Inside COP28 - the water discussion

“When you go through these co-design projects, I'm yet to see one that fails. I'm yet to see one that hasn't delivered for the community.” These were the words of water engineer Troy Brockbank, in a recent Water New Zealand Tāwara o te Wai podcast exploring the question many water sector professionals are grappling with - how we move beyond consultation and build genuine partnerships with mana whenua? As water organisations navigate reform, there’s a risk that engagement with iwi becomes treated as a compliance exercise or a simple tick-box requirement. Hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa are joined by Sarah Nolan, Water New Zealand's 2025 Young Stormwater Professional of the Year, whose article in the July/August Water Journal challenged the sector to think more critically about its approach to iwi engagement. Sarah says that consultation with iwi and mana whenua can easily become more procedural than purposeful. A genuine partnership and achieving better outcomes requires a shift towards co-design, shared accountability, and relationships built in at the beginning of a project. Also joining the discussion is Troy Brockbank, who played a key role in developing Water New Zealand's Cultural Significance and Importance of Wai training module and its recent transition to an online format. Together, Sarah and Troy discuss the practical steps water professionals can take to strengthen partnerships with mana whenua in their day-to-day work. They explore barriers to collaboration, the opportunities presented by current water reforms, and how co-design with iwi can deliver better project outcomes.

Water infrastructure has been identified as the single most significant climate risk in Aotearoa New Zealand, according to the latest Climate Change Commission National Climate Change Risk Assessment report. In this edition of Tāwara o te Wai, Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond discuss the implications and the impact on the water sector with climate change adaptation specialist James Hughes. They ask what decisions do we, as a sector, need to make around infrastructure, urban development, drought and flood risk.

For many New Zealanders, flooding has shifted from a distant risk to a lived reality. In Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland the severe floods of 2023 helped spark a transformation around the understanding of flood risk. In our latest podcast, hosts Jon Reed and Emily Afoa talk to Auckland Council flood risk leaders Nancy Baines and Nick Brown, about how communities now understand a lot more about flood risk. But how well prepared are they to cope with what’s now an inevitability for many – flooding and its aftermath?

As we ramp up investment in much needed water infrastructure, it’s vital that we get good return and that the investment prioritises economic opportunity, environmental impact and social wellbeing. In this episode of Tawara o te Wai, Jon and Emily speak with Jeff Whitty from the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission – Te Waihanga about what is needed to ensure an effective, efficient and resilient water infrastructure future.

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.