“New Zealand is proposing a highly leveraged financing described by the Department of Internal Affairs and the rating agency, Standard & Poor’s as having ‘an aggressive financial risk profile’. The Three Waters model of financing is the same model used by Thames Waters and a number of other English water utilities.”
“Thames Water, and the English water sector more generally, should be a cautionary tale for New Zealand. Highly leveraged financings in this sector have been tried and have been criticised for some time. They have not delivered improved water quality or service for customers. Instead, the UK government is now faced with the imminent collapse of its biggest water utility under a mountain of debt.”
-Thomas Cranmer
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