Minister confirms Crown Facilitator appointment

Published on 07 November 2025

Response comes one day after Council accepted appointment, with reservations.

Minister for Local Government, Simon Watts, has responded to the letter from the Waitaki District Council regarding the appointment of a Crown Facilitator for water.

At Tuesday’s first full meeting of the newly elected Council, Mayor Tavendale and the Councillors agreed to accept a Crown Facilitator with some reservations around the timing of notification, working in good faith and the cost of the facilitators appointment being borne by Waitaki’s ratepayers.

A letter was sent to the Minister on Wednesday 5 November, and the Minister responded on Thursday 6 November.

The Minister’s letter confirmed that;

• the timing of the notification was based on ensuring work could begin as soon as possible;
• that Council has been working in good faith with the DIA in providing feedback on their analysis of Waitaki’s Water Services Delivery Plan;
• that Council is responsible for any renumeration and expenses incurred in appointing or by the Crown Facilitator as set out in the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Act 2024

These letters and the terms of reference for the Crown facilitator are available at the bottom of this page.

The appointment of the facilitator, the Hon Amy Adams, will be gazetted on Monday 10 November.

Council intends to keep the community updated on the review of its assets and development of its amended Water Services Delivery Plan.

Letter from Mayor Tavendale to Minister Watts - Wednesday 5 November(PDF, 151KB)

Minister Watts' Letter to Mayor Tavendale - Thursday 6 November(PDF, 269KB)

Final Terms of Reference - Crown facilitator - Waitaki District Council, Thursday 6 November(PDF, 239KB)

ENDS

media@waitaki.govt.nz