A group of scientists are saying the intense political debate surrounding the Three Waters legislation has “drowned out” discussions about the urgent need for safe drinking water.
The legislation was introduced after the Havelock North disaster in 2016 when 8000 people became sick, and eight died because of contaminated drinking water - out-of-date water infrastructure played a major part in the crisis.
Three Waters aims to amalgamate drinking, waste and rainwater infrastructure into four entities, so it would be easier to upgrade infrastructure. Water is currently controlled by local councils.
The bill has copped a lot of flack, with debates surrounding co-governance, loss of local control and privatisation dominating the discussion.
However, for scientists, discussions surrounding the bill should be primarily focused on its benefits to public health over anything else, Dr Tim Chambers told Breakfast this morning.
“The current water system for the Three Waters is not sufficient to protect public health, we know that every year over 30,000 people get sick from their drinking water, and about half a million people have to boil their water to kill bacterial contamination,” Chambers said.
“The point of our article was to highlight that we do have these central public health problems with the current system.”
Chambers also highlighted that changing our water infrastructure model is a fiscally responsible idea and will ensure future generations have access to safe water.
“It's financially unsustainable to continue the way that we’re going; it’s projected that we’ve got a $180 billion infrastructure gap over the next 30 years.
“If councils were to try and meet that today they would have to increase the money that they take from rates by two to three times,” he said.
The scientists said that the government's handling of the bill has been poor and has caused much of the controversy.
The bill has been passed in the house, but a last-minute clause around "entrenchment" - meaning any future law change allowing public water assets to be sold would require a vote of 60% of Parliament - has caused further upset.
Since the furore, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Parliament’s business committee would look at the clause to discuss the broader issue of entrenchment.
“The Government, in tweaking its Three Waters legislation, has potentially opened the door for a new mechanism in lawmaking that could tangibly affect how laws are “entrenched” – or unable to be easily overturned in the future.” a release said.
The new water entities will assume responsibility in 2024.
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