Three of Aotearoa New Zealand’s biggest unions in the water industry are celebrating the Water Services Entities Bill getting Royal Assent - meaning the Government’s Three Waters reform programme has the official go-ahead from Parliament.

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (PSA), E tū, and the Amalgamated Workers Union NZ (AWUNZ) represent workers across the water management industry, including technicians, engineers, administrators, local and central government officials, and more.

The water unions are united in our support for Three Waters because of both the significant need for reform to get the basics right, and the improvements made possible by the new system.

PSA Assistant Secretary Bronwynn Maxwell says our current system isn’t working, and workers on the frontlines of our water system know this.

"These changes give us an opportunity to do things differently and create a water system that’s better for everyone.

"As unions, we pushed hard through select committee and won some important changes, which will have real, meaningful impacts for working people and our communities. These include more consultation on next steps with the people who provide our water services, and more clarity for them on legislated job guarantees.

"It’s important that workers in our water infrastructure are actively engaged as these new entities are shaped. As their unions, we’re keen to get on with making sure these new entities are the best they can be."

Mat Danaher, campaigns director at E tū, says the reform can’t come soon enough.

"We are constantly hearing from our members how dire some of the parts of water management currently are. It is clear that a better coordinated and more centralised approach is the way to finally fix our water systems.

"The public are sick of water-boil notices, broken sewerage pipes, contaminated beaches, floods, and pollution. The workers are ready to get all this fixed up through Three Waters."

Blake Monkley, lead organiser at AWUNZ, says the public health rationale for the reforms is particularly important.

"New Zealand has an ageing infrastructure and workforce delivering one of our most vital services with chronic underinvestment in both infrastructure and training.

"Ministry of Health figures suggest between 18,000 and 35,000 people fall ill from unsafe drinking water every year. The Havelock North Inquiry had estimated as many as a 100,000. This disproportionately affects our rural and small communities safe drinking water should not be a lottery of where you live, it is a right."

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