change, coastal protection, Hasting/Napier Future Development Strategy, among other coordination efforts. The same will happen with flood protection, nominally the job of the Regional Council.
Hundreds of hours spread over months are spent negotiating ‘Terms of Reference’ for these august bodies, always with the caveat that they have no actual decision-making power, since this rests legally with the individual councils. Eventually the JCs sort out the difficulty of scheduling important busy people, staffing assignments get made, consultants hired. Finally they come up with plans and proposals that then must be taken back and negotiated with the individual TCs and consensus agreed, a table tennis process that adds more months.
I recently attended what was supposed to be the decision-making meeting of the Napier-Hastings Future Development Strategy Joint Committee. Attending were two mayors, a half dozen councillors representing three councils, Maori reps, and a platoon of senior staff. After a half hour of discussing how votes would be taken on the recommendations, it was noted that due to a computer glitch, none of the decision-makers had been able to review the support material sent out for the meeting. Thereupon the meeting was adjourned and participants had tea. In another month or so they’ll try again.
Your multi-headed local government at work.
But I digress. In the case of ‘3 Waters’ the hard yards of devising options for how the region’s TAs will tackle providing modern water infrastructure – separately (god forbid) or collectively (one presumes, on the basis of past mayoral declarations) – has been delegated to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery Agency (HBRRA).
HBRRA is becoming the region’s substitute for a unitary authority, but of course without the authority. It serves as a facilitator and lobbyist, herding our five councils in those situations where the councils agree to yield to some herding. By all accounts, HBRRA, yet to really emerge from the shadows, has done excellent work shepherding the region’s recovery planning post-Cyclone Gabrielle and making HB’s case for Government policy and funding support.
Now, with a fresh set of Terms of Reference agreed by the TAs, it has been assigned to rally our councils around some sort of ‘3 Waters’ strategy. The budget for this exercise is $1.33 million, paid for by the TAs – HDC/NCC ($500k each) and CHBDC/WDC ($165k each).
“In line with our existing cross-council coordination function this is a natural fit for the agency,” says RRA Independent Chair, Blair O’Keeffe. “The future of water services delivery certainly has close synergies with the region’s focus on ensuring a more resilient and prosperous future for Hawke’s Bay as part of its recovery journey.”
Our councils must indicate to Government by the end of 2024 whether they intend to submit an individual or joint plan for managing ‘3 Waters’.
Given our mayors’ previous consistent championing of a joint model, the Terms of Reference outline a HBRRA workplan geared to fleshing out in detail what that option will entail and then managing the negotiating process that gets all councils and Māori representatives on board. This requires dealing with such challenging aspects as governance for a regional water services agency and the funding model for the water services and infrastructure to be provided equitably across the region.
In case there might be any doubt as to who is really in charge, the Terms of Reference stipulate:
“At key moments in the work, the Council Chief Executives and Mayors will be presented with a series of smaller decision-making gateways to ensure the work does not pursue pathways not endorsed at a council governance level.”
Assuming HBRRA hasn’t strayed from the path by year’s end, the first eight months of 2025 would see the final Hawke’s Bay Water Services Delivery Plan drafted and Government endorsement granted.
I hope HBRRA tests its IT systems early in the piece!