The three waters are drinking water, wastewater and stormwater. The Three Waters Plan (that you may have seen advertisements for) is a tricky co-governance plan for central government to get control of our assets which are managed by our local councils. After more than 60 iwi-only meetings, Government and tribal leaders have divided New Zealand into four massive, unwieldy zones. Each zone will take ownership and control of our water and water-related infrastructure.

The recently released referendum results for the five councils that decided to introduce Maori wards against the wishes of their local electors showed, in each case, that the public is opposed to race-based democracy.

In calling on Parliament to deny ratepayers the right to veto council decisions to create racially-based political structures, Local Government New Zealand reveals just how totally out of touch they are with the views of the overwhelming majority of ratepayers, Don Brash said today in response to a press release from LGNZ.

The Auckland Council is seeking feedback on a 10-year budget and Auckland Plan 2050 and tucked in there is a whole series of questions on Maori identity and wellbeing.