Source: New Zealand Parliament – Hansard
WEDNESDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2022
(continued on 8 December 2022)
WATER SERVICES ENTITIES BILL
Third Reading
SPEAKER: Ata mārie. The House is resumed for the extended sitting.
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Local Government): I present a legislative statement on the Water Services Entities Bill.
SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of te House and can be found on the Parliament website.
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: I move, That the Water Services Entities Bill be now read a third time.
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I am pleased to reach this point in a significant set of decisions that will prepare New Zealand for a better future for looking after our most precious resource, ngā wai—water—people, communities and our environment. We cannot have a future in a country like ours where boil water notices in communities like Te Kao happen. No swim notices at local beach spots, like Auckland, happen. Burst pipes, like what we’ve seen in our capital city, happen. Seeping sewage into our pristine lakes, like Lake Taupō, happens, and wastewater spills are frequently experienced after heavy weather events across many communities—it plagues our headlines.
In a country like ours, this is just not good enough, so we’re going to take action, do the right thing, and fix a problem that has been left to languish for the last two decades. New Zealand is facing a cost of living crisis. It is vital that we keep a lid on rates rises. The approach we’re taking will make a more affordable solution for ratepayers going forward into the future to support the financing of water infrastructure and improve water services.
I find it disingenuous of the Opposition to talk about a cost of living crisis and in the same breath promise to repeal this legislation. We know that if we do nothing, the significant cost of fixing this mess of water infrastructure will fall on future ratepayers—our kids, your kids, and the next generation. We know that New Zealanders can’t afford that. I want the burden to fall on our kids. Do you?
This is the third time I’ve stood to support this bill in this House, and yet I don’t find myself short of statistics backing up the need to significantly change the way that water is managed in New Zealand. Just this morning we heard of the water contamination issues in Waimate. Just last week in the Matamata-Piako district we heard of a community on a boil water notice, and they are not isolated events. But, sadly, no one is outraged because it’s a common experience and all communities want the problem to be fixed. In one six-week period, Taumata Arowai received 209 notifications from water suppliers that their water was not, or may not be, compliant with the drinking water standards, including from 31 different councils.
Now, I understand that there are those who want to believe nothing is wrong with our water network, but, sadly, all too often—because we’re talking for the most part about pipes under the ground—this critical infrastructure is out of sight and out of mind. It is not until something goes wrong that people realise just how big the problem is. Pipes across the country are in such bad condition that in 2020 and 2021 over 107 million cubic metres of water was lost due to pipe leaks. That is more than a fifth of all water supplied in New Zealand and is equivalent to the volume of water supplied to Hamilton, Rotorua, Dunedin, and Christchurch combined. Climate change forces us to treat water as a precious resource. We cannot waste it.
I have not spoken about how, following its 2016-17 local government audits the Office of the Auditor-General reported that relevant and reliable information about water assets was a challenge for territorial authorities, and that 45 percent of potable and waste water networks and 52 percent of stormwater networks are categorised as ungraded. In a country like ours, how can that be? In other words, there is a lot we do not know about the quality of our water infrastructure in this country, but what we do know makes for some dire reading. Unlike the Opposition, we will not bury our heads in the sand or kick the can down the road. Their alternative is to repeal the most viable solution on the table, and, quite frankly, we don’t need National and ACT to gaslight issues like co-governance—which, in this instance, is really about joint decision-making—or whitewashing issues such as ownership when they know very well that councils will continue to collectively own water assets under this model. The Opposition want to repeal the only solution on the table and take New Zealand back to the status quo, which is not a solution. In fact, repeal, repeal, repeal is not a solution.
In the time since I introduced this bill into the House, the situation has changed. I want to take some time to address the concerns people have about this bill. People have said that having a few large entities inevitably mean less community voice and influence over water services, but we know that having any more entities will result in unequitable outcomes for ratepayers, and increased costs. Four entities will ensure that costs and levels of service are equitable across the country. I don’t want to see residents in Northland, the West Coast, Otago, and Southland paying significantly more for their water services while receiving, actually, the worst service under the current model. But that is what the modelling shows will happen if we have more than four entities, which is what that side of the House wants.
To address concerns about the loss of community voice, we established a working group on representation, governance, and accountability. They did a significant amount of work to improve local voice, and this was strengthened through the select committee process, and I thank the members on the committee. I make this promise to New Zealanders: public ownership is and remains a bottom line for the Government, and you will still have the same influence over your water services once this bill passes.
There was some concern the entities would be less accountable to the public than local government. My officials undertook significant work with the Office of the Auditor-General during the select committee process to improve the accountability mechanisms in the bill. The Auditor-General has confirmed that the current bill will provide for stronger and more effective public accountability over water services delivered to New Zealanders than when the bill was introduced. I want to thank the Office of the Auditor-General for their construction contribution to this work.
Another claim is that the reform will lead to higher costs for consumers. This is unsubstantiated and, quite frankly, untrue. We know that if we do not proceed with this reform, costs will go up to levels that are unsustainable for New Zealanders. We know this because extensive economic modelling has been undertaken and peer-reviewed by world leading experts. Ours is a Government that will not watch rates spiral out of control when we know something can be done, and we’re going to do it.
There have been claims that the Government is stealing assets, but assets will continue to be owned by the communities who currently own them. We have ensured their continued public ownership by embedding significant protections against privatisation in this bill, unlike the Opposition or the ACT Party. We don’t need to look very far into the past to understand why protections are so important. The previous National-ACT Government sold off and privatised many publicly owned assets. This Government is 100 percent committed to ensuring our water assets—
SPEAKER: Order! I don’t want to hear applause. The volume of interjections is far too loud and I want—
Matt Doocey: Clapping was a good joke.
SPEAKER: I’m on my feet, so Matt Doocey will stand, withdraw, and apologise.
Matt Doocey: I withdraw and apologise.
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: As I say, this Government is 100 percent committed to ensuring our water assets remain in public ownership, and we call on the Opposition to make the same commitment to New Zealanders. [Interruption] Oh, they will not. I would like to thank everyone that has engaged in the passage of this bill—the submitters, councils, mana whenua across the country, the Finance and Expenditure Committee members, amongst others, and also officials from the Department of Internal Affairs, and the Parliamentary Counsel Office. Your contributions have resulted in significant improvements to this bill.
The Opposition likes to stand in this House and ask Ministers whether we stand by our statements and actions. I do—every one of them. I stand by the decision to undertake this reform. I stand by the financial modelling which has led us to this point. I stand by the entities this bill establishes. I stand by the fact that we are looking for solutions, not a repeal, cancel culture. I stand by all those things because I will not stand by and watch New Zealanders face thousands of dollars in rates hikes if we do nothing. I will not stand by while New Zealanders continue to get sick from drinking tap water—tap water—and our tamariki cannot safely swim at their local beach, rivers, or lakes. I will not stand by and see our cities and towns stall because they cannot pay for vital infrastructure that they require to grow.
This is a Government that will not stand by and let this problem languish. It’s been kicked down the road by the other side for far too long. We’ve got to do something about it, and this bill will improve the future. I’m pleased to commend this bill to the House.
SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.
