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Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024

Preliminary provisions

4: Overview

You could also call this:

"What the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024 is about and how it works."

This Act is about water services and it has different parts. You will find the purpose of the Act and what different words mean in this Act. The Act is divided into parts, and each part deals with something different. You can find more information about each part by looking at the specific part, such as Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.

Some parts of the Act are about how territorial authorities plan and deliver water services. You can read about this in subpart 1 and subpart 2 of Part 2. There are also rules about how some authorities share information and work together.

The Act also talks about how Watercare and Auckland Council work together financially. You can read about this in Part 4. It says that Watercare must be separate from Auckland Council and have its own rules.

The Act also changes some rules from another law, the Water Services Act 2021. You can read about this change in Part 5 and see the specific change to section 138. This change is about how wastewater is managed and it can be reversed in certain circumstances.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS964385.

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3: Purpose, or

"This law helps local governments manage and deliver water services to their communities."

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5: Interpretation, or

"What special words mean in this law about water services"

Part 1Preliminary provisions

4Overview

  1. This Part provides for preliminary matters, including the purpose of this Act and the definitions of terms and expressions used in this Act.

  2. Part 2 has the following subparts:

  3. subpart 1, which requires territorial authorities to prepare and submit water services delivery plans:
    1. subpart 2, which relates to ministerial powers in relation to water services delivery plans:
      1. subpart 3, which sets out a framework for specified territorial authorities to disclose additional foundational information for the purposes of economic regulation, and also includes provisions relating to information sharing and enforcement.

        1. Part 3 sets out specific consultation and decision-making processes that territorial authorities—

        2. must use when consulting or making decisions on including an anticipated or proposed model or arrangement for delivering water services in a water services delivery plan; or
          1. may use in relation to other parts of a water services delivery plan; or
            1. may use when establishing, joining, or amending council-controlled organisations or joint local government arrangements that will deliver water services.

              1. Part 4 sets out specific requirements for Watercare to be financially separate from Auckland Council, including the requirement for the Minister to appoint a Crown monitor and the requirement to have a Watercare charter.

              2. Part 5 amends section 138 of the Water Services Act 2021 by removing the requirement for Taumata Arowai to have regard to the hierarchy of obligations contained in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management when making wastewater environmental performance standards. It also authorises, in certain circumstances, the amendment to be reversed by the Governor-General making an Order in Council.