Water ownership bottom line for Māori Party

Claudette Hauiti Water ownership bottom line for Māori Party

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Te Paati Māori says three Water Services Entities Act shortchanges Māori.

The act transfers the existing three waters workforce and expertise from local authorities to four new regional publicly-owned entities what are required to deliver cost-effective services and infrastructure, protect public health and the environment and develop services which can withstand climate change.

Co-leader Rawiri Waititi says the Maori Party voted against the third reading because the rights and interests of tangata whenua are yet to be resolved.

“When Kingi Tuheitia made the comment back in 2015 around ‘we own the water’ that’s exactly the stance of Te Paati Māori. We are the true active kaitiaki of the water, we own the water and that hasn’t been recognised in this bill – that’s why we voted against it,” he says.

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