Government to allow private ownership of water for 35 years

Rodney Hide’s Bill allowing private companies to own the water infrastructure of councils for up to 35 years is privatisation in spite of Government denials, says Labour’s spokesperson on Auckland Issues Phil Twyford.

“The Government denies it is privatisation, but this is a nonsense. How many years would a dam have to be in private ownership before the government called it privatisation: 50? 100? “, says Phil Twyford.

“Rodney Hide has already admitted to the NZ Herald that he favoured the privatisation of council services. Changes brought about in the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill clearly show this is in fact the government’s agenda.

“This bill also repeals the requirement for councils to consult the public before contracting out public services to the private sector.

“Rodney Hide is determined to lock the public out of key decisions concerning their council services. In the Auckland super city, Mr Hide wants to take 75% of Auckland’s core services and put them in the hands of unelected council controlled organisations.

“This Government wants to run local government like big business. He needs to realise we are talking about communities, not corporations”, says Phil Twyford.

ENDS

© Scoop Media