O'Connor GregGREG O'CONNOR (Labour—Ōhāriu): I've got three words for those eloquent passionate speakers from across the floor: gone by lunchtime. Because if one cares to go through the record of debate here you will see that equally passionate long speeches were made against so many of the things that Labour have done when in Government. I think even the leader of the ACT Party pointed out here early in the week that not one of the things that the Labour Government has introduced has ever been reversed when a National Government has come back in. And actually this will be true this time. I see Maureen Pugh over there ready to pounce ready to stand. She knows full well from being a Westland councillor and I think Westland mayor just how bad things are water-wise there as they are in most other places around New Zealand.I want to remind that last speaker Matt Doocey of one thing: he's making a big mistake because what he's talking about is this piece of legislation taking the assets of those councils he mentioned. Oh no—they are taking the liabilities and if the situation should arise and God forbid it does that there was a centre-right Government at the end of the next electoral cycle then what they will be standing and doing on this mythical first day after the election is returning those liabilities to those local bodies because that is what this is about.Now the previous speaker Barbara Edmonds went through a list and I won't repeat that of the various councils whether it be Wellington Harbour here. Every one of you electorate MPs over there will know that you have major issues around water around sewerage and around all other aspects of water in your electorates. Now you know that your councils can't do anything about it. You know that each of those facilities is only going to deteriorate over time because quite frankly no one can do anything about it. Oh and of course you could ask your local ratepayers to pay for it. And the costs add up to about $1900 to $19000 over the next 30 years depending on the location. Under three waters yes there will still need to be a contribution but it will be between $800 and $1600. So go back and tell honestly those ratepayers of yours that what you are opposing here is something that is going to reduce their rates bill considerably because what it is going to do is ensure that those small councils that you have who have got an inability to invest what needs investing will now be able to be centralised to a body that will have the borrowing power that will have the sheer grunt to be able to deal with these issues. One doesn't have to look very far from this House to see what happens if you don't have good infrastructure. In fact you know I'm somewhat of a student of history and recently I read about the Thorndon area here in the late 1800s in the area of Katherine Mansfield. It was rife with typhoid and cholera because there weren't any sewerage systems. It was all going into the streams which people were forced to drink out of. In fact I saw a statistic that said that 550 people were killed by typhoid at a time when there was only a population of 30000 here. Now we learnt and that was fixed and each of the metropolitan areas or even rural areas we live in have learnt over the years that you simply must invest in your infrastructure. The genesis of this piece of legislation was I think we all agree what happened in Havelock North. That was a time when we were reminded that if you don't get it right people do die. Now go through again a list of the places in New Zealand that currently have boiled water notices. I know my own family in Westport have been under a boiled water notice for a number of years. The Buller District Council is no way in a position to invest the necessary resources to ensure that they are able to ensure that they can turn on the taps and drink out of the tap. Now I look around the House. I guess most of us here have travelled; probably many have travelled to Third World or even Second World countries. And what's one of the first questions we often ask when we get there? Can you drink the water?" It's often a sign of the country of how well the infrastructure works as to whether or not you can drink the water out of the tap. In New Zealand we've always prided ourselves that we can drink the water out of the tap that when we flush the toilet it will go into a place that is not going to add or cause diseases locally. And again these are the types of diseases these are the types of results of not getting it right with our infrastructure. So again I'll go back to what the previous speaker talked about. Why would we do this? It would be so much easier for a Government to do essentially what the previous Government did and do nothing to sit on the status quo and just wander through don't get upset make sure that people don't go to public meetings because nothing is happening. Well I'm proud to be part of a Government. I mean I've come to politics late and I probably won't be here for that long but I'm certainly not interested in spending the time I'm here in politics on just sitting and watching the status quo protecting the status quo. We have an absolute obligation while we're in this House to be courageous. How many times do you hear commentators saying "If only we had some courageous politicians."? Well what you're seeing across the House—and I see all the heads are down. You may well keep your heads down because what you are seeing on this side of the House and what you are seeing from the Hon Nanaia Mahuta is courage. What you are seeing from the Cabinet here who've endorsed that what you've seen from the caucus here that have endorsed it is courage. Yes Mr Doocey it may well be that there is some nervousness because around these decisions there should always be nervousness. If you come to this House as a backbencher or in fact at any level and are only governed by your fear of not being re-elected then you shouldn't be here. So for you Mr Doocey to sit here and say "You should be sitting over there doing nothing so you won't be worried about being thrown out in the next election."—well shame on you Mr Doocey because I didn't come here to do that and I hope you didn't come here to do that either. I'm very proud and I'm very pleased also to be on the select committee that is going to be able to consider this bill. Like many when this came in one of the first things you always ask is where is the case for change? Well the case for change is there. There'll be speakers and I'm sure there are probably speakers on the other side of the House. Mr Watts dared to actually stand up here and say that there's nothing wrong essentially; that everything's right. Everything is fine in the State of Denmark. Well Mr Watts it is not and I'm sure that even in your own electorate it is not either. So I'm very much looking forward to being part of the select committee that is going to be considering this bill. Yes there are issues and I'm certainly very keen as challenged by Mr Doocey to go to every corner of New Zealand to hear from these people because I know that I will learn. But I just hope that those people that do turn up at these meetings—and I'll challenge anyone who's listening now that's going to be coming to a meeting to also bring your ears with you and prepare to learn that there may actually be a bigger world and bigger issues than that which you are being leveraged by the Opposition at the moment. Because if we don't do this someone else will have to do it. And I'll tell you what that someone else will be charging a lot more and ultimately the ones that will pay will be the very ratepayers that those opposite pretend to be representing here today. So I have no hesitation in commending this bill. I'm looking forward to working on it and I again challenge those who are coming to come with your ears open and your eyes open and we will all learn something from this bill."