Kei ngā keokeonga o te motu, tēnā koutou katoa.
Ki a rātou ngā pio o te pō, te marea i te kengo nui
E tā, e tāoki, ko mātou ngā waihotanga ka mōteatea ake, ake nei.
Ka hoki ki a tātou te hunga ora, tēnā koutou. Tēnā hoki tātou i runga i tēnei kaupapa nui o tātou, ko ia tērā ko ngā ratonga wai e tika ana kia tiaki i tēnei taonga ukiuki o tātou arā ko ngā wai tai, ko ngā Māori. 
E te iwi nei mātou ko taku kapa o Te Tari Taiwhenua e mihi kau atu ana. 
Ko Tūwharetoa tēnei e mihi nei, ko Ngāti Rākaipaaka tēnei e mihi nei.

Three Waters is a huge project – one of the biggest reforms in New Zealand’s recent history. While the policy and legislation are still being refined, the scale of the programme means some practical work needs to get going in the meantime. Within Te Tari Taiwhenua (Department of Internal Affairs) there are three teams supporting the Three Waters programme: the National Transition Unit, the Reform team and Iwi/Māori engagement team.

We are working with local government, Iwi/Māori and water sector experts to get four new water service entities established and support outcomes for our environment and for generations to come.

The Government has announced these new water service entities will take on the job of managing drinking, waste and stormwater services for the whole of Aotearoa.

When it comes to water services in Aotearoa, there is widespread agreement that the status quo is not working. Too many people are getting sick from dirty tap water, and wastewater is too often discharged into waterways. This was reiterated by the Working Group on Representation and Governance earlier this month. 

The Government has been clear that it expects the reforms to provide clean, safe drinking water that won't make people sick, and strong and resilient stormwater and sewerage services that enable communities to prosper and grow, while protecting the environment.

The reforms are coming, and now we need to work together to be ready for a successful transition.

It is our commitment to keep you updated and abreast of Three Waters developments and ensure that your voice is informing our direction.

This first pānui will take you through some of the key workstreams that are being progressed as part of the Three Waters programme.  It also introduces the key members of our Iwi/Māori engagement team, who will be reaching out to you soon to discuss how we connect better with you and how we might better support your engagement in the process. It is important to us that local communities are informing decisions about local issues, and the water services in their takiwā.

You can also find more about the Three Waters reform programme here. Our team is committed to genuine collaboration with you; in fact, we are relying on it, because we know that to get this important work done we need to work together. 

I hope you find this update useful and look forward to catching up with some of you soon.
Nāku noa, nā

Maria 

Understanding the Three Waters reforms programme

It is important that whānau, hapū and iwi understand what the Three Warters programme is about, how it is going to work and why it is necessary. We will be sharing a series of Whakamahukitanga or Factsheets which will help explain in detail the different parts of the reform process and in particular why this should matter to iwi, to Māori.  This will include breaking down key issues and exploring how the reform process intends to tackle these.

The first of these Whakamahukitanga is attached here and below. You will see that there are 7 key areas of the reforms that we want to keep you updated on in particular, these are:

• Settlement and rights protection
• Te Mana o te Wai
• Te Ao Māori perspective
• Co-governance
• Opportunities
• Increased capability
• Economic and employment

He Pūkenga Wai Fund

The Pūkenga Wai Fund has been established to support iwi organisations to participate in Three Waters with one of the first key discussions mana whenua need to have is how to determine mana whenua representation that will provide oversight of the new water service entities once they have been established.

Announcements about this fund can be expected in the next fortnight.

Our Three Waters Teams

The Reform Team

This team is working on the policy and legislative programme for Three Waters. Recently Hamiora Bowkett (Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Te Arawa, Te Rarawa) was appointed as Executive Director of the reform programme. 

Hamiora brings with him 21 years of experience from across the public and private sectors, joining the team most recently from Te Puni Kōkiri, where he was Deputy Secretary of Strategy, Finance and Performance

The National Transition Unit

The National Transition Unit (NTU) was established by the Government to implement the Three Waters reform programme. The reform programme is massive, with lots and lots of stakeholders and interested parties. The role of NTU is to lead the implementation of the reform in a way that is coordinated and consistent and to do this alongside Local Government, Iwi/Māori and our communities. Currently, the NTU sits inside of Te Tari Taiwhenua. It has three main goals to achieve through the reforms programme:

• Safe, and clean drinking water
• Effective and resilient stormwater services
• Sustainable and efficient sewerage and wastewater services

We are pleased to announce that Heather Shotter has been appointed as the Executive Director of the National Transition Unit. Heather comes to Te Tari Taiwhenua from the Palmerston North City Council where she was previously the Chief Executive. Currently, NTU is working at a national and local level to establish the four new Water Services Entities and get ready for the transition.  You can find out a little more about how the NTU are approaching this in the next section.

It is important to us that local voice and insights inform this development, with a focus on recruiting, developing and retaining local people, and contracting locally where possible to enhance community economies.

This diagram describes how the programme works.

Local Establishment Entities

Local Establishment Entities (LEEs) are expected to be stood up by the end of the year. Along with the National Transition Unit, they will be responsible for setting up each of the four new Water Services Entities. Because they’re local, the LEEs help ensure each Water Service Entity is designed to work in the communities they’re set up to serve.

NTU are now looking at processes for recruiting senior staff, including chief executives to run the LEEs.   Until the LEEs are established Local Transition Teams (LTTs) in each entity area are working with councils, Iwi/Māori and the sector, to understand and plan for the systems, infrastructure and workforce requirements.

As vacancies become available we will share these with you.

Iwi/Māori Engagement Team 

As part of our unit, we have identified a core group of Māori technicians and specialists that will support the reform process and ensure that Māori issues, aspirations and values are incorporated in a way designed and directed by iwi Māori.  This group will be reaching out soon with opportunities for you to get involved in the process.

In the meantime, we will be sending these updates to you regularly, and also sharing commentary and media about the key issues surrounding Three Waters for your information

For any general questions about the Transition, please get in touch here: ThreeWatersTransition@dia.govt.nz

For any specific questions about the Three Waters reforms contact the team at: ThreeWaters@dia.govt.nz