Clive Bibby: Co-governance and the Three waters legislation

I find it hard to understand why the current government spin doctors have not resigned on mass in protest at the seemingly intransigent stance of their employers in relation to the recently passed legislation committing the “Three Waters” legislation to law, including the “devil in the detail” which is the Co-governance aspect. 

While there have been minor adjustments to the legislation - presumably as a result of the submissions to select committee that include such things as pushing the “start up” date out to 2026 (two years later than the original) - the main section that is likely to (more than any other) result in a heavy defeat at the polls is still there unaltered. 

That is the few lines that have been referred to as “the apartheid clause” which gives 16% of the voting population equal oversight rights as those allocated to the remaining 84%. 

To use a famous John McEnroe line uttered in similar amazement  - “You can’t be serious!” 
How could a government, supposedly flailing around looking for anything that might rehabilitate their chances at the polls, not see this as one of the first ill-judged policies that would have to go in an effort to restore some of the good faith even with some of their most loyal supporters. 

Because now that they have snubbed their noses at all those who were waiting for some small scrap of evidence that the Labour / Greens coalition retained majority support, the result in October looks inevitable. And it might mean that the current mob is likely to spend a generation in the wilderness before voters are unaware of or have forgotten this betrayal by the MPs who were determined to push on with this divisive law. 

I chose “betrayal” as an apt descriptive term but not only with reference to the Three Waters legislation because there have been other instances where the government has ignored public opinion in pursuit of its idealogical agenda. 

The deliberate misuse of the ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) to allow the disastrous expansion of exotic forestry on to huge areas of our most pristine farming land was another idealogical manoeuvre opposed by large sectors of the population - not only by just the rural communities either. 

So it is no surprise that the seeds of destruction to the kiwi way of life, so recklessly and arrogantly imposed on our society will lead to consequences at the ballot box. 

In all my life witnessing and voting in general elections, I have never seen a constituency more determined to reject these false prophets from the face of our battered landscape. 

Kiwis are mostly reasonable and pragmatic people who are proud of the society that has been built on a willingness to provide equal opportunity for its citizens no matter their ethic origin, gender, religious preference or position on the social ladder. 

We are also generally tolerant of governments who make genuine mistakes and own up to those failures of judgement. 

But we will not tolerate being lied to or being forced to accept policies that we know will destroy the very fabric of our own society. 

We are not racist or indifferent to alternative cultures to our own. 

In fact we have lead the world and remain unchallenged as the one country that has found a way to reconcile with cultures who have suffered at our own hand. 

We are currently light years ahead of the chasing pack but these current attempts to present us as something we are not is incomprehensible and regrettably may have damaged our credibility in that role amongst those who look to us for guidance. 

The task of erasing these foreign laws from our statute books will no doubt fall to the coalition that wins the next election. 

Let’s hope they have the courage to do what is right for a change.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.