Call To Action On Auckland Water

10.30am MONDAY 19 FEBRUARY WHERE: Auckland City Council Buildings Greys Avenue, City. We are assembling to demand to speak with Mr Grant Taylor - the Chairman of the Auckland Region Water Steering Group - who last Friday rejected our request to forward to us a copy of the ad layouts, so that we could similarly format our People's Option for inclusion in the ads to ensure equal public and local body consideration.

They have no intention of including our fourth option the People's Option for public consideration, giving it equal promotion and equal funding, although we believe that it would best fulfill the ten desired outcomes sought by the Auckland Region Water Review.

The People's Option has been compiled by a coalition of groups including Citizens Against Privatisation (Waitakere City), and Water Pressure Groups from Auckland City and Papakura District.

"There's no way that it's going in", said Mr Taylor. "You can put it forward as a submission"!!

The public have, over the last three years, already put forward TENS OF THOUSANDS of submissions, rejecting Metrowater, the commercialised model for water services and their user charging regime. The recent Avondale/ Mt Roskill by-election result was the latest example which showed significant support for the Water Pressure Group in our fight to get rid of Metrowater.

Similarly, public disenchantment in Papakura and Waitakere has continually shown that the people do not want user charges or privatised franchises.

PUBLIC EXCLUDED FROM THE REVIEW

The public were deliberately excluded from the formulation of the three options which are now to be put before the people of the Auckland region. Spending $250,000 of OUR money, the Auckland Region Water Review are putting forward three commercialised options, that the weight of public opinion has repeatedly rejected.

Essentially, the Auckland Region Water Review want to extend the widely-hated Metrowater LATE model, with user-charges for water and wastewater throughout the Auckland region. In their weasel-worded publication, they try to deny that privatisation is on the agenda, yet state that 'franchising remains an option'. When members of the Auckland Region Water Review Steering Group were asked specifically if they recognised that the franchise agreement between multinational water consortium United Water and the Papakura District Council was privatisation - they failed to reply. ( In fact, not one reply has been received on this same question, which was sent to the Prime Minister, her deputy, and all Labour/Alliance Coalition Government Cabinet Ministers and Auckland MPs - including Judith Tizard.)

This is absolutely unacceptable.

How the hell can we have a say when the option that thousands of us have already shown that we want, is not even on the agenda? How can we trust the Auckland Region Water Review to work in the public interest, when they treat the public with such contempt - as if we are ignorant fools.

It is an utter travesty.

We have had a total gutsful of the public being ignored. We will not tolerate it.

Members of the public who believe in democracy, and the public having their say, will be gathering outside the Auckland City Council, and demanding that the Auckland Region Water Review equally include the Fourth Option the People's Option for inclusion in their advertising and promotional material. WHEN: Monday 19 February TIME: 10.30am WHERE: Auckland City Council Buildings Greys Avenue, City. (Where Grant Taylor us employed as a "public servant").

WE ARE DEMANDING TO SPEAK TO GRANT TAYLOR - THE CHAIRMAN OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE. WE WILL BE MAKING A FUSS!!!

The main demand at this stage is that the People's Option get equal promotion and equal funding for promotion. Judith Tizard, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister with Auckland Issues has publically stated that she wants the public to have their say.

The backup plan if the Auckland Region Water Review refuse to include our option, is to advise the public to boycott their three commercialised options.

POSTCARD PLANNED

We have drafted a postcard with the essential elements of the People's Option on one side, which people can send (free) to Judith Tizard, (address and the following message on the front:)

"Dear Minister,

So that I can have my say, please forward this submission supporting Option 4 the People's Option to the Auckland Region Water Review by 21 March 2001."

SPECIAL CALL TO WATER PRESSURE GROUP MEMBERS

We need thousands of people to circulate and distribute our "People's Option" postcards, and bulge Judith Tizard's mailbags (and eyeballs). The direct action backup to signing postcards in Auckland City, is for thousands more people to boycott their wastewater bill payments. What better way to show your opposition to user charges and commercialised water than by not paying them?

They have $250,000 of public money to push their barrow - we have no funds - only an Option which we believe the people throughout the region will want to adopt WHEN THEY SEE IT!!

We are calling on all Water Pressure Group members to turnout to the Council building on Monday.

If you can't make it, then there will be heaps of other activity you can take part in - starting from distributing postcards for completion, through to more direct forms of ACTION AND CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE.

THIS MESSAGE HAS GONE OUT ONLY TO WPG (Auckland) MEMBERS AND TO THE MEDIA.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR GROUP!!! WE URGENTLY NEED MONEY TO PRINT OUR PEOPLE'S OPTION POSTCARD!! 300 people sending $10.00 each should do it!

Please make your cheque out to The Water Pressure Group and send today to PO Box 19764 Avondale.

Cheers!

Penny Bright Media Spokesperson

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