Angry mayors 'seek audience' with prime minister over water reforms
Mayors across New Zealand are mobilising against the Government’s push to force water reform on councils.
Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon is leading the charge, and has drafted a letter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern seeking “an audience” with her to discuss different approaches to the three waters reform.
The Government announced late last month it was bringing in legislation to create four publicly-owned entities to control drinking water, wastewater and stormwater.
These services have traditionally been the core business of 67 councils across New Zealand, and the mandate has caused almost universal outrage among them.
Gordon said he had asked mayors and councils if they wanted to co-sign his letter because it was imperative the views of the sector were accurately and fully represented.
“We owe it to our communities to play an active role in any change which will affect them.”
Read more here.
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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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