Stuart Smith
National MP
Kaikoura
This week the Labour government forced their Three Five Waters legislation through parliament under urgency.
The bill had come back from the select committee with no substantial changes, the select committee having refused to hear most of the submitters in person, despite the National committee members’ best efforts.
In the end, the Labour members, supported by their compliant Green colleagues, thumbed their noses at the democratic process and forced it through as quickly as they could.
The most concerning aspect of this legislation is that it will enshrine an iwi elite privilege into our law. That is, iwi elites will effectively control council storm, drinking and sewage systems, as well as geothermal and coastal waters.
This is an incredible overreach and the crucial first step towards handing over ownership of all water in New Zealand to iwi, with royalty payments sure to follow.
This play cements what economists term ‘rent-seeking’, which is when a group or entity seeks to gain added wealth without any reciprocal contribution of productivity. In other words, every day, Kiwis will pay iwi elites for their privilege.
You will note that I have referenced iwi, not Maori because this is not about Maori. It is about a select privileged few.
We know that only a privileged few will benefit as the mana whenua roles are not up for election. It will be a closed shop. A few will select the winners to enjoy highly paid positions with the power to veto democratically elected representatives’ decisions.
Our country’s early democracy was built upon the foundation of equal rights and without a privileged ruling class bestowing rights and privileges upon their family members and selected beneficiaries. Yet much of the legislation now coming before parliament includes the requirement to consult mana whenua.
What about the rest of us? Are our views of less value?
Most are unaware that their democratic rights are being chipped away by the Labour government – a government intent on cementing iwi rule and turning us against one another.
It is time to stand up and be counted. Edmund Burke once said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”