Six public health experts mount their case for Three Waters with a reminder that the genesis of the reforms was a campylobacteriosis outbreak that killed four people, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday morning, sign up here.

Public health experts mount case for Three Waters

Six public health experts from the University of Otago have published a new article in the New Zealand Medical Journal (subscriber only) making the case for the Three Waters reform on the basis that it will “more robustly, and efficiently, improve the protection of public health and uphold the right to clean, safe water.” The authors, including Nick Wilson and Michael Baker, argue anti-co-governance rhetoric, concerns around privatisation and loss of local control, and alternative reform models have dominated the public discourse and drowned out the core issues the reforms were designed to address. The article starts with a reminder that the genesis of the reforms was the campylobacteriosis outbreak in 2016 that made 8,000 people sick, hospitalised 58 and killed four people.

Entrenchment provision could just be scrubbed

It’s a timely reminder of what’s at stake and arrives at a juncture where things have become very convoluted. The recent entrenchment provision issue, and what’s come to light since it was revealed last week, has added contention where perhaps there didn’t need to be any. The Herald’s Thomas Coughlan writes (paywalled) that it’s “slightly ridiculous” to refer the matter back to parliament’s Business Committee, when “all that really needs to happen is for the bill to be referred back to the Committee of the Whole stage, where the offending clause could be scrubbed.” He argues the referral to the Business Committee move “is a face-saving climbdown for Labour.”

The rush to get it done

Newsroom’s Jo Moir confirmed last week that the second tranche of legislation to complete the reforms is due in parliament before Christmas. BusinessDesk’s Pattrick Smellie (paywalled) breaks down the rush to get it done, writing that “if it’s not introduced before Christmas, the legislation would risk not being passed before the general election.” As Smellie notes, the June regulatory impact statement, published this week, highlighted how tight the timeframe was becoming even then.

Election-year halt on co-governance work

Moir has also followed up on her story about co-governance, first published in October. This is specifically in relation to the government’s response to the United Nations’ Declaration Plan which the then-National government signed us up to in 2010. In October, minister for Māori affairs Willie Jackson said he was uncomfortable with about 20% of what had been proposed and had asked the governance group to go back and try again. Jackson is now indicating that an election-year halt may be put on that co-governance work. Jackson told Newsroom he was “increasingly less convinced it was the right time to be pushing ahead with the work.”