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Hi John, Last week I wrote to you about how the Government had been caught sneaking a rarely-used, undemocratic legal provision into its Three Waters legislation, in an attempt to make it harder to overturn. Well, after a week of public pressure Labour was today shamed into an embarrassing U-turn. Using urgency in Parliament, Labour and the Greens had added an entrenchment provision which means once Three Waters becomes law, it would take 60 per cent of MPs to overturn it, instead of a simple majority which applies to almost every law passed. Entrenchment is a rarely-used provision that, until now, has been reserved for important constitutional matters - and legal experts say its use in this case is deeply inappropriate. It's good Labour have backed down. But the Prime Minister still has questions to answer around how this shemozzle happened. The Prime Minister said she was unaware of the change, however Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta later admitted it was discussed at the Labour Party Caucus – which the Prime Minister Chairs. More broadly, the whole Three Waters reform is a shambles and needs to be scrapped. It is rushed, it is reckless and it is wrong. In the last two weeks the Government has had to clarify whether it is Three Waters or Five Waters and have now had to back down on this entrenchment debacle. New Zealanders deserve better. National would repeal and replace the Three Waters bill and ensure water assets remain with local authorities. Today's U-turn shows that Labour will back down if they come under enough pressure. If you haven’t done so already, please sign our petition so we can send a message to Labour about how unpopular these changes are. Simon Watts |
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