PETER WILLIAMS: Campaign update on co-governance of water The following is written by Peter Williams as board member for the Taxpayers' Union: Jordan has given me a full update on our efforts to knock undemocratic co-governance on the head once and for all. While the new Government is taking a tougher line on these issues than the last one, so far they're just not delivering. National, in particular, is still reluctant to walk the walk. Tackling this challenging issue head on is exactly what New Zealanders elected them to do.
A quick recap You'll recall the email some weeks ago, in relation to "Te Mana o Te Wai" and its impact on freshwater, but here's a quick recap: •
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It is becoming clear the new Government is continuing down Labour's path of undemocratic and costly co-governance due to pressure from the bureaucracy who are using incorrect or misinterpreted legal advice to force co-governance on our democracy. The Government looked set to keep co-governance of fresh water: rivers, lakes, and rules for agricultural runoff will be subject to 'te Mana o te Wai' (literally meaning the mana of the water). There has been some progress in this area (see further down this message) but it's a halfway solution. We understand that the reason the new Government has not repealed David Parker’s unworkable freshwater National Policy Statement is because ministers have been advised that changing the race-based (and impossibly high) water standards cannot be done without iwi consent. Under David Parker's National Policy Statement on Freshwater, local council plans must allow tangata whenua to be "actively involved in decision-making processes relating to Māori freshwater values" as defined by relevant tangata whenua. Regional councils must also "work with tangata whenua to investigate the use of mechanisms ... such as transfers or delegations of power [and] joint management agreements." The social and economic well-being of communities who collect and use the water must come second to whatever a local iwi says upholds Te Mana o Te Wai. All roads lead back to the infamous Three Waters advice which the public has still not seen.