4 April 2000

Press Report Mischievous, Says Chairman

A report in The Press newspaper today relating to City Council water and waste services contained misleading and inaccurate statements, says the chairman of the Christchurch City Council’s City Services Committee, Denis O’Rourke.

He told the committee today that the Press report was unfortunate, misleading and mischievous.

He said the Council was continuing its search for efficiencies and better ways of providing its services to the community. Orion Ltd was 87 per cent owned by the Council and was an experienced and highly successful infrastructure network operator.

It was the Council’s intention to use that expertise in its search for cost effectiveness and better service delivery, Cr. O’Rourke said.

When the report was complete it would be reviewed to see whether there was any advice the Council could use, he said.

"There is no implication of privatisation, corporatisation or the charging for services on a user-pays basis," he said.

"The Council has always been clear about no charging for water or waste-water services by volume. Nothing has changed on these matters," he said.

Cr. O’Rourke said there had been extravagant statements among senior staff that amounted to hysteria. "Some senior staff are making stupid comments and it is time it is stopped," he said.

There was no intention of losing control of the overall infrastructure of the services. "Reports to the contrary are rubbish," he said.

The committee passed seven recommendations, to go to full council meeting for consideration at its next meeting.

They included: that the Council had no intention of privatising or corporatising water or waste services; it had no intention of transferring water or water assets to Orion or any other operator; and that it had no intention of charging for water or waste-water services by volume. It also recommended that the Council had no intention of transferring management of the service units to any Orion or any other operator.

Further information: Denis O’Rourke,Chairman City Services Committee: 021 632 670.