McAnulty KieranHon KIERAN McANULTY (Labour): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. It is quite interesting sitting here listening to the contributions of the Government members hearing what it is they want to talk about and noting what they don't. Never before under MMP has a newly elected Government gone backwards in the polls within a matter of months but this Government has. Never before has a Prime Minister dropped so drastically so quickly after a general election but this Prime Minister has. If you listen to the Government members you would think that they are the saviour of this country.Sam Uffindell: We are—we are.Hon KIERAN McANULTY: New Zealanders don't agree. We are." is the cry in response. New Zealanders don't agree and it is reflected in the polls because New Zealanders didn't vote for the reversal of world-leading smoke-free legislation. New Zealanders didn't vote for police officers screaming out to their Minister "You promised that you would support us." only to have the Minister run away and hide and refuse to answer simple questions while police officers sat in the gallery during question time today. New Zealanders didn't vote for higher rates but that is exactly what they are going to get and exactly what they are getting under this Government.The National Party went around the country and promised councils that they would help them pay for water infrastructure. They reneged on that promise. There are councils around this country that said "We support a change in Government because the National Party will help us pay for our pipes." and what did they do? They said "You're on your own."—you are on your own. To regular and repeated and often questions to the Minister of Local Government asking what he is going to do to help councils his response has been the same: that is a matter for councils—a broken promise that will leave councils high and dry because the fact of the matter is there is $185 billion that needs to be spent on water infrastructure over the next 30 years. This Government reversed a reform that would have saved ratepayers money and they haven't replaced it with anything. Their own governmental and departmental advice says so—they've ignored it and now there's nothing in place in its stead. Councils are by themselves. They have this vague promise of a voluntary system that might help without any guarantees that it's going to save ratepayers money without any guarantees that it will contain balance sheet separation—a crucial factor that the Department of Internal Affairs says has to be included but can't be included under the Government's plan.Ratepayers around the country are facing massive hikes—double-digit hikes. In some places it is over 20 percent and it is all the Government's fault. The Government says it's the councils' fault but it's not the councils that reversed water reform. It's not the councils that went around the country promising ratepayers that they would help fund it; it is the National Party and it is the National Party that broke that promise. Now ratepayers are getting hit in the pocket and it's not going to end this year. The proposed rate increases around the country roughly 50 percent of those increases are for water infrastructure and for servicing the debt attached to water infrastructure. The water reforms would've removed that debt from the council's books. Now they can't and many councils are stuck at the debt cap.So how on earth are they going to build the infrastructure to meet the plan for 30 years' housing growth if they've got no money? There are councils in this country who have paused developments and paused consents for two years because they don't have the money to pay for the pipes to develop the land. That is down to this Government. When ratepayers get a bill in the mail that they can't afford don't go to the councillors don't go to the mayors. Write to your local National MP. Write to the Minister of Local Government and write to the Prime Minister and ask them to justify themselves because it's not the councils' fault—their hands are tied behind their backs. It's the Hon Simeon Brown the Rt Hon Christopher Luxon New Zealand First ACT and the National Party who are to blame."