The government is allowing debt to rise to 500% of waters revenue for new “Local Water Done Well” Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs). There are also plans to increase the borrowing limit for high growth councils to 350% of council revenue.

Three Waters

OPEN LETTER: John McDonald’s A Request for Ministerial Intervention Regarding the IAWAI Water Company

John McDonald (CityWatch NZ editor) supplies a copy of his open letter to the Minister of Local...

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OPINION: The Cost of Water is Being Set. The Limits are Not

Apr 3, 2026 | Consultation, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Infrastructure, Local Government Reform, Opinion, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Waikato Region

By Mesh Macdonald (Hamilton City Councillor) IAWAI’s draft strategy outlines how water services...

Consultation closes 06 April 2026: Hamilton City Council’s & Waikato District Council’s (IAWAI) Water Services Strategy

Mar 27, 2026 | Consultation, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Spending, Hamilton City, LGFA, Local Government Reform, News, Rates Increases, Taking Action, Three Waters, Waikato District, Water Meters

Hamilton City Council is consulting on the Water Services Strategy from their new water company...

October 2025 Coverage of S&P’s “New Zealand Water Reforms Don’t Guarantee Rating Relief For Local Councils” Report

Oct 31, 2025 | Article, Auckland City, Christchurch City, Cities and Regions, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Developer Contributions, Dunedin City, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Incoming Legislation, Infrastructure, Invercargill City, Law and Legislation, LGFA, Local Government Reform, Nelson City, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Water Meters, Wellington City

Summary In late October 2025, S&P Global published a Scenario Analysis titled New Zealand...

CANDIDATE OPINION: John McDonald

Oct 2, 2025 | Asset Sales, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Elections, Global Agendas, Hamilton 2025, Hamilton City, Infrastructure, LGFA, LGNZ, Opinion, Professional Managerial Class, Rates Increases, Road Pricing and Congestion Charges, Three Waters, Traffic Calming, WEF

John McDonald’s Invited Opinion Piece [All contactable candidates for the 2025 Hamilton City...

CANDIDATE OPINION: Rudi du Plooy

Oct 2, 2025 | Climate Change and Weather, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Elections, Global Warming, Hamilton 2025, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, Homelessness, Housing supply, Infrastructure, Opinion, Parks and Reserves, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Transport and Roading, Water Meters

Rudi du Plooy’s Invited Opinion Piece [All contactable candidates for the 2025 Hamilton City...

OPINION: A Surge of New Voters can Reset Hamilton’s West — Here’s How

Oct 2, 2025 | Bank, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Elections, Hamilton 2025, Hamilton City, Housing supply, Infrastructure, Libraries and Museums, Opinion, Rates Increases, Safety and Well-being, Three Waters, Transport and Roading

By Roderick John Young ( Hamilton West Ward candidate 2025) With less than a fortnight until polls...

CANDIDATE OPINION: Stuart Aitken

Sep 30, 2025 | Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Elections, Hamilton 2025, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, Hostile Architecture, Infrastructure, Opinion, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Traffic Calming, Transport and Roading

Stuart Aitken’s Invited Opinion Piece [All contactable candidates for the 2025 Hamilton City...

Community Organises Opposition to the Site Selection of the Wastewater Treatment Plant Proposed for Southern Hamilton

Aug 17, 2025 | Article, Building Consent, Core Services, Hamilton 2025, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, News, Pollution, Property Rights, Protest, Safety and Well-being, Taking Action, Three Waters, Waikato Region, Waipa District

Over 70 people attended an afternoon meeting on the 9th of August, where a community on the edge...

OPINION: Water is Life – But Can You Afford It?

Aug 1, 2025 | Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Developer Contributions, Hamilton 2025, Hamilton City, Opinion, Rates Increases, Regulations, Three Waters

By Michael West (Engineer and Hamilton West Ward Candidate) Reproduced with permission from Better...

KPMG International Publication – “The Great Reset: Emerging trends in infrastructure and transport”

May 31, 2025 | Article, Asset Sales, Cities, Climate Change and Weather, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Developer Contributions, Global Agendas, Global Warming, International, Internet of Things, News, Opinion, Regulations, Road Pricing and Congestion Charges, Smart Cities (+ 20-minute Cities), Surveillance, Three Waters, Toll Roads, Transport and Roading, WEF

Summary The 2025 edition of KPMG’s “Emerging trends in infrastructure and transport” document is...

Concerns that areas of Hamilton are “wastewater network constrained”

Apr 30, 2025 | Core Services, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Developer Contributions, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, High-density Housing, Housing supply, News, Opinion, Pollution, Protest, Regulations, Resource Management Act (RMA), Safety and Well-being, Smart Cities (+ 20-minute Cities), Three Waters, Voting Record

On the 8th of April 2025, Hamilton City Council held a Strategic Growth and District Plan...

