Water is one of the areas where the Government is imposing a centralist solution. As I have said many times I do not object to the Government taking a strong line on the standard of water in NZ. I resent how they want to put the water systems of New Zealand into 4 or 5 agencies. I can just see how this will lead to bloated overpaid bureaucracies, with expensive boards, all competing against each other. We have seen it with energy. This will be a repeat. Then they will be sold to corporate interests and we will have lost control of an essential item in human lives. I just hope that CCC joins with Ngai Tahu and Auckland water and tell the Government there are alternatives other than what Water NZ, Internal Affairs and Department of Health are advising.
It was interesting to see Judith Collins recently playing the race card over water. She chose to rubbish Ngai Tahu’s name by misquoting them and their motives. She was told to pull her head in by Te Maire Tau. Here’s what Te Maire told Stuff recently when Judith tried to misquote him:
However, Dr Te Maire Tau, chairman of Ngāi Tahu freshwater group Te Kura Taka Pini, said Collins’ claims were wrong and the iwi was not proposing to take ownership of three waters assets.
”Ngāi Tahu does not want to own three waters infrastructure.”
The iwi had instead been discussing co-governance options with the Government as a safeguard against any attempts by future governments to privatise water assets.
Tau said Ngāi Tahu believed water infrastructure must remain in public ownership and its presence provided an extra protection against it being privatised in the future.
To this I said “here, here”. Here’s the article about this matter and come along and hear Te Maire present the Ngai Tahu case on Tuesday. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/125145942/ngi-tahu-accuses-national-leader-of-seeking-headlines-over-water-reform-comments.
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