There is no need to exaggerate. Recent rainfall has done that for us, the extreme weather reminding emphatically that water is the dominant influence for human survival.
Margaret Evans
Wellington’s faulty sewage treatment system, the flooded lands and disintegrating roads across so much of the country as well as Mount Maunganui’s fatal slips, are horrendous examples of what’s gone wrong in our relationship with water. And the frightening financial consequences ahead, the bogey of billions needed to fix it all.
The human-water connection needs a reset. Demands one. Quickly.
The co-incidental mid-February release of the first official National Infrastructure Plan responds to ‘formidable challenges’ to the nation’s water systems (as well as to land transport, electricity, hospitals, schools, and courts). The authors warn of the fiscal tsunami ahead if the flood of spending on ‘mega projects’ isn’t stopped. Their advice: “a willingness to change how we plan, fund, build and maintain infrastructure, and the courage to face hard truths”.
We also had the deadline (February 20) for submissions on Central Government’s plan for Local Government Reform, to merge regional councils into a new ‘unitary model’ led by the local mayors. This has the option of adding unelected government-appointed commissioners. Some of us would prefer local MPs sitting down within the mayoral forum to better bridge the regional gap.
All this is part of a portfolio of reform proposals currently underway at Parliament, alongside others that should be brought into a cohesive package to reshape this nation’s democratic future.
Central and local governments now need unity in their reform thinking. And a rapid review of projects big and small, to restore public confidence, and how it all fits together for prosperity and resilience. For all – public, private, and community sectors.
It is not ‘business as usual’. We are well aware that some boys (and girls) prefer playing with big toys rather than keeping up with essential maintenance and have lost sight of both economic realities and political responsibilities. (But there are reform warnings for the salaried above $200k.)
We require deep comprehensive review. Along with official recognition, rapidly, that service delivery must change. Billions of dollars are at stake.
All spending now must be underpinned by a new focus on infrastructure maintenance, and innovations in response to weather weaknesses and development demands. With local knowledge and commitment in preference to international corporates. As well as geotech to avoid those taniwha.
We love the summer sun, but water is essential for our wellbeing, vital for our survival, beyond predictability and worthy of deep respect. An integrated approach must consider land impacts as well as water storage, treatment, recycling, and disposal. And with innovation and an outcomes’ perspective. Swimming lessons too.
Water, water everywhere