OPEN LETTER: Colin Jones – Formal complaint against Hamilton City Council Mayor and CEO

Apr 30, 2025 | Building Consent, Core Services, Hamilton City, Housing supply, Law and Legislation, Open Letters, Opinion, Regulations, Resource Management Act (RMA), Three Waters

Colin Jones supplied CityWatch NZ with a copy of this complaint against Hamilton City Council...

Consultations April 2025: “Local Water Done Well” Water Service Reforms

Mar 31, 2025 | Christchurch City, Cities, Consultation, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Dunedin City, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Hutt City, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, News, Porirua City, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Water Meters, Wellington City

There are “Local Water Done Well” consultations running at councils around the country with many...

OPINION: Serious Mismanagement and Lack of Accountability with Water Services

Mar 31, 2025 | Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Incoming Legislation, Kaipara District, Law and Legislation, LGFA, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Parliament, Protest, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Water Meters, Wellington City

By John McDonald (CityWatch NZ Editor and 2024 Hamilton East Ward By-election Candidate) With...

OPINION: Breaking the Spending Addiction

Feb 26, 2025 | Auckland City, Christchurch City, Cities, Cities and Regions, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, LGFA, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Wellington City

By Andrew Bydder, Hamilton City Councillor Councils love spending other people’s money. But if it...

OPINION: How to Fix Councils

Jan 30, 2025 | Building Consent, Cities and Regions, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Elections, Hamilton City, LGFA, LGNZ, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, Open Letters, Opinion, Overview, Professional Managerial Class, Rates Increases, Resource Management Act (RMA), Three Waters, Transport and Roading

A guide to help concerned citizens organise for the next election By Andrew Bydder, Hamilton City...

Michael Connett’s NZ Speaking Tour on Water Fluoridation

Jan 21, 2025 | Auckland City, Cities and Regions, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, Hutt City, Law and Legislation, New Zealand Issues, News, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Taking Action, Tauranga City, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Water Fluoridation, Wellington City

Fluoride Free NZ has organised for US Lawyer Michael Connett to tour New Zealand in February 2025....

Local Government Act Reforms: December 2024 Media Coverage

Dec 21, 2024 | Cities, Cities and Regions, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Rates Increases, Regions, Three Waters, Transport and Roading

Summary On the 16th of December 2024, Minister for Local Government Simeon Brown announced a...

Wellington Water CCO: November-December 2024 Media Coverage

Dec 21, 2024 | Contractors, Core Services, Council Funding, Council Spending, Greater Wellington Region, Hutt City, News, Opinion, Porirua City, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Water Meters, Wellington City

Summary Wellington Water is a council controlled organisation (CCO) that is owned by six local...

Crown Observer to Monitor Wellington City Council

Nov 4, 2024 | Article, Asset Sales, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, News, Three Waters, Wellington City

Summary On the 22 October 2024 Local Government Minister Simeon Brown announced that he was...

US court ruling on fluoride in drinking water being a health hazard

Oct 1, 2024 | Article, Auckland City, Cities, Cities and Regions, Council Spending, Dunedin City, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, Hutt City, International, Invercargill City, Law and Legislation, New Plymouth District, New Zealand Issues, News, Palmerston North City, Porirua City, Safety and Well-being, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Waikato Region, Waipa District, Water Fluoridation, Wellington City, World Health Organisation

A major US court ruling on water fluoridation has judged that fluoridation of drinking water at...

“Stop Water Fluoridation” petition (closes 19 Nov 2024)

Oct 1, 2024 | Auckland City, Cities, Council Spending, Dunedin City, Greater Wellington Region, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, Hutt City, Invercargill City, New Plymouth District, New Zealand Issues, News, Palmerston North City, Petitions, Porirua City, Safety and Well-being, Taking Action, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Waikato Region, Waipa District, Water Fluoridation, Wellington City

This petition to parliament is due to close on 19 November 2024 (11:59 pm). Go to this link to...

Ombudsman surveying public on OIA/LGOIMA and council transparency (closes 29 November 2024)

Sep 30, 2024 | Auckland City, Consultation, Freedom of Expression, Greater Wellington Region, Hutt City, New Zealand Issues, News, Official Information Act, Porirua City, Taking Action, Three Waters, Upper Hutt City, Wellington City

The Chief Ombudsman is undertaking self-initiated investigations into the official information...

OPINION: Hamilton City Council’s Credit Downgrade Not a Surprise

Sep 15, 2024 | Article, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, News, Opinion, Three Waters

By Rob Pascoe (Chartered Accountant, Former Hamilton City Councillor, and Hamilton Ratepayer) Some...

Articles covering PM Luxon’s speech to LGNZ (August 2024)

Sep 2, 2024 | Article, Cities, Code of Conduct complaints, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Freedom of Expression, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, LGNZ, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Overview, Professional Managerial Class, Rates Increases, Regions, Three Waters, Transport and Roading, Wellington City

Summary Prime Minister Christopher Luxon gave a speech at the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ)...

