We need to know those who spend our money have the expertise to do so efficiently. We need to know they can turn our money into infrastructure worth what we paid for it.
For example, in local government in Otago there have been significant issues around sewage disposal.
In 2020, Clutha District Council (CDC) was fined almost $500,000 for failures in wastewater treatment and breaches of resource consent conditions.
This year, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is being taken to court over its persistent failures to comply with its resource consent conditions relating to discharging effluent into the Kawarau and Shotover rivers.
Both of these major issues have been going on for some years. Both have been given notices to stop the pollution by the Otago Regional Council (ORC)
They relate to failures both of treatment plants and of those monitoring the working of the plants.
And each has been complained about for a long time before the ORC lost patience and prosecuted them.
In the case of the CDC, the mayor said he had no idea this was happening when it came out in the news. He followed this up by saying he was deeply embarrassed and he apologised to ratepayers, communities and iwi.
In QLDC’s case it was acknowledged that the disposal system had experienced performance issues.
In neither situation did the recalcitrant councils keep their councillors and the public fully informed of the situation, it would appear. Even more disturbing was the media advisory from QLDC, finally, on January 12 this year, when the cat was well and truly out of the bag.
This advisory suggested that the disposal system causing the current mischief was commissioned in recognition of cultural sensitivities.
It went on to say that this is not being relied on as part of the treatment process. It said that the treatment plant meets the quality parameters of its consent.
This statement suggests that the treated water is fine, but that local Māori required the new dispersal system, as if it is Māori in particular who do not like poorly treated effluent in our waterways.
It goes on to say that other councils are facing challenges in this area.
While these sort of soothing comments may look good in a media release, they in no way respect the right of ratepayers and councillors to actually understand the position, nor to see who may be behind the council’s issues.
No-one it appears is prepared to take responsibility for lack of either specifying these treatment plants or making sure they work as they should.
No-one seems to be responsible for costing CDC ratepayers $500,000.
No-one is likely to lose their job for the persistent failures of the QLDC treatment system, nor the possible, if not likely, fine for the breaches and damage to the QLDC environment.
According to the deputy mayor of QLDC, the infrastructure deficit and rapid housing growth is what keeps him and others awake at night.
He does not mention worries about the inability to specify or monitor infrastructure. Nor does he mention the lack of credible information being provided by his media staff and the tardiness in sharing issues with the public.
If it were not for the media making official information requests, we may still not have any real understanding of the issues in Queenstown. There is little evidence suggesting these things would not happen again.
CDC has created a new set of strategy papers around how to deal with infrastructure, but it is not a strategy that is missing in action (or lack of action) here.
It is competent specifying, costing and monitoring contracts. It is providing clear expectations internally and with the ratepayers around spending public money. It may be that there are good reasons why these most important systems are failing. It may be that no competent fully informed council could have done better. We simply do not know.
And it is not just these two councils.
Most of our councils have major infrastructure projects due in the next few years. If the spending for these is not properly watched over, then we will have more out-of-control ratepayers’ money heading down the poorly maintained drains.
ORC is a lesson to us all. It is building a home for itself arguably at twice the cost of a commercial arrangement.
We need to believe that councils can specify what is wanted, monitor any contracts they create and their costs, and to be frank and honest with councillors and the public about what is going on.
If they can do these things we may be happier about their proposals for rates increases.
• Hilary Calvert is a former Otago regional councillor, MP and Dunedin city councillor.
