Ryall Tony: Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Ryall Tony: Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:642;Page:11932] 
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
: 
 In this debate on the Health (Drinking Water) Amendment Bill members of National have been outlining our concerns. We have been asking a number of questions about the cost. The Minister did not take a call— 
Hon Member 
: He did. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: He did take a call but did not provide a suitable answer to the question about the cost. 
One of the issues it would be most interesting for members to hear about concerns the fact that we were told by members opposite about these various Ministry of Health numbers and how reliable they were. I asked my colleague Dr Jackie Blue to bring us a copy of the submission that was given to the Health Committee by Bob Buchanan Mayor of Rangitikei District. 
Darren Hughes 
: Oh yeah mad old Bob. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Mr Darren Hughes called him “mad old Bob”. That is not a very nice way for Mr Hughes to describe a mayor in his community. It would be quite unparliamentary for me to use the description that Mr Buchanan probably uses to describe that young outgoing member from the Horowhenua. 
Mr Buchanan said he was reading an article in August 2004 that showed a map of New Zealand with an effect indicator of water-borne diseases with the Institute of Environmental Science and Research as the supplier of the information. The information showed that Rangitikei was amongst the places in New Zealand with the highest figures for water-borne and drinking-water diseases. Mr Buchanan phoned the New Zealand Water and Wastes Association to get information from the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health got this information he said from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research. He then told the select committee about this story. 
He received from the Whanganui District Health Board an assessment of health needs for the area that showed that the Rangatikei District water-borne disease rate was five times higher than the national average in 2003. That really worried him as he was the mayor when that epidemic broke out in his area of 15000 people and no one had ever told him about it. Upon inquiring with the district health board it appeared that this incident had happened at a Marton kindergarten and that 12 children were involved. The mayor said that he thought this was odd because at least five kindergartens in Marton are all connected to the very same water supply as that kindergarten where apparently an epidemic happened. The mayor says in his submission: “I smelt a rat and started investigating.” Mr Bob Buchanan standing for mayor again— 
Darren Hughes 
: No. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: No he is not. Well that is a great loss. Anyway Mr Buchanan approached all the kindergartens and he says: “No kindergarten could ‘remember’ this outbreak but several were happy to tell me about the poor conditions that opposition ‘kindys’ have surprise surprise??? A visit to the local and only Medical Centre in Marton could not recall this. Whanganui DHB on interview by myself admitted that the ESR ‘gathered’ info on notifiable disease outbreak. ESR with some reluctance admitted”—and this is important—“that the system for investigating such reports was such that any information forwarded to MOH had a caveat that only 50% of cases reported were covered by some form of investigation that possibly confirmed that this outbreak was due to intake of water.” 
That letter shows that the information the Government uses to justify this legislation is not reliable. 
 One of the questions we kept asking the officials and Government members was whether we could prove that this was a problem that required this sort of sledgehammer approach and that would put huge cost burdens and compliance on local government. We really did not get a satisfactory answer to that question. 
The National Party view is that communities should have a greater say about the risks and the level of risk they want to carry—because of the cost—in these sorts of areas. We want a local solution to those local problems. We are also concerned that the Government could not put a finger on how much this is going to cost local governments and consumers. 
Nathan Guy 
: How much? 
Mark Blumsky 
: Lots. 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: The former Mayor of Wellington tells me that it would cost a lot. That was pretty much the message we got from the local governments that came before the select committee and certainly from Local Government New Zealand. The submission from the Mayor of Rangitikei District Mr Bob Buchanan was a most useful submission. He actually said further that Clutha District Council had similar information to his as did the chief executive of Waimate District Council.