OPINION “Local Water Done Well” and the Hamilton Ratepayer

Aug 31, 2024 | Council Debt, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Water Meters

By Geoff Kreegher (Hamilton Ratepayer) “Local Water Done Well” is the Coalition Government’s plan...

OPINION: Luxon Nails Councils

Aug 27, 2024 | Auckland City, Contractors, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, LGNZ, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, News, Opinion, Professional Managerial Class, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Transport and Roading, Wellington City

By Andrew Bydder, Hamilton City Councillor Prime Minister Chris Luxon fronted the Local Government...

Democracy Project Article: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country

Jul 25, 2024 | Asset Sales, Core Services, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Mode Shift, News, Opinion, Public Transport, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Transport and Roading, Water Meters, Wellington City

[Originally published 29 April 2024 on the Democracy Project] By Dr Bryce Edwards (Political...

CANDIDATE OPINION: Anthony Goddard

Jun 30, 2024 | Core Services, Council Spending, High-density Housing, Local Government Reform, Opinion, Parks and Reserves, Public Transport, Tauranga City, Tauranga City Council Election 2024, Three Waters, Transport and Roading

Anthony Goddard’s Invited Opinion Piece [All contactable candidates for the 2024 Tauranga...

CANDIDATE OPINION: Robert Coe

Jun 30, 2024 | Health and Safety, Law and Legislation, New Zealand Issues, Opinion, Rates Increases, Safety and Well-being, Tauranga City, Tauranga City Council Election 2024, Three Waters, Water Fluoridation

Robert Coe’s Invited Opinion Piece [All contactable candidates for the 2024 Tauranga...

CANDIDATE OPINION: Jacqueline Pointon

Jun 30, 2024 | Core Services, Council Finances, Health and Safety, High-density Housing, Opinion, Public Transport, Rates Increases, Tauranga City, Tauranga City Council Election 2024, Three Waters, Transport and Roading

Jacqueline Pointon’s Invited Opinion Piece [All contactable candidates for the 2024 Tauranga...

Hamilton City Council Long-Term Plan Hearings: Day 1 Highlights

May 30, 2024 | Consultation, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Mode Shift, News, Rates Increases, Smart Cities (+ 20-minute Cities), Surveillance, Three Waters, Traffic Calming, UN 2030 Agenda

Selected speakers from the 1st day of the public hearings for the Hamilton City Council Long-Term...

OPINION: Rethinking water meters in Hamilton. A closer look at costs, equity and efficacy

Mar 27, 2024 | Cities, Core Services, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Opinion, Three Waters, Wellington City

By Leo Liu, 2024 Hamilton East Ward By-election Candidate In the heart of discussions surrounding...

OPINION: Water meters back on the cards for Hamilton

Mar 27, 2024 | Core Services, Council Finances, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Opinion, Tauranga City, Three Waters, Wellington City

By Geoff Kreegher (Hamilton Ratepayer) Water meters appear to be back on the agenda for Hamilton...

OPINION: Hamilton and water meters. How Hamilton City Council wants to continue to kick the can down the road.

Mar 27, 2024 | Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Spending, Hamilton City, Opinion, Rates Increases, Three Waters

By Richard Brister, 2024 Hamilton East Ward By-election Candidate Straight after the Hamilton...

OPINION: Water Meters in Hamilton City

Feb 29, 2024 | Auckland City, Core Services, Council Funding, Council Spending, Hamilton City, International, Opinion, Three Waters, Wellington City

By Prudintis (a Hamilton City Ratepayer) There has been considerable hype for years around...

CANDIDATE OPINION: Joan Shi

Feb 3, 2024 | Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Spending, Crime, Elections, Libraries and Museums, Local Government Reform, Opinion, Public Transport, Safety and Well-being, Three Waters, Transport and Roading, Wellington City, Wellington Pukehῑnau/Lambton Ward 2024 By-election

Joan Shi’s Invited Opinion Piece [All candidates for the 2024 By-elections were invited to...

Newsroom article: Three Waters repeal forces councils to hike rates by a third

Dec 25, 2023 | Buller District, Core Services, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Spending, Far North District, Hamilton City, Health and Safety, Incoming Legislation, Law and Legislation, Local Government Reform, New Zealand Issues, News, Rates Increases, Safety and Well-being, Three Waters, United Nations, World Health Organisation

Headline: Three Waters repeal forces councils to hike rates by a third Authored by: Jonathan Milne...

Stuff Article: Why are councils considering rates hikes of 25.5% and higher?

Dec 11, 2023 | Auckland City, Christchurch City, Cities and Regions, Council Debt, Council Finances, Council Funding, Council Meetings, Council Spending, Hamilton City, New Zealand Issues, News, Rates Increases, Three Waters, Wellington City

Authored by: Erin Johnson Published on: 11 December 2023 Published by: Stuff Limited Headline: Why...

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