I was intrigued by the article ‘Councils lose millions with ‘better off' funding canned' on pages 12-13, The Weekend Sun, April 21.

Tauranga City did not lose $48 million because they were never going to get it out of the failed and unpopular ‘reform'. Now under Labour's changed criteria Tauranga may be entitled to $12.5 million just shows the vagaries of their plan.

And your article is signed off by ‘Local Democracy Reporting' ie funded by Labour handouts. How ironical?

I was unaware that Tauranga Commissioners had allocated the $48m to the civic precinct. That decision itself was unwise. Why would any council accept $48m for a basic and important infrastructure in order to construct a ‘nice to have' is beyond me. The Commissioners were morally wrong in even jumping into Three Waters when it was announced.

Remember most elected councils resisted strongly.

Labour's recently-announced changes to the unpopular Three Waters simply shows ill-conceived manipulation as an effort to be re-elected in October.

Tauranga has a very good water system paid for by ratepayers. If it needs expanding, there are better ways for government to assist financing such infrastructure.

Bill Capamagian, Tauranga City.