Three Waters plan delay - victory for South

The latest delay in a Three Waters bill being introduced to Parliament is a victory for the South, Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says. 

“The Government has admitted, in a Three Waters update, that it now anticipated introducing legislation by mid-2022, after it had originally been promised for December last year.

“I believe Government has realised the unpopularity of the three waters reforms and it’s now trying to quietly sink them.

“This of course is great news and I believe it’s a victory for the people of the south - who made their opposition clear.

“There was little support for these unworkable and unpopular reforms across both urban and rural Southland and now it seems the writing is on the wall.

“Labour’s Three Waters plans are doomed and more delays trying to fix these fundamentally flawed reforms won’t work. 

“The Government should consider practical alternatives like encouraging collaboration, contracting and CCO models, as National has raised.

“National is opposed to Three Waters because it steals local assets and strips power from communities. "