Three Waters legislation will go down the plug early next year – but new govt is still distributing corporate welfare
Going, going – gone.
Or flushed down a legislative plughole, in the case of Three Waters.
In the “going” category, the Government today announced that Cabinet has agreed to introduce and pass legislation to repeal the Three Waters legislation early next year. The aim is to restore council ownership and control of water assets “to give much needed clarity to the local government sector”.
The Northland and Auckland Water Services Entity will be disestablished.
Another item in the “going” category relates to our Foreign Minister’s first overseas visit to the Pacific. Winston Peters will meet with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna, during his first overseas visit this term.
And then there’s the “gone” category.
First, legislation to repeal the Fair Pay Agreements legislation has passed its third reading in Parliament. This chalked up an early milestone in the Government’s 100-day plan, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden declared.
Second, KiwiRail’s project to replace the InterIslander ferry fleet has been scuttled. The coalition Government has declined the company’s request for significant additional funding to address cost escalations.
And third, the Government has rid the Reserve Bank of its obligation to take unemployment into account after Parliament passed the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Economic Objective) Amendment Bill. This requires the RBNZ to focus only on inflation.
The updated Remit and Charter for the Monetary Policy Committee can be found here: https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-policy/about-monetary-policy/monetary-policy-framework
The latest announcements include some sobering economic news. Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says the latest forecasts from the Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) report show a dip in export revenue for food and fibre sector export revenues – down from a record high $57.4 billion in the year to 30 June 2023 to $54.3 billion in the year to 30 June 2024.
Encouragingly, food and fibre export revenue is forecast to build to a record $57.7 billion in the year to 30 June 2025.
A copy of SOPI is available on the MPI website
The latest Beehive posts also show that the new government – while it is talking of cracking down on government spending – is maintaining some handouts to select businesses.
The Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Judith Collins, announced the distribution of $21.4 million in co-funded grants “to businesses set to forge innovation pathways”. Or businesses which someone has decided are worth helping with public handouts.
The Taxpayers’ Union has criticised this as the doling out of more corporate welfare via Callaghan Innovation instead of cutting waste and delivering tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders.
You can read more about the eight Ārohia Trailblazer grant recipients on the Callaghan Innovation website.
The Northland and Auckland Water Services Entity will be disestablished.
Another item in the “going” category relates to our Foreign Minister’s first overseas visit to the Pacific. Winston Peters will meet with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna, during his first overseas visit this term.
And then there’s the “gone” category.
First, legislation to repeal the Fair Pay Agreements legislation has passed its third reading in Parliament. This chalked up an early milestone in the Government’s 100-day plan, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden declared.
Second, KiwiRail’s project to replace the InterIslander ferry fleet has been scuttled. The coalition Government has declined the company’s request for significant additional funding to address cost escalations.
And third, the Government has rid the Reserve Bank of its obligation to take unemployment into account after Parliament passed the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Economic Objective) Amendment Bill. This requires the RBNZ to focus only on inflation.
The updated Remit and Charter for the Monetary Policy Committee can be found here: https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-policy/about-monetary-policy/monetary-policy-framework
The latest announcements include some sobering economic news. Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says the latest forecasts from the Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries (SOPI) report show a dip in export revenue for food and fibre sector export revenues – down from a record high $57.4 billion in the year to 30 June 2023 to $54.3 billion in the year to 30 June 2024.
Encouragingly, food and fibre export revenue is forecast to build to a record $57.7 billion in the year to 30 June 2025.
A copy of SOPI is available on the MPI website
The latest Beehive posts also show that the new government – while it is talking of cracking down on government spending – is maintaining some handouts to select businesses.
The Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Judith Collins, announced the distribution of $21.4 million in co-funded grants “to businesses set to forge innovation pathways”. Or businesses which someone has decided are worth helping with public handouts.
The Taxpayers’ Union has criticised this as the doling out of more corporate welfare via Callaghan Innovation instead of cutting waste and delivering tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders.
You can read more about the eight Ārohia Trailblazer grant recipients on the Callaghan Innovation website.
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Announcing the repealing and replacement of the Three Waters legislation, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said the coalition government will implement a new regime
“… which recognises the importance of local decision-making and flexibility for communities and councils to determine how their water services will be delivered in future. We will do this while ensuring a strong emphasis on meeting rules for water quality and long-term investment in infrastructure.”
Specific provisions in the Bill will address the immediate challenges faced by councils which are preparing their 2024-2034 long-term plans under the previous government’s settings, by providing flexibility in setting plans.
The Bill will also disestablish the previous government’s Northland and Auckland Water Services Entity, ending any remaining costly and unnecessary activity involved in setting up this body.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
1 comment:
Yes, the unwinding of Three Waters is entirely appropriate. But the cost of this process will be significant - for those within the outgoing Government, along with those 'on-side' on the 'outside' who wanted to make sure this policy was 'entrenched' as best as possible, did just that by their actions and term commitments. This making it hugely expensive to unwind being one of them. It's an outright bloody disgrace and those accountable should be named, shamed and held accountable, as the massive ugly cost of this ill-founded Maori rort over power and money becomes ever more evident.
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