Water is a Natural Resource

Water is a natural resource

Water has been deemed a commodity under the Commerce Act. The matter of water providers being a service was taken to court. The case was lost and was also lost on appeal, so water is a commodity.

But water is a natural resource and needed by all for drinking and hygiene. So water needs protection from private ownership.

Look what happened to electricity.

Local Government Minister Sandra Lee's Local Government Bill, which is going to a select committee, has gone some way towards stopping privatisation of water or foreign ownership.

But the legislation will not prevent the management system being contracted out for 15 years, or a joint venture.

Last year we saw Wellington territorial authorities try to set up a trust to manage water and wastewater, which would have taken certain rights away from the community and may have made recommendations to the councils that were unacceptable to the communities. A council-managed trust would have leanings to the private sector, not to community needs.

This is why the section of the Bill needs changing, as does the Commerce Act, so water and water service providers are treated as a service, as are health and education.