Luxton CameronCAMERON LUXTON (ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. It was rather interesting sitting here and listening to Kieran McAnulty the former Minister of Local Government make claims about rates going up. I think we know where they would have got the money from. It would have been from borrowing or it would have been another tax and really it's the same people paying at the end of the day. You know when you're borrowing too much you get inflation and when you're taxing too much you scare people away and out of work. It leads to unproductivity and it means less is getting done with more. Today I'm proud to speak in this final reading of the Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. We listened to Kiwis. We did the hard work of restoring local ownership and control of water services as part of the Government's 100-day plan and I congratulate the current Government on having the courage to tackle this water infrastructure crisis head on. For too long this country has faced infrastructure crises and we have dealt with that on a short term Band-aid solution basis. This has been overwhelmingly rejected by New Zealand communities across the nation. The previous Government tried to address infrastructure issues in water services with misguided mega-entities and less local control all while failing to deliver the solutions voters wanted. The ACT Party is not here to impose top-down models on councils who know their community their waterways and their waste-water systems better than a far-off bureaucrat perhaps in Wellington or somewhere else does. We are listening to voters and empowering them to find creative and innovative ways to meet local needs. I praise the mayors of New Zealand who saw through the affordable water reforms of the last Government. This bill lays out the foundation for a much more financially viable and locally led future for water services in New Zealand. Councils will have the ability to choose their own financially sustainable delivery model that allows them to continue to support communities and improve their water delivery services. We want councils to be able to collaborate to address the different affordability issues across different regions while maintaining their autonomy. Ultimately we believe that councils who wish to move fast and adopt new delivery models should have a streamlined process to do so. We are removing unwanted barriers from councils which have got in the way and we are allowing them to establish and amend new water services organisations. Councils will be required to submit their water services delivery plans within 12 months of the bill becoming law. These plans will need to include a council's approach to delivering drinking water waste water stormwater and other water services. The plans need to show that the approach the council is taking will be financially sustainable and meets regulatory standards for quality. Now while Auckland is a key focus of this bill I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the small rural areas who have been anxious about the three waters changes taking power away from them. You and your local government understand what is needed and we understand that councils need to retain their roles as strategic democratically elected community leaders. Rural people have the right to be included in the reforms that would have pushed small councils to financial and resourcing limits. We've seen communities around the country concerned about how their small town would be impacted by the centralisation of these services. These communities are the backbone of New Zealand and I'm proud to be able to reassure them that we will continue to fight for you. The previous Government took away local control and wrapped it in bureaucracy and promises of co-governance. They hoped New Zealanders would look past this debacle. This is a critical piece of legislation. It establishes the Local Water Done Well framework and the preliminary arrangements for the new water services system. We trust local councils to be able to make decisions based on the needs of their community and to provide unique infrastructure solutions according to their needs and their concerns. I come from a part of the country—Tauranga—which has been paying for its water for a long time. We have some high-class water infrastructure and I hope to see the rest of the country follow suit on the path that Tauranga has done. ACT and I commend this bill to the House.