Dean Jacqui: Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Dean Jacqui: Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:642;Page:11943] 
JACQUI DEAN (National—Otago) 
: 
 I follow that most excellent speech made by the Opposition spokesperson on health and next health Minister Tony Ryall. He made an interesting point about local communities which I want to pick up as I speak to the title and commencement of the Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Bill. The point I want to pick up which Tony Ryall so eloquently made is the one about local authorities undertaking a cost and benefit analysis for any project that comes their way and as part of that cost and benefit analysis—and I am not talking about grace and favour here; I am talking about cost—[ 
Interruption 
] I do not even know what grace and favour means. 
We are talking about water here. This is a serious issue. [ 
Interruption 
] Ah here we have it—a Minister in a dying Government. We had the D team and we had the backbenchers who were understandably disappointed because their political careers are over before they started just about. But now we have moved forward. We are now on to the C team of Ministers who are about to become disappointed and whose only recourse is to sit on the bleachers and go snap snap snap. I want to thank them again for the attention they are giving me. I love water. The attention I have received over this issue has been most gratifying. In my electorate of Otago which I wrested from David Parker who is now a list MP I have had the most wonderful support and the most wonderful attention so I say thank you to those Ministers who are sitting on the other side of the Chamber. They are very quickly realising that with Labour at 14 percent behind National in the polls and the poll results getting worse every day they have very little left to do but to go snip snip snip and snap snap snap wherever they can. 
But I will return to the bill and to its title and commencement. This bill has caused a lot of worry for local authorities throughout New Zealand. In my last contribution to the debate I noted that metropolitan areas and cities are mainly compliant with the provisions of this bill but that small communities and small local authorities are not. This Government has ceased to listen. It is out of touch with its constituency if it thinks a bill that suits Aucklanders will suit rural and provincial New Zealand. Perhaps that is part of the reason that the Government is 14 points behind National in the polls. Clearly this drinking-water bill is causing an awful lot of anguish for local authorities because of the costs it will impose. 
The Waitaki District Council has spent $12 million on upgrading its water scheme—no thanks to the Government. The council had a fear that if it left that hugely costly project for any longer it would just become more expensive. I wonder how many other local authorities have imposed or are imposing huge costs upon themselves because they are fearful of what will come through in these drinking-water standards. What about the very real fear felt by those in smaller drinking-water schemes about the costs of upgrading their drinking water and how they will pay for that? How will people who live in provincial New Zealand be able to fund their $2500 share of the capital upgrade of a drinking-water scheme? 
This dying Government has stopped listening to people. It is driving this bill through assuming that because Aucklanders and Wellington people whose water supplies are mostly compliant can afford it then the good people in the provinces can also afford it. I tell the Committee from my experience that people in provincial areas in small towns and on fixed incomes cannot afford $2500 as their share of the capital needed for this upgrade.