Waimakariri residents want council to ‘opt-out’ of the Government’s three waters reform
Thousands of Waimakariri residents want the council to opt out of the Government’s three waters reform, with 95 per cent who responded to a survey on the issue saying they wanted services to be managed locally.
Under the proposed reforms, control of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure would transfer from 67 councils nationwide to four new independent entities.
One entity would cover 21 South Island councils, including all of Canterbury.
Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon said quality drinking water and better environmental outcomes were essential, and the council did not accept the premise there was only one way to achieve this.
The Waimakariri District Council received more than 3800 submissions and just over 95 per cent stated they wanted the council to “opt-out” of the proposed reform.
Respondents wanted the three waters service “to be managed, built and operated locally by people who understand our area”.
The council will decide on the formal response that will be given to the Government at a meeting on September 28.
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DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
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Poll: Canterbury is thriving on paper... but are you seeing evidence of Canterbury's improving economy?
As reported in the Press, Reserve Bank Governor Anna Breman recently gave a shout-out to our region, calling Canterbury a "stand-out" for how we recover from tough times. With tech firms growing and exporters investing, the business side of things is looking bright!
👉 But we know that "business growth" doesn't always mean the weekly shop gets any cheaper. While the city expands, many families feel like they’re just trying to keep their heads above water.
We want to know: With the business buzz of 2026, do you feel like things are finally looking up for your household, or does it still feel like a climb?
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17.4% Yes
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58.7% No
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23.9% In some areas ...
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