Dean JacquiHon JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. Congratulations to Mark Patterson for bringing this bill before us as the local list MP and it's a good thing for a relatively new member to be able to advocate for the community in which he lives. I also want to congratulate Tom Affleck and his committee of the Otama Rural Water Supply scheme for their hard work in bringing this bill to the House and hosting the Governance and Administration Committee so very well down in Gore as the committee had a look into the issues. Credit is due to the committee for taking the interest to travel down to the lower South and just see what a rural water scheme looks like on the ground because it is quite different from say for example Wellington Water or even a water scheme in a relatively small town. In Masterton it's quite different. In Levin it's quite different. In Shannon it's quite different.A rural water scheme is literally a water scheme as in the Otama Rural Water Supply scheme case which was built by a farmer group who had got together and who get together in groups all around New Zealand historically. In fact there's quite a strong tradition of groups of farmers getting together and when I lived in rural North Otago we lived at the top of a hill at the end of a rural water scheme. So those of you who do live rurally will understand that living at the top of a hill at the end of a rural water scheme is not a great thing when you have young babies and all you get out of the taps is slaters because that's what can come along if you haven't got your allocation of water and your tank isn't quite big enough for the task. It is different. So you've got to take your hat off to any group of farmers who have those meetings. They might go down to the local hall they might go down to the pub they might go into different people's homes and they get together to put that essential infrastructure in.That infrastructure goes in for stock water—very important in drought-prone areas of New Zealand as North Otago is and will continue to be; and of course not so much in Gore but certainly stock water is important to all animal life—and then of course water for the homestead—potable water for the homestead. So the group of farmers will have sat around the table and they'd have done the costings and they would have got the local town lawyer in and had a look at what needed to be done in terms of easements and talking to the council and ownership and then there will have been working fees. I know this certainly with in my area the western rural water scheme. That scheme was quite old but I tell you what the pipes would burst seemingly just about every week and you'd find that the flag on your water tank would go down down down and you go OK. Look it's going down". It will keep going down over a few days and then go "clunk" against the top of the tank and then you'd know you're in trouble and it was either because the water scheme had been turned off or there was a leak so you'd go out and have a look for the leak.That is life on a rural water scheme—or was life because these days and I'm going back 30 years here most water schemes now have evolved into a much tidier more efficient sort of operation. So it is with the Otama Rural Water Supply scheme. Mark Patterson has given a bit of the history of the Otama Rural Water Supply scheme and the process that the farm group needed to go to in order to transfer membership to the farmer group. So I don't think it would be useful for me to go over those things. The one thing I would say about any process like that is that one needs to have not only agreement of the members of the order group but the general agreement and support of the community and without that it makes it very difficult. But that was achieved by the Otama Rural Water Supply Committee and now here we are in the Parliament taking the last steps.I know others will mention the Havelock North campylobacter incident which was devastating for that community and when we were in Government we initiated a report into that and there were two reports. The second one came to Government and into the hands of the Minister of Local Government the Hon Nanaia Mahuta who then has embarked on a three waters programme of reform. I mention that because rural water schemes have that quirky "slater in the water" rich history but there is a risk to human health with water schemes. It is well-known that water schemes rural and larger as we now know from Havelock North can fail. So National does support broadly the programme of reform which has been proposed by the Hon Nanaia Mahuta; although we haven't seen very much of it so it is a little concerning that progress seems to be glacial.I turn now to the New Zealand Labour Party view. We did report back to the House with a select committee report which contained parties' views. There was support for the bill—of course there was because it's a local bill. It had done everything right it's aims were quite proper and it will have an outcome that benefits not only the local community that it serves but also water quality. But the Labour Party did take the view that this bill should be set aside or deferred until after Cabinet announces its decisions regarding the drinking-water reforms. It says that these policy announcements are expected in June 2019; don't bet on it—don't bet on it. There's no sign at all that the House or we or anyone is going to see any clear direction around the three waters reform and that is a concern because the three waters work was announced with great pomp and circumstance and trips overseas and over to Australia and great lofty plans about what was going to happen with aggregated compulsory water schemes and raising drinking-water standards. What have we seen so far? Very little—very little.In the year of delivery the Minister of Local Government Nanaia Mahuta has delivered very very little. In fact the only deliverable if you like has been a bill which sits on the Order Paper in the name of the Hon David Clark which is the drinking-water standards bill and it's sitting somewhere—here we go—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! Order!Hon JACQUI DEAN: But I am returning to the Otama—thank you—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! Members shouldn't be anticipating what's coming up on the Order Paper. The member should return to her speech.Hon JACQUI DEAN: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. So the drinking water: there is lodged and it is known—and forgive me if I transgress although I don't think I am—there is a drinking-water standards bill which is part of the three waters work. Well you know let's do the math. There's only about 14 months until this current Government rises to contest the next election and we're not seeing a lot of progress. So that is why for the National Party while we cannot stop the Labour delaying tactic in this bill; we weren't in a position to stop them having the view that this Gore District Council (Otama Rural Water Supply) Bill shouldn't go ahead.But I just feel that it was not taking the interests of the Ōtama water scheme community first and foremost. What it was doing I think is—I don't know—just being a little too cautious perhaps because the water scheme upon being transferred into the ownership of the water scheme owners is still required to comply with drinking-water regulations as they stand now. So there was no benefit in delaying consideration of this bill in putting it aside and deferring it—for what; how many years? Nobody knows but how many years leaving all those farmers waiting? We couldn't support that and so we didn't.Neither could we support the Supplementary Order Paper 206 of Marama Davidson: "In clause 8(1)(d) after '[transferred] the Company' … insert ' including its ability to meet any relevant regulatory requirements'." No point. It has to anyway. So again here was a bit if meddling by the Green Party and trying to put more regulation in which they always seem to be very in favour of—not needed. Perhaps it would have been more useful if the Green Party had actually understood regulations around drinking water but that is as may be. I commend the bill to the House."