Wellington Mayor Andrew Little says he, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Local Government Simon Watts agree that an independent inquiry into the failure of the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant is needed as soon as possible.
Andrew Little spoke to media following a meeting scheduled with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Energy Minister Simon Watts ahead of the plant's breakdown at Parliament on Monday.
"Providing we can get an investigation set up as quickly as possible I'm confident that we can get a good understanding of the cause so when we do the remedial work we can design it a way that we minimise the risk of this ever happening again," Little said.
He said the council and central government will work together to ensure an inquiry is independent and has the right powers to make sure a similar problem never happens again.
Little said a ministerial inquiry would meet his preferred criteria of having independence, the right expertise and the power to access information.
"A ministerial inquiry has all that. It is more formalistic and does take a longer period of time to get the appointments up, get the terms of reference sorted out and then get it going. For me it is about having those criteria met but doing something that is as quick as possible. Those are the things that we are talking through," Little said.
Sewage can be seen on Wellington's South Coast after a leak from the Moa Point wastewater plant. Photo: Kate Taptiklis
He said he would "take the next few days" to consider suggestions put forward in the meeting as to the quickest way to get the investigation underway.
"Time is of the essence. We need to get a functioning plant back up as quickly as possible - even though that is going to be months away - but we need to understand that cause, which is why getting a good quality but quick investigation up is the preferable option," Little said.
He said the discussion of who would pay to fix the plant was yet to be determined.
"It's a Wellington City Council's asset right now. We're responsible for it and we just want to see it fixed. We will deal with where the cost falls as soon as we've got that work done," Little said.
Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
He could not give a time frame as to when the inquiry will take place but said it was important that it was done properly "as quickly as possible".
Little said an inquiry cannot wait until remedial works to get the plant back online are completed as the inquiry needs to inform the actions taken.
He says he is confident the inquiry can get a good understanding of the cause of the fault.
"We need to know what we need to do to fix the plant and move ahead."
Little said the investigation and remediation need to go hand in hand.
Little described the meeting with Luxon and Watts as "positive, constructive" and "respectful".
"We know each other. I've been in touch with the minister over the weekend and so the starting point was with a shared knowledge and understanding and we got straight into it."
Minister for Local Governmet Simon Watts. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The plant was still in the process of getting waste out before equipment can be replaced and Little said the process could take months.
The plant flooded last week, destroying much of the plant's electronics and sending raw sewage into the nearby south coast.
In a post cabinet briefing with media, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Energy Minister Simon Watts said an inquiry should be done as soon as possible.
"We will talk to the Mayor about how we can help in the best way we possibly can, but there will be a number of review scenarios, the key this here is that we get to an answer quickly," Luxon told media.
"And to work out 'well why has such a critical piece of infrastructure failed so catastrophically'."
Watts told reporters it was the council's responsibility to review what went wrong, however the council review would be supported by the government.
"If there's anything I can do to support that, then I will be offering that to the Mayor."
Watts said the leak was "completely unacceptable" and "pretty unsatisfactory", but said he remained confident in the " the council and the entities involved".
'Ministerial inquiry is needed' - Wellington Mayor
Wellington Water's chief executive has warned nearby beaches may be shut for months.
Little told Midday Report there was large public interest in the failure, meeting the level of a government inquiry.
"Given the range of parties involved... in order to have a genuinely cohesive, independent review, I think a ministerial inquiry is needed," Little said.
"That allows the inquiry to have the powers to get the right information and give us an accurate assessment about the causes of the failures."
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