September/October 2021 - Bay of Plenty Business News

September/October 2021 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 17
Community input sought on
three waters reform proposal
Tauranga City Council commissioners are calling for community input to include in feedback to the
Government on its three waters reform proposal.
Anne Tolley
Commission Chair Anne
Tolley says the reform
proposal is complex
and much of the detail still has
to be finalised, but potentially,
it does offer an effective model
for delivering high quality
and affordable drinking water,
wastewater and stormwater
services.
“Research indicates that
over the next three decades,
huge investment will be
required to ensure all New
Zealand communities continue
to have the safe, effective and
sustainable water, wastewater
and stormwater services they
need,” she says.
“The fact is that the bar is
continually being raised as
new health and environmental
standards evolve and communities
grow. The reform proposal
aims to get ahead of that
and put a structure in place that
can provide the investment
and service quality required
to futureproof three waters
services.”
Key facets of the
Government’s reform
proposal
• There will be four new,
regional water service entities
across New Zealand.
Tauranga is in ‘Entity B’,
which includes the Bay
of Plenty, Waikato and
Taranaki regions.
• These entities will take over
the management of water
assets, debt and income
streams from councils.
Councils will jointly own
the water entities on behalf
of their communities.
• Councils and iwi/Māori
will contribute to the objectives
and priorities of these
entities, through a proposed
50:50 governance model
that honours the Treaty of
Waitangi.
• The entities will be held
to account by the drinking
water regulator, Taumata
Arowai, to ensure public
health remains paramount.
• The new entities will be
required to consult with
communities.
• A funding package has been
offered to ensure no council
is financially “worse off” as
a result of the reform.
• An additional future funding
package has been
offered to each council to
ensure the reform leaves
all communities “better
off”. Based on a population/deprivation/land
area
formula, Tauranga would
receive $48.5 million,
with the bulk of the funding
becoming available in
2024.
A key building block of
the reform will be a partnership
with tangata whenua, in
accordance with the principles
of the Treaty of Waitangi. The
reform also aims to deliver the
outcomes of Te Mana o te Wai,
a set of principles co-designed
with iwi/Māori to lift the water
quality of our streams, rivers
and lakes.
Anne says that if the three
waters service delivery stays
as it is – managed by 67 separate
councils – future service
quality across the country will
remain variable and the level
of investment required will
mean services will become
unaffordable for many people.
“What’s proposed is a significant
change, but this does
provide an opportunity to
co-design a delivery model that
will work for all New Zealanders.
We’re keen to gauge the
community’s views on what
that model should look like and
what safeguards are required to
protect the community’s interests,”
she adds.
Issues identified by the
Commission for raising with
central Government include:
• Ensuring that our communities
have an opportunity
to provide local input into
the reform process
• Protecting our water assets
against privatisation
• Clarifying how we manage
our water assets and staff
during a transition period
• Ensuring that Tauranga’s
growth needs will be met in
a timely fashion, and given
appropriate consideration
within Entity B’s priorities
• The impact of the reforms
on stormwater, as the focus
has mainly been on drinking
water and wastewater.
The Council has until the
end of September to consider
the potential impact of the
reform, identify areas of concern
and advocate for the best
community outcomes. As part
of that process, business leaders
can provide feedback on anything
they want commissioners
to raise with the Government
by going to: www.tauranga.
govt.nz/three-waters-reform
It’s good business to care: Sick Leave
and the importance of wellbeing
Sickness isn’t the same anymore. Covid-19 has made it all the more
important for people to stay home when they’re unwell.
WORKPLACE WELLBEING
> BY CRAIG HUDSON
Craig Hudson is Xero’s managing director for New Zealand
and the Pacific Islands.
Earlier this year, Parliament
passed the Holidays
(Increasing Sick Leave)
Amendment Bill to increase
the minimum employee sick
leave entitlement from five
days to 10 days per year.
While the minimum amount
of paid sick days has doubled,
the maximum amount of sick
leave that can be taken by an
employee remains at 20 days.
It’s important to reframe
how we think about employees
taking sick leave.
Not only do we need to
prioritise keeping germs away
from the workforce, but we
need to consider how sick
leave impacts your employees
productivity levels and their
overall wellbeing.
In fact, making a concerted
effort to empower your
employees to look after their
health and wellbeing has the
potential to increase the overall
productivity and profitability
of your business.
So, if an employee is starting
to feel unwell, in any
capacity, it’s better for the
employee and your business
that they take time to recover
instead of coming into work
when they’re not feeling
100%.
But sometimes workplace
culture can get in the way of
these conversations. This is
where establishing an environment
where it’s okay to ask for
help is beneficial.
After all, healthier, happier
workers are more productive
workers, achieving more with
their time and producing work
to a higher standard.
According to the NZIER,
poor wellbeing affects
decision making and productivity
for an average of 13
weeks.
Imagine the difference in
productivity if workplaces put
more emphasis on creating a
culture where it’s okay to ask
for help.
Creating a work
wellbeing culture
All workplaces play a central
role in building people’s resilience
and positive wellbeing,
so they can better cope with
setbacks, take advantage of
opportunities and be productive,
contributing members
of families, communities and
workplaces.
This starts with communicating
with your staff and
fostering a supportive culture
where employees feel comfortable
to take leave when
they need to.
For example, take time to
get to know your team, what
makes them tick, and how they
manifest stress.
Fostering these relationships
goes a long way to creating
an open workplace culture
where people feel safe and
empowered to have discussions
about what they need –
from sick days and schedule
Recognising the signs of employees
dealing with poor health or wellbeing
means being able to proactively support
them to manage their workload at work
or while they take time off.”
flexibility, through to taking
some proper leave to recharge
their batteries.
We spend so much time
at work, why not make the
most of it and reinforce a
healthy culture of camaraderie
between your employees?
Investing in fostering a good
culture doesn’t have to cost a
lot of time or money.
One thing to consider is
how you and your employees
talk about sick leave, and
whether there’s a benefit in
examining what this entails.
A shift happening in organisations
across the world at the
moment is reframing this as
“wellbeing leave” to encompass
everything people might
feel compelled to take leave for.
Something as simple as
changing how we refer to
leave can open up how people
use this, allowing them to
take leave for things that are
important to them – or simply
take a break for their own mental
wellbeing.
Recognising the signs of
employees dealing with poor
health or wellbeing means
being able to proactively support
them to manage their
workload at work or while
they take time off.
And creating a culture
where people are empowered
to make the right decisions
for their own health is essential,
whether that’s taking
sick leave or spending time
to address other wellbeing
issues.