SpeechWATER SERVICES LEGISLATION BILLFirst ReadingHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Local Government): I present a legislative statement on the Water Services Legislation Bill.TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Barbara Kuriger): That legislative 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 Legislation Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Finance and Expenditure Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 25 May 2023. I'm pleased to read this bill for the first time. It's the next step to ensure that New Zealanders and our communities are better prepared to sustainably finance our water network for better health and environmental outcomes.I want to start by recognising that there have been years of research and comparative analysis using local and international expertise and extensive consultation with communities local government mana whenua iwi and industry. Decades of under-investment in our water network have increased its fragility. The tragic Havelock North drinking-water contamination event in 2016 changed the way that we view water infrastructure. It resulted in an inquiry which highlighted systemic failings in our water system. That was not isolated to the Havelock North area and was evidenced by boiled water and no-swim notices that we continue to see to this very day. Water services are an essential building block for communities. It's time to stop kicking the can down the road. This bill enables us to take action and establish the roles and functions of our new water services system. When we passed the Water Services Entities Bill this month we progressed the publicly owned four-entity solution to deal with the significant infrastructure challenges facing drinking water waste water and stormwater.This is a cost of living issue. The investment needed over the next 30 to 40 years to maintain and upgrade New Zealand's water infrastructure to the standard required is unaffordable for most communities under current arrangements. Detailed analysis indicates that $120 billion to $185 billion is required to fund our water network over the next 30 years. We are now at the next milestone with this second bill. It sets out detailed functions and powers of the new water services entities what they are required to do the tools they need for their work and arrangements for the transition to the new system. As a Government we want to ensure that come 1 July 2024 the entities will be able to deliver improved water services for communities across the country big and small. I now want to briefly touch on some of the important components of the bill before us. But before I do I want to remind the House of our four bottom-lines when progressing this reform. They are: ensuring water assets remain in public ownership ensuring balance sheet separation ensuring that we give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te mana o te wai and ensuring good governance is established in these new entities. Throughout this programme we've continued to listen and make adjustments to the solution that is before us and we have put the community in the forefront of our thinking through working groups engaging directly with local government iwi Māori industry bodies and submitters. Everyone who has contributed in some shape or form has strengthened our reform. Rural water supplies that are owned by local government and provide both drinking water and water for farming-related purposes will be transferred to the water services entities. However we have recognised that mixed-use rural water supplies are different to those in urban networks and some exceptions may be needed. Based on the recommendation of the Rural Supplies Technical Working Group some users will be able to seek ownership of their water supplies. I'm grateful to the experts that sat on this group whose insight helped us with these provisions. There's no doubt that as a nation we need to spend a lot more on the pipes and other infrastructure that supplies our water services to make up for decades of under-investment to meet future challenges. With better financing we can achieve these goals more affordably and effectively for all New Zealand families. The bill establishes pricing and charging mechanisms to provide fair transparent and affordable charges to households and businesses for their water services. Not only will the entities be provided with the legislative authority to charge for their services but an economic regulation and consumer protection regime will be established in a separate bill led by the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.The Rates Rebate Scheme is also being extended to include bills from the entities facilitated by the requirement of both territorial authorities and water services entities to share specific billing information. For the entities the information shared is where the bill recipient has applied for a rates rebate allowing a streamlined application process for beneficiaries of the scheme. For territorial authorities the information shared will be the rateable value of the property to enable water services entities to charge for stormwater services.As we secure an affordable and robust water network we need to also keep environmental outcomes front of mind. Last year it was reported that at least 270 companies had breached trade-waste consents in 2020. Frankly this isn't good enough. Councils communities and environmental groups have all said that trade-waste powers needed to be strengthened and we agree. This bill will enable entities to create the rules they need to manage their water network and control what is discharged back to the environment. There are provisions for compliance monitoring and an enforcement regime. Each water services entity will appoint a Director of Compliance and Enforcement and the boards of water services entities must issue compliance and enforcement strategy. Compliance officers will be given the necessary authority to monitor investigate compliance and take appropriate steps to enforce where breaches occur and it will be consistent. These officers will have the powers of entry search and seizure subject to detailed safeguards. There are special arrangements for homes marae and other types of Māori land where warrantless entry can only occur by consent. This is consistent with other legislative provisions that enable similar things. Under the bill an infringement regime will be established that allows water services entities to issue fines for minor offences. Many of the provisions in the bill reflect powers under the Local Government Act 2002 that have been attempted to align with the powers of other utilities. This includes arrangements for accessing infrastructure on private land including Māori land. However these existing powers are being modified to enhance protections for Māori land. These regulations can only be made following engagement with the council and mana whenua who are the subject of the arrangements.Alongside the Water Service Entities Act this bill sets out a detailed framework for water reform developed by decades of discussion and more than two years of concentrated work by the Government local government mana whenua and industry partners. It's our second significant milestone on our journey to improve water services delivery across the whole of Aotearoa New Zealand—communities big and small. I stand proud as a part of a Government that tackles overdue issues instead of putting them in the too-hard basket. It's true—this issue isn't easy nor is it popular. But fixing a problem that has been around for far too long is necessary and New Zealanders need us to come up with long-life solutions that will help the challenge ahead of them especially as climate change continues to demonstrate how vulnerable our water network is. Enough is enough when just yesterday one-third of Auckland beaches had no-swim notices due to bacterial contamination from waste-water overflow. We say enough is enough. We say public ownership of our assets and safeguarding against privatisation is a priority—we'll guarantee that. And we say affordable robust solutions that will provide effective water services for generations to come so all of our children have the ability to swim in their local stream lake river or beach—it is actually not a luxury but a necessity to the quality of life we will guarantee them if we are brave enough to ensure that tackling the hard solutions is something we're all committed to. It's our responsibility to do that and I commend the bill to the House. TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Barbara Kuriger): The question is that the motion be agreed to.