Doocey MattMATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. I would like to start with a question for the Government members: if this was such a good idea when Christchurch ratepayers organised a public meeting on three waters where my colleague Nicola Grigg attended to debate the issue on behalf of the Opposition why did not one Labour Government MP attend that public meeting? Where was Sarah Pallett? Where was Tracey McLellan? Where was Poto Williams? Where was Megan Woods? Where was Duncan Webb? Why would not one Labour MP turn up to that public meeting if this was such a good idea? Why would not one of them turn up to that public meeting for Christchurch ratepayers? It's because—let's be very clear—New Zealanders do not want this reform.So today I rise not only on behalf of the National Party which opposes this three waters bill but I stand and rise on behalf of the people I represent: the electorate of Waimakariri which actually went to their ratepayers and consulted them because at that time this Government had led them to believe in good faith that they would be able to opt out: 95 percent of Waimakariri ratepayers oppose this and wanted to opt out—95 percent of those who were consulted. Then we found out after that that papers revealed that what was good faith was actually bad faith because this Government had agreed to forcibly seize ratepayers' own water assets to compulsorily centralise well before that consultation period had started. That is the bad blood that this bill comes into the House today on. New Zealanders have been misinformed and look at the advertising campaign: $3.5 million publicly funded by taxpayers. Remember the ads where there was sludge coming out of the taps? One commentator called it propaganda spreading false truths". Another commentator called it "scaremongering" and "full of misinformation". Another commentator said "Irresponsible misleading and inappropriate" and the gall of this Government last year to publicly recruit misinformation analysts. Well they should have got those misinformation analysts to work on the advertising campaign of three waters. This was nothing but misinformation because this Government only has one trick in its playbook: any reform they do is about centralising. It's about taking things away from local people. This bill will pass today because Labour has a majority in this Parliament. I expect the select committee to go around the country and hold select committee hearings in every region of New Zealand to hear from New Zealanders what they think about this bill because let's be very clear: this bill is theft. This bill is about forcibly seizing ratepayer assets in areas that have worked hard over generations to fund their water assets. This Government comes in and is going to seize their assets.Let's be very clear what water assets are about: water assets in regional New Zealand are about a relationship. They're about a relationship with landowners who've given up their land for councils to put in water assets. Let's look at what happened after the Kaikōura earthquakes where water engineers and staff got together with council staff and farmers and concerned members of the community. Within weeks they had those water assets in North Canterbury up and running again. How would a mega-entity the size of the South Island have the institutional knowledge and experience—Maureen Pugh: And relationships. MATT DOOCEY: —and the details—and as Maureen Pugh says because she knows exactly what happens in West Coast - Tasman it's about the relationships. These are positive relationships. They're about goodwill and trust.This Government—this arrogant Labour Government—think they know best. They know best because for them it's about bureaucrats in Wellington. We know the running count under this Labour Government: 14000 extra bureaucrats in Wellington who are now going to tell ratepayers in Selwyn in Waimakariri in West Coast—from the beltway of Wellington they'll be telling you how to run your water assets that you actually owned and now will have no control over. So what we see is a Government that was always going to centralise these assets.We've heard the call from Government members who've said "Well what about alternatives?" Well what about the group of 23 councils that got together—Communities 4 Local Democracy—to put an alternative together? That was dismissed. Their alternative would have given local people control of their water assets. I say in response to our spokesperson Simon Watts and our previous spokesperson Christopher Luxon that they actually have been very clear the whole way through with an alternative.A National Government will repeal this three waters legislation and then we will work in partnership with each council. We will co-invest with each council; not only that we won't ram through amalgamations. We will work with councils that have common goals around collaboration. That's what we will do because Labour will take "local" out of local people's views. But we have been very clear: we will work with councils. We will partner up with councils because councils know their communities. Bureaucrats don't know the communities of the regions of New Zealand but the councils know them.We will have an alternative because we will co-invest and we will collaborate with councils because all this is is a race to the bottom. It actually incentivises councils who have been negligent. What we say to the councils who have worked hard is that all you're going to do for your good work is to have your assets taken away from you.In the time of a cost of living crisis at a time when every family around New Zealand is tightening its budget this Government that's addicted to spending is going to blow billions of dollars into a flawed reform. At a time in regional New Zealand where they've seen no investment into infrastructure such as transport they're going to watch a Government blow billions of dollars into a reform that is flawed.We know it's flawed. That's why it's taken over a year from when it was first suggested to be introduced to the House because it actually is flawed. It's gone to working groups to look at workarounds but nothing will work. Why would a Government not listen to New Zealanders? They know it's unpopular but as my colleague Simon Watts alluded to it will be left until the day after the next election when the Labour MPs who have lost their seats start to think back to where it went wrong. That day will be today when an arrogant out-of-touch Government is ramming through a centralisation agenda a central-planning agenda for any issue that they want to centralise. But the issue here is that this isn't your assets. The Government is actually in court this week because they've been taken to court by councils—that's the level of feeling. This is only the start. It is the first reading. You are going to have to go out and take this bill around the country and then you will hear what New Zealanders think about this three waters bill and why they are opposed to it. I'm proud to stand on the right side that will repeal and replace the three waters legislation in 2023."