By Elizabeth Hughes.
Some would say councils are wastefully spending rates on nice-to-have pet projects instead of the basics.
While councils invested $7 billion in core infrastructure over 2022-23, the highest level of investment in 11 years, one of the biggest areas of non-core expenditure comes from having to implement the constantly changing demands of central government reform programmes.
While the cost in dollars itself is eye-watering, the Office of the Auditor-General also notes that the significant reform programmes, including the repealing and introduction of new ones, have led to council staff being “severely stretched” while needing to do this work alongside their normal roles (August 2024).
But as we know, councils have just got on with it while navigating cyclones, roading, clean water, speed bumps, planning, erosion, cycleways, waste, consenting, books, parks, walkways, beaches, public art, bad behaviour and everything else they do to keep their communities safe, accessible, clean, vibrant, housed, future-focussed etc.
Local Water Done Well is a next-level challenge for elected members and council staff. And, while the reform has merits, issues councils face around communicating this programme will stretch any tenuous trust and confidence their communities might have in them.
To be clear, these communication issues will not relate to the quality of content, channels and timing … the communication specialist in your team will already have this in hand, as per their job title, and these issues relate to ‘perception, transparency and direction’.
Therefore, as ‘governing partners’ the very least the Government can do is invest in a national communication plan for its Local Water Done Well.
And, preferably, not in a patronising ‘we got rid of that awful, centralised, co-governing Three Waters because councils haven’t done their jobs properly’, way. Instead, we need a fact-based information campaign explaining the regionalisation of this new three waters funding and delivery and specifically outlining what councils are being mandated to do. Councils can then pick this up and use it on repeat to underpin their own messaging.
Local government is currently made up of 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities (of which six are unitary authorities, 13 are city councils, and 53 are district councils). Many are creating a compelling narrative filtered through the varying political stripes before proposals are “signed off” by the engineers, accountants and planners (lordy lordy). And this is even before they invest in the required regulatory ‘consultation’.
In the lead-up to the end of 2024, almost all councils were wading deep into Local Water Done Well discussions. The following are some observations from these ‘navigating the waters’ conversations heard around several different council tables.
Explaining the WHY (comms 101)
Some councils are keen on “the government is making us do it” route to underpin their communication key messaging, while others are of the “this will bring benefits to our ratepayers” route.
Both of these things are true, but both require completely different communication approaches to be effective. Mixing these completely opposing key messages together will fail.
The community care deeply about this issue
Sorry, but the public doesn’t care. They have lives and are very busy getting on with them. Waters is not going to excite any interest except in the usual suspects (you know who they are). But take heart; they will care when they get their first-ever waters invoice next year.
The C word
Charging. A separate charge for water. Hmmmm – so far, there has not been much discussion about how to land this message.
And while this might be the thing to generate interest from the masses, it will be for all the wrong reasons.
It’s all about community choice
Errrr – no it isn’t. If you are operating under the misconception that Local Water Done Well is giving the community a choice, then now is a good time to take a lie down.
The consultation is a sham, and you should say so. If your council has done the maths, and the numbers stack up, there is really no choice in the matter.
It’s about being more efficient
Council officers are providing excellent financials and considerations to help their elected members understand their options on waters. These are presented as a logical choice between this (efficient) and that (not as efficient).
Their advice is worth every cent. Trust them. Unfortunately, logic will play a very small part in achieving communication success, so don’t rely on this tactic alone to land your messaging.
People don’t trust CCOs
True. There is a small group of vocal people who don’t. But most people don’t know and won’t care. So don’t worry about it.
More worrying is the continuous mixed messaging about CCOs from the seat of power – CCOs are evil personified v CCOs are the best invention ever (see no.1).
Elections 2025
And just as councils’ adopted delivery options hit the streets in September, the local government elections will be in full flight.
You can bet that at least half of the candidates will stand on a platform of keeping water under “local control”, which will be annoying, confused and, of course, far too late. Potential voters can also expect to be flooded with messages about the hellscape that is privatisation.
Even though all this will be irrelevant, it will seriously detract from the fact-based key messaging a council will have been working so hard to deliver for its community.
Lastly, what’s really going on
Let’s be honest, this is not a ‘localism’ agenda that is at play here. If you take Local Water Done Well and add in the systematic removal of council and community self-determination and decision-making, (well-being, Maori wards, speed limits), functions (waters, roading, consenting), plus the carrot of regional deals, it is clear that the agenda is bigger and wider than saving a few bob on water services.
However, what is good about all of this, is that reform of the local government sector is long overdue.
It would just be better if it were an open and transparent conversation. And not just feeling it in your waters.