October 04, 2023
Whistling won’t make water woes go away
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says despite campaigning against co-governance, National will have to acknowledge Māori interests in water if it becomes Government.
He says Labour had expended time and political capital on fixing New Zealand’s water infrastructure because too much of it is past its use by date, with sewer pipes collapsing and people having to boil their water in places where treatment plants fail.
“The issues around co-governance which seem to be a dog whistle to a lot of people who are anxious about that, we’re going to b grappling with that regardless of whether we consolidate the way water entities are run or not because Māori have an established right in water. The courts have established that. Unless the National Party, the ACT Party and New Zealand First decide to legislate over the top of an established right the courts have established, they are going to have to find another way of grappling with this,” Mr Hipkins says.
He says Labour’s affordable water reforms are about ensuring ratepayers aren’t forced to cover the full cost of fixing water infrastructure.
Mr Hipkins says he’s on the mend from Covid and hopes to get out of isolation on Friday so he can ask the questions National’s Chris Luxon doesn’t want to answer.