14591 (2025). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Local Government

14591 (2025). Tangi Utikere to the Minister of Local Government: What proportion of Watercare’s planned $1.3 billion per year infrastructure investment is expected to be funded through increased borrowing, and what impact, if any, will this have on Watercare’s debt levels?

Hon Simon Watts: Borrowing to pay for long-lived infrastructure assets such as water treatment plant, pipelines and asset renewals is an appropriate form of funding as the high costs of capital can be spread over the lifecycle of the assets. A key component of the financial separation of Watercare from Auckland Council is to allow both Watercare and Auckland Council to borrow more for long-term capital projects without breaching Auckland Council’s direction that its debt to revenue ratio must be kept at or below 340%. Under the previous structure, Auckland Council was approaching its debt to revenue cap so both the Council and Watercare had limited ability to increase their borrowing. This increased debt headroom will enable Watercare to invest further in growth and other water priorities.