An online petition prompting Three Waters' opponents to send emails to councillors en masse is being called "a bloody nuisance" by a southern mayor.
Southland Mayor Gary Tong. Photo: RNZ / Ian Telfer
Three Waters Reform Programme - the government's proposal to reform how water is managed in New Zealand - has been a hot political topic since its July 2020 launch.
It seeks to shift the management of drinking, waste and stormwater systems away from individual councils and into the hands of four regional authorities.
But Southland Mayor Gary Tong said his councillors were being bombarded by dissenting voices who "don't have the full ingredients of the cake".
An online petition set up by the Taxpayers' Union to encourage councils to opt-out of the scheme prompts signatories to email councillors about their concerns.
"Just politely, I don't think they understand the pressure that puts on elected members," Tong said.
"It's just a bloody nuisance. It's only one-sided, dare I say it. Because there are people out there that are saying opt in, not many ... not many."
Tong said councillors were opening their emails to find them overflowing with 50 to 60 messages about the reform.
Southland District Council was still undecided on whether it wanted to opt in or out of the scheme, Tong said, and recommendations had been sent through to Minister for Local Government Nanaia Mahuta on Tuesday.
He added the council felt it did not have enough information to make a decision, and wondered why the public felt so strongly on the issue when councils themselves were still awaiting information.
"They [the public] are opting out for the entire proposal, for one reason within the proposal.
"My personal view is how can we opt in or opt out not knowing all the information?"
Frustrations over the email bombardment were shared by Invercargill councillor Ian Pottinger, who said he had received about 50 emails since the petition was launched on Tuesday.
"It's really annoying because I'm one of those lazy buggers who doesn't delete their emails for ages.
"What it's making me do is go through and delete unwanted emails."
Pottinger said he was receiving messages from people at "all sorts of hours of the day".
"They're from people that I know! That's the weirdest thing. It's names I've heard of.
"Is this legal?"
A spokesperson for the Taxpayers' Union said support for the campaign against Three Waters had been "spectacular".
Signing the petition did not automatically send an email to councillors, but email addresses were provided, along with suggested wording.
"We are shocked that a councillor - someone literally paid to hear from and reflect the views of their constituents - is trying to discourage members of their community from contacting them," the spokesperson said.
About 20,000 people had used the email tool on the website to contact councillors.
Consultation on Three Waters ends today, and Mahuta will take feedback back to Cabinet.
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