Clark DavidHon Dr DAVID CLARK (Minister of Health): Madam Chair Dyson can I firstly welcome you to what I believe is probably your first official duty as Assistant Speaker in this House. We are thrilled with your appointment. As members—if I can briefly say—we know you to be plain-speaking clear and effective in understanding the rules of this House and we think that this is an absolutely superb appointment. I won't dwell further. I'm sure you will be plain and tell me where I go wrong over a long period of time that will bear this truth out that I have just spoken. But I do want to thank you for the service that you are going to provide to this House as a respected member for the House.Hon Michael Woodhouse: She's not doing leave any more David. You don't have to grease!Hon Dr DAVID CLARK: She's no longer doing leave as the former chief whip for the National Party says—we don't need to curry any favour! I should stop there.I do want to address some of the points raised by the member Aupito William Sio the honourable Minister. The report of course which led to these process changes made 51 recommendations. It was the stage two report and it made 51 detailed recommendations to reduce the likelihood of a similar event. That report itself did not focus so much on the events of Havelock North—that was focused on in the first the stage one report which found that sheep faeces had made their way into groundwater that was used untreated to supply drinking water to the people of Havelock North. Despite meeting the tests that were laid down in law that water was still supplied to citizens with tragic consequences.The stage two report looks at the broader system and the changes that need to happen and this bill arises out of that report. It is a consequence of the realisation that by the time of the report's release more than 600000 New Zealanders had received non-disinfected water. By June 2018 that figure had been reduced to 90000 so the system as a whole has started to make the changes itself. Mosgiel has changed its water supply. I'm aware that Lower Hutt has made changes. Christchurch has temporarily chlorinated water while they're waiting to put safety plans in place. Around the country councils have taken responsibility and stepped up. Auckland and Wellington already of course have disinfected water supplies and are not perhaps at risk in the same way that other parts of the country may be.The changes proposed in this bill get to how we make sure the process is right for setting the standards. I have previously addressed questions around the balance between affordability availability and making sure that serious harm is not caused. Those are the kinds of things that we want to lay out in the bill effectively so that at law they can be debated in a way that's transparent and clear and we get a result that ensures that water continues to be supplied and so that it's not punitively applied but that we get safe drinking-water and that the consultation periods in play are reasonable rather than the three-year periods as the member Angie Warren-Clark pointed out that have been changed in the bill down now to 28 days for the gazetting. So that's another part that's being changed.Now these things are being done to make sure that we as parliamentarians are taking seriously our responsibility in responding to the Havelock North findings recognising that since the events and before the report was released there are 50—and they're recorded independent; I just looked it up—public reported events of water contamination all over New Zealand—all over New Zealand—that occurred even in that time between Havelock North and the report being published.We need to act. We need to make sure that we are doing what needs to be done to make sure that our drinking water is safe and these changes in the law will facilitate that. Again I thank the members in the select committee who have made this possible. Thank you.Part 1 agreed to.