SpeechANNA LORCK (Labour—Tukituki): I will never forget the day during the Havelock North water crisis where I met a family in Camberley where a young boy was suffering from severe eczema completely covering his body simply from having a shower in his home where unaware he hadn't been told nor his family been told that the Hastings District Council was having to pump and pump and pump chlorine into the water to try and protect our community from a campylobacter outbreak so severe that between 6000 and 8000 people across the community got sick nearly a thousand people went to the doctor about the suffering that they were having 58 people were hospitalised and it caused four deaths. Nor will I forget the hours that my young daughter screamed in agony from vomiting so severely that I rang for urgent medical treatment only to be told that they thought it was a tummy bug—little did I know that she was one of the first of as I said thousands to get sick.As the MP for Tukituki I know that the ratepayers and residents of Hastings have paid severely from a lack of investment in our water infrastructure where the council ignored warnings after warnings to invest in the infrastructure but instead chose to keep rates low. The economic cost to the community was $21 million from that Havelock North water crisis and all they got from the National Government was $100000 to help Havelock North re-market itself.Hon Member: That's their funding model is it?ANNA LORCK: That was their funding model. No local in National; no care for the local community.Hastings and Havelock North have been the catalyst for this bill but we are also an example of the future because next year we will finally turn the tap on our new drinking-water system that will supply over 65000 people with a world-class drinking-water infrastructure. Now I want to make clear to the ratepayers of Hastings that you have not already paid for fixing this but borrowed $82 million and now another $8.7 million on top of the $15 million this Government gave towards fixing that water infrastructure. Under this bill that loan will be transferred to the water entity and the debt wiped off the Hastings District Council balance sheet. The Government will also give Hastings another $35 million to spend as it pleases under the no worse off" funding.Under the entity model the cost of no reform to Hawke's Bay would be an average of $2870 compared to the collective Entity C which is projected to be $1260. Now that shows how much this is about keeping the lid on rates. Only this week the Central Hawke's Bay District Council announced a 20 percent increase ahead of them on rates.It is appropriate for me to again acknowledge the work and experience of what has been learnt through the Havelock North water crisis. Hastings has also led the councils working together to put forward a regional solution and I do want to say publicly that I commend Hawke's Bay for doing so but as the local MP who also went out and heard submissions other councils couldn't agree on what was the right number how many entities. We just couldn't get the response from them. It showed there was such a mixed reaction to what councils wanted across the country. But one thing was for sure: reform was necessary and we cannot wait. We cannot wait a day longer to get this work under way. Yes Hawke's Bay is regionally parochial but I also know that as a region we look outward and have significant leadership to contribute to how the entities move forward.I think it's important to make really clear today that this is about the entities being doers doing the work. This is about delivering for provincial and rural areas. And again this is where a region like mine can show and bring their experience forward like no other place in the country can. Water entities are plan takers; they are not plan makers. What we will see happen across this country is regional water operations employing staff to deliver the work to get the pipes in the ground to get the water infrastructure delivered that we need because I don't want to see another region another community have to go through ever again what Havelock North went through. We cannot afford to stop doing what needs to be done.I don't believe at all that the National Government would have any intention on repealing three waters. They have only been making it about politics. They have no local in them. They have never focused on regional New Zealand—$100000 is all they gave Havelock North. This Government has committed millions to Hastings to fix up the water—millions of dollars to invest.I want to say again: we cannot have anyone go through what that young boy in Camberley did. We need to have assurances that when people turn their tap on the drinking water is safe to drink. We need to know when people shower that they will not have their skin being burnt with chlorine simply because the councils ignored investment in infrastructure despite warnings. Despite the warnings that were given to councils they did not invest because there has been so much focus on not investing. We have to invest we have to get on with this we need to make sure that the drinking water in this country is safe. We should be able to swim in the waterways and be safe for ever.I know beyond doubt that this bill is the start and I want to see us get on with the business of delivering the water infrastructure across this country. It will grow jobs it will see investment there'll be work on the ground it will keep us moving forward knowing that every time we turn on that tap the water will be safe to drink. I commend it very proudly with the work that everybody has done on this bill and I acknowledge the incredible work of the Minister Nanaia Mahuta. She has done us proud and I am so proud to be able to stand here with the fellow colleagues of mine and actually say we're getting on we're going to do it—let's get it done. Thank you Mr Speaker."