Nothing good will come out of the mandatory Three Waters reforms that the government has rammed through today, Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds MP says said.

“I am hugely disappointed and genuinely concerned for communities around Southland in the wake of these reforms.

“This is nothing short of an asset grab that will take power and control away from local communities.

“The  government has given councils, like those in Invercargill and Southland, no guarantees around local input or local decision-making - or indeed around the fair distribution of assets and this is deeply concerning.

“If decisions around water management are based on population, a region like Southland has a lot to lose, in comparison to the bigger centres. We also know that centralisation, in any form, has never been positive for our region.

“The four entity model is still fundamentally broken and unworkable, but the Government is forging ahead and introducing a bill to establish these entities, without having looked properly at alternative solutions. It now seems inevitable that it will be forced on councils.

“National will continue to oppose the Three Waters Reforms with everything we’ve got. We will repeal the entities in Government and we’ll return seized assets to councils.”