Dean Jacqui: Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Dean Jacqui: Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
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JACQUI DEAN (National—Otago) 
: 
 Thank you Madam Chairperson— 
Darren Hughes 
: Oh you must be kidding! 
JACQUI DEAN 
: You know it must be awful being a backbencher in a dying Government. All that those members have left is to go “Snap snap snap” like unhappy little dogs knowing they are heading for oblivion. 
I have had a fascinating week. I have never had so much media attention in my life. It has been fantastic in my electorate—you know the electorate of Otago the one I took off David Parker—with the attention I have been having in the last week from the media. People have been ringing me up and saying: “Good on you Jacqui. Keep going; you’re doing a fantastic job.” So I say to you backbenchers in a dying Government to keep on with your snap snap snapping and by the way just keep looking for another job— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: I ask the member to speak to the bill. Also she should not bring the Chairperson into the debate. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: There is no problem here that requires a multimillion-dollar fix. I know that because I live in a rural community. I live in the rural community of North Otago and I can tell members something. The North Otago local authority has been in the business of providing water for over 100 years. For 100 years the people of North Otago whether they have lived in the township or out in the country as I do have been drinking the water. And guess what? We are all just fine and dandy. 
I stand before the Committee today as an expert on all issues to do with water. There is no problem that requires the multimillion-dollar impost on local authorities—and by the way on ratepayers—that this bill seems to want to put on to people. I have here a press release from the Hon Pete Hodgson put out in January 2007. In it he crows about one National member saying one thing and another National member saying something else and that is absolutely fine. Then at the bottom of the press release—I am not sounding as hysterical as the Minister of Health normally does when he is wound up but I will do my best—he says with a sort of a cringing feeling in his bones because he knows that Labour is now 14 percent behind in this polls—“This Labour-led Government will be contributing $154 million over the next ten years to small communities to help them get their drinking water supplies up to standard.” Really fantastic! I can tell members that the citizens of small communities from throughout my electorate of Otago which I took off the now-list MP David Parker— 
Darren Hughes 
: You’re kidding yourself. 
JACQUI DEAN 
: So says the junior whip in a dying Government that is 14 percent behind in the polls. All that those members can do is snap snap snap. But never mind we will get back to the bill. 
The Minister of Health said that $154 million would be available. The only problem is that nobody can get their hands on it. It is all very well announcing a fund and getting people’s hopes up but what happens if nobody can get hold of it? What happens if one is a farmer in Oturehua in the South Island who knows that his water scheme is being infiltrated by chloro—what are they called? Chloroforms? You see I do not drink chemicals clearly—from the local sewerage system because of the Otago Central Rail Trail. He knows he is going to have to do something about the water scheme and seeing this announcement from the hysterical Minister of Health about $145 million he thinks that will be the saviour. The only trouble is that the money is not available. 
How do I know this? I know because this poor farmer came to me and said: “Hang on the hysterical Minister of Health has said there’s going to be $154 million available. I’ve been to see him. I can’t get any of it. We have a water supply that we know we need to upgrade.” The Minister speaks with a forked tongue as usual. He puts the money up but there is absolutely no follow-through. Here we are in September 2007 about 2 years later and has this farmer got the money to upgrade his water supply? No he has not. So this is the Labour-led Government that is famous for talking the talk but not walking the walk. Is there a problem? No there is not a problem.