You might have seen that the government delivered early Christmas presents in rates capping, local government reorganisation and Resource Management Act reform. We’ve unwrapped them over the summer, and there’s going to be a lot of change headed our way this year. But it’s not, and that brings me to the water reforms and what it means for our district. As we’ve seen on Wear St recently, repairing and replacing some of our oldest pipework is a challenge. The government’s rates cap won’t include water charges, and we know water charges are going to rise in the next decade.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 17, 2026 15:46 UTC