December 05, 2022
Three waters entrenchment down the drain
The Government will move as early as tomorrow to remove the entrenchment clause in the Water Services Entities Bill.
The clause, which was added last week in an amendment from the Green Party, meant 60 percent of MPs would be needed for any change which would allow privatisation.
The Leader of the House, Chris Hipkins, says while the intention to protect assets from being sold was right, entrenchment usually requires a super majority or seventy five percent of the parliament to vote for it.
He says the Government is not comfortable with the wider ramifications of the change, so it will reopen the committee stage tomorrow to make remove the provision.
It will also as the Standing Orders Committee to clarify and strengthen the rules around entrenchment.
Mr Hipkins says the Government will also seek political assurances from the National and ACT parties via letters that ask them to commit to public ownership.