Water New Zealand

New water entities are being set up across the country. Faced with challenges around affordability and the need to address the long term infrastructure deficit, it’s been said that the success of the Local Water Done Well reforms will largely hinge on the experience, calibre and courage of new Council Controlled Organisation (CCO) board members.
In this episode of Water New Zealand’s Tawara o te Wai podcast, hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa discuss the water sector governance reform with two experienced watersector leaders - a former water utility CEO and past-President of Water New Zealand, Raveen Jaduram and Water New Zealand’s chief executive, Gillian Blythe.

Information disclosure will play a central role in improving the performance, accountability and long-term sustainability of Aotearoa New Zealand’s water services.
In this edition of Water New Zealand's Tāwara o te Wai podcast series, hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa put the spotlight on the Commerce Commission to unravel what the information disclosure aspect of economic regulation means for councils and suppliers.
They spoke with the Commission’s principal engineer, Emily Botje and economist, Tim Hewitt.

Attracting people to the water industry is becoming a key challenge - with thousands of extra skilled staff needed to fill job vacancies over the next 30 years.
In this Water New Zealand Tāwara o te Wai podcast, hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa spoke to two recent Water New Zealand award winners, Roanna Purcaru, who is the 2025 Young Water Professional of the Year and Jared Esaiah, who won the Trainee of the Year Award at this year’s Water New Zealand Conference and Expo.
They discussed what it was that drove these two successful employees to join the water sector and what could help attract more of the right people to work in water.

How do you grapple with issues facing a community that will be below sea level by the turn of the century?
It’s clear that something has to change.
Jonathan Rowe, from the South Dunedin Future programme says the community is now looking at six possible solutions – from fight to flight and a range of options in between.
He spoke to Tāwara o te Wai hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa about how the initiative – a joint approach between the Dunedin City Council and Otago Regional Council - is working through the complex issues of creating a new climate resilience community.

Indigenous values and knowledge are increasingly embedded in our relationship with water both in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the Tasman.
Ahead of Māori Language Week and the 10th IWA-ASPIRE and Water New Zealand Conference & Expo 2025 at Ōtautahi Christchurch, our hosts Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond are joined by Principal Aboriginal Cultural Advisor at Beca Hunter H20, Phil Duncan.  Phil’s a member of Australia’s Gomeroi Nation.  Also joining the discussion is Emily Afoa, Pou Whakarae at Tektus and Kairangahau at Pūrangakura, the Māori independent research centre.
Listen to this episode of Tāwara o te Wai, as Emily and Phil discuss how the growing alignment of indigenous knowledge and western science, along with collaboration and connection, is helping reframe our relationship with water and the wider environment.