Labour is planning to rush their backdown bill into Parliament with as little scrutiny as possible, in yet another undemocratic Three Waters play, National’s Local Government spokesperson Simon Watts says.

“Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty already announced he intends to pass the deeply unpopular Water Services Entities Bill before Parliament rises for the election and to have it back from select committee by the end of July, giving barely a month for it to be considered.

“A shortened process will rob Kiwis of the chance have their say on Three Waters, which is just what Labour wants.

“Over 80,000 Kiwis submitted on the bill, and they should have the chance to have their voices heard on this too. That can’t happen with the shortened process required to ram this through Parliament.

“Mr McAnulty is simultaneously saying he has made significant changes to the reforms as a result of feedback, and also that the changes are so minor they don’t warrant the scrutiny usually afforded to bills. Which is it, Minister?

“Questions are still outstanding about the conduct of DIA officials who made unauthorised edits to the last Three Waters bill without select committee approval. Mr McAnulty needs to explain why his officials are tampering with bills before he tries to push another one through.

“Apart from being undemocratic, Labour has already shown how shambolic it gets when it tries to push through bills quickly. Last time they caused a constitutional crisis when they entrenched part of Three Waters, only to be forced by National and the public into an embarrassing backtrack a week later.

“Unlike Labour’s broken reforms, National has a plan so Kiwis don’t have to worry about sewage on their streets, un-swimmable beaches, or having to boil their drinking water.

“National’s Local Water Done Well will return assets to councils, and set up strict rules for water quality and financial stability so Kiwis can be confident in their water services while keeping it in local hands where it belongs.”

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