Proposed water reforms fixes ‘don’t go far enough’
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown says proposed changes to the Three Waters Reform haven't gone far enough ahead of the bill’s second reading in parliament.
There were 80,000 submissions on the Water Services Entities Bill, the first of three bills aimed at reforming New Zealand’s water infrastructure and services, including one from the Ashburton District Council.
Parliament’s cross-party Finance and Expenditure Select Committee has considered those submissions and proposed some recommendations to improve the workability of water reform legislation.
Brown said the changes were fairly minor.
“Not a lot of changes that the councils in opposition to Three Waters would like to have seen.
“Having a better representation of rural mayors is a slight plus but it wasn’t the guts of the submissions.”
Ashburton, and the rest of the member councils in the Communities for Local Democracy collective, “will not be backing off” Brown said, especially when an alternative model proposed by mayor Wayne Brown of Auckland has garnered more widespread support.
But the Government is surging ahead with its model, with some new recommended changes likely to be adopted.
One of those is that the Bill requires a mix of rural, provincial, and metropolitan councils on the regional representative group (RRG).
Another recommendation is to remove the limit of members on the RRG, which may make things quite complicated, Neil Brown said.
There will be at least six representatives from the 22 councils in the zone 4 entity, which now needs an even spread of rural, provincial, and metropolitan representatives, and any increase in representatives will also increase the mana whenua representatives under co-governance.
*Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
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Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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48.2% Yes
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49.8% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......
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