Govt lied over three waters compulsion

Radio NZ reports:

The Government kept councils guessing for months about whether they would be forced into Three Waters reforms, having already agreed to pursue such a strategy, papers show.

The National Party says it is clear Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta made the decision from the outset and consultation with the sector was just a box-ticking exercise.

RNZ has been asking for an interview since Tuesday but her office repeatedly said she was not available.

So the Government had already decided the reforms would be compulsory, not opt in. Yet it went through months of stringing local councils along, saying it hadn’t yet decided.