Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh; Williams PotoKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National): Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker and it's my privilege to stand in support of this bill the Gore District Council (Otama Rural Water Supply) Bill. What it does is it transfer the assets from the Otama Rural Water Supply scheme to Otama Rural Water Ltd.I would like to start by acknowledging Mark Patterson as everyone else has done for sponsoring this bill. Moreover I would like to acknowledge him for the way he has shared this whole history of the scheme how it has started and how the farmers got together to build this asset which is very important for the people living in that area. As was mentioned it is connected to the farmlands in that area as well as the houses the marae and the school. They all benefit from this scheme. I would also like to acknowledge Hamish Walker the local MP from Clutha-Southland who also participated in this whole process. He came to the Governance and Administration Committee as well as to the hearings in the Gore District and his contribution is also really well appreciated. As we know water is going to be very precious and we have to take care that we use water in a manner that our future generations can use water in times to come. If we look at some areas of the world where there are droughts water is very precious to them and we have an abundance of water. As the previous speaker the Hon Eugenie Sage mentioned this Government is looking into announcing a policy about the three waters. That is also a very important part and I think that will show the right path to New Zealand for how we are going to utilise all three waters and treat them. In this scheme in the early 1970s following meetings of farmers the community considered that supply and recirculation of the water on farms should be a great assistance to stock management and health. The costs of the scheme were met by contributions in cash and labour from the users of the scheme and subsidies from the central government and a loan raised by the Southland County Council. It was a big ask in those days because we know that sometimes providing cash is tough but there were people who were ready to provide the labour to ensure the scheme was implemented. The scheme is governed by the Otama Rural Water Supply Committee which comprises eight users appointed by the users of the scheme as well as a councillor elected for the ward. The scheme is still primarily used for stock but also services an estimated 223 dwellings that are likely to use the water for drinking purposes. The water is untreated but is chlorinated. We know that there was issue in Havelock North. After that the decision was made that this water which can't be treated right now be chlorinated so that it is safe for drinking. For over 120 years this process has been used and I think that is the wisest thing which could be done. According to the current situation we know the ownership of the scheme has historically been unclear but the council considered it currently has a legal responsibility for the scheme. The committee has governed the operation of the scheme on behalf of the users from the establishment of this asset. Day-to-day operation and maintenance are done by the council—and that is very important because the maintenance work is quite important for any asset—and technical advice and reporting to the committee. The maintenance and operation cost of the scheme is met by the committee. The fees are collected from the users and they are responsible for paying all the bills.Following the meeting in May 2017 a referendum was held and the users of the scheme overwhelmingly voted that the ownership of the scheme to be transferred from the council to the committee. There was a 75 percent turnout of the users and out of those 75 percent 76 percent of the people supported the motion that this should happen. As the result of the referendum the council confirmed that it supports the users of the scheme taking over the ownership in future. As part of the transfer process set out in the draft bill the council and the community are currently developing a water safety plan and undertaking a catchment risk assessment which found that there is a potential risk to the water supply. Currently there is no issue with the water itself. However in the light of the findings of the Havelock North inquiry the council has decided that a permanent boil-water notice be issued for the scheme and the people who live in that area are required to boil the water before it is to be consumed. The users would like the scheme to be transferred to them so that they can ensure that the scheme continues to meet the needs and remains cost-effective. In the select committee process we received 26 submissions out of which 14 submitters wanted to be heard orally and those hearings were held in Wellington as well as in Gore. I missed out on going to Gore because of other commitments but I have heard from many of the members who went there. Paul Eagle was one of them. He mentioned that there was great hospitality extended to the committee by the local people over there and I hope that at some time the next time when I am there the local MP will take me along and extend this hospitality again. Rt Hon David Carter: Cheese rolls. KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI: The cheese rolls—exactly Mr David Carter. Maureen Pugh: Oysters. KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI: I know that Maureen Pugh is looking for the next slot to speak and contribute and I had her hospitality in Hokitika a couple of years ago and I thoroughly enjoyed it. As I was mentioning the select committee process was quite comprehensive. I would like to acknowledge Brett Hudson the chair of the Governance and Administration Committee for his leadership and for ensuring that a fair go was given to all the members of the public who were present there. Lastly before I conclude I would like to say that it is important that assets that have been built with the support of the public and that are maintained for more than almost 50 years should be given an opportunity that they can be kept in the right position so that they can be used for the future generations. With these words I would like to commend this bill to the House. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): I understand this is a split call. Jamie Strange you have five minutes.