Ashburton District is a member council of Communities 4 Local Democracy

Three Waters/C4LD: New Zealanders will have little idea of how their essential services are being reformed after the government tabled, and then passed without referral back to select committee, hundreds of last-minute amendments.

The nearly 300-page Supplementary Order Paper, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday night, made a large number of amendments to the bill which was passed under urgency yesterday.

Co-Chair of Communities 4 Local Democracy He hapori mō te Manapori and Mayor of Manawatu District Helen Worboys said all New Zealanders should be concerned about a law that required amendments of such last minute scale, particularly when the opportunity for Parliament to give them due consideration was removed because they were dealt with under urgency.

“Does anyone really know what’s in this bill anymore? Do MPs know what they’re really voting for at this point,” she said.

“The fact this supplementary order paper was nearly the same size as the bill it was amending speaks to how chaotic this whole process has been from start to finish.

“The fact the Government has rushed this flawed piece of legislation through prior to the election, with the hope that people don’t care about this and they won’t have to talk about it anymore, is testament to their approach to this whole programme.

“They’ve told councils one thing and done another, they’ve said they’ve listened to the sector, then ignored them, they’ve said they’ve reformed the plan then only made minor changes.

“The Government has passed this, and it will now come into effect. Whether this legislation will endure now comes down to the election result, with opposition parties publicly committed to its repeal.

“Communities 4 Local Democracy continues to oppose this unprecedented taking of community assets and silencing of local voices.

“Our members continue to campaign for locally led and common sense reform to deliver better outcomes for all New Zealand.”

The Communities 4 Local Democracy proposal for better water reform is available at communities4localdemocracy.co.nz/ideas