Mahuta NanaiaWATER SERVICES BILLSecond ReadingHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Local Government): Thank you Mr Speaker. I present a further legislative statement on the Water Services Bill.DEPUTY SPEAKER: That statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website. Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: I move That the Water Services Bill be now read a second time.Everybody should be able to get drinking water from the tap knowing that it is safe no matter where they live in Aotearoa. We should be able to swim or gather kai in our rivers lakes or at the beach without fear that our whānau will become sick. We should be confident that our drinking-water sources are protected and that the environmental impact of waste-water and stormwater systems is acceptable. We should be confident that drinking-water standards which reflect the standards set by the World Health Organization are being met by our drinking-water suppliers particularly those which are publicly owned and operated. In many areas sadly this is not the case.Aotearoa is blessed with an abundance of fresh water. It is our most precious natural resource. This Government wants to ensure this taonga is cared for and protected for generations to come. We want to ensure that services that provide us with water are looking towards that future. This is why the Government is engaged in a comprehensive programme of three waters reform. The Water Services Bill which will provide the new regulatory regime for drinking water along with better oversight of our three waters services is a central part of this reform programme.I'd like to acknowledge the contributions made in both the development of this bill and during the select committee process. Firstly I'd like to acknowledge the constructive collaboration of local government and the wider water sector in developing this bill in the first place. I would also like to acknowledge the work of the Havelock North drinking-water inquiry which recommended significant reform of drinking-water regulation and service delivery reform. I'd like to thank the Health Committee for its work. I understand that the committee worked together in a highly constructive way and the processes resulted in a number of technical changes to the bill that have significantly improved its quality particularly for small rural suppliers. In my opening briefing to the select committee I asked them to consider the workability of the proposals to bring suppliers of drinking water into a regulatory framework and they have done exactly that. I especially want to thank the organisations councils iwi and members of the public who took the time to make written and oral submissions on the bill. The committee received nearly a thousand written submissions; 130 individuals groups and organisations took the time to make an oral submission. It is clear that many submitters particularly those from iwi councils and industry groups fully engaged with the bill. The changes made as a consequence have helped to significantly strengthen the bill. I thank the submitters for their time and effort.I want to highlight what this bill will do. It provides clear leadership for drinking-water regulation through a central regulator Taumata Arowai; it strengthens compliance monitoring and enforcement of drinking-water regulation; and it ensures there is a multi-barrier protection of drinking-water supplies which is an international best practice and is the core of the Havelock North inquiry's recommendations. It requires all drinking-water suppliers other than domestic self-suppliers to be part of the regulatory system and provide safe drinking water on a consistent basis. It ensures source waters are properly protected and monitored. It provides measures that will significantly improve the transparency and public reporting around the environmental impact of waste-water and stormwater systems. It provides mechanisms that enable the regulation of drinking water to be proportionate to the scale complexity and risk profile of each drinking-water supply. Finally it requires all those who have functions duties and powers under the bill to give effect to te mana o te wai in a way that is consistent with the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.As I have said the Health Committee has made a number of technical changes to the bill. One of the significant concerns expressed in a large number of submissions particularly those made by iwi and marae trusts was that the bill contained a power of warrantless entry which extended to marae. The committee recommended changes so that warrantless entry to marae requires consent in the same way as for private homes. This will be welcomed by many submitters. The bill requires chlorination for all reticulated supplies unless an exemption is obtained from the chief executive of Taumata Arowai. This reflects recommendations made by the inquiry into Havelock North's drinking water. Some submissions raised safety concerns about small suppliers handling chlorine. The committee responded to these submissions by allowing Taumata Arowai to exempt classes of suppliers from residual disinfection such as very small suppliers. This is again another welcome addition to the bill.Some submitters were concerned that the bill would duplicate regulatory requirements for food businesses that use water for manufacturing purposes. The committee has amended the bill to exclude water if its use is regulated under food safety legislation. This will be welcomed by submitters.The committee also made a range of amendments to better tailor the bill to small suppliers such as rural and marae suppliers. I welcome and support these changes.While there was consensus in the committee on most items differing views were expressed in two areas. Firstly a minority of the committee members expressed a view that small suppliers serving less than 30 consumers should be carved out from regulation. Mr Luxon MP has tabled a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) to give effect to this. This view however was not supported by the majority of the committee who recognised that there must be a way forward for all our communities to have safe drinking water. The bill provides that regulation of drinking water must be proportionate to the scale complexity and risk profile of the supply. This is quite a different approach to the existing regime under the Health Act which is a one-size-fits-all approach. Taumata Arowai has been working directly with rural suppliers on simple cost-effective acceptable solutions for small suppliers such as end-point treatment devices like UV filters. Devices like this are not recognised under the Health Act so this represents a major step forward for rural supplies where most of the water goes to stock or horticulture. I understand that both Federated Farmers and Irrigation New Zealand are part of a technical group on this approach and the work has been positive and constructive. Taumata Arowai provided advice in this area directly to the committee and I understand that this gave many members on the committee confidence about the direction they are taking. I thank those parties for their participation in this process. Secondly some committee members expressed the view that chlorination of reticulated supplies should not be mandatory. The majority of the committee however recognised that chlorination is an essential public health measure. The bill contains a number of ways for suppliers to provide chlorine-free water to consumers as long as it is safe and meets drinking-water standards.In addition to changes made by the Health Committee I propose to make additional changes by a Supplementary Order Paper which I've already tabled so members can consider it in advance of the committee of the whole House stage. My Supplementary Order Paper will extend the transition window for water suppliers that are not registered under the Health Act so they have to register with Taumata Arowai by the end of the fourth year and have seven years to comply. This extension will give the system time to mature and for Taumata Arowai to work with suppliers to ensure the regime is fit for purpose. This also aligns with the Government's reform of water service delivery arrangements which proposes to establish a small number of national water service entities by 2024.The Supplementary Order Paper also proposes some new powers and functions for Taumata Arowai particularly in the area of waste water. These powers will provide much-needed national-level oversight and consistency around publicly owned waste-water networks. Amongst other things Taumata Arowai will be able to set minimum environmental performance standards for waste-water networks bringing Aotearoa in line with many other countries. The SOP also clarifies that Taumata Arowai's oversight powers extend to trade waste.The Government is committed to reforming the way three waters is regulated and delivered in this country. The bill is a significant milestone in achieving this. I thank the select committee Department of Internal Affairs officials and Taumata Arowai for supporting the workability of this bill and I thank the committee for their amendments. I commend the bill to this House.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to.