The Platform, Summarised by Centrist
In regards to Three Waters, the public isn’t aware of how much direct power is being handed to iwi via the right to issue binding Te Mana o te Wai Statements.
“Community Priority Statements” in the amended legislation have turned out to be nothing more than a cheap consolation prize for the vast majority of the population. They are certainly not anything approaching an “equivalent” as Hipkins promised.
While Te Mana o te Wai Statements are exclusively available to iwi and must be acted upon, the Community Priority Statements available to the other 84 per cent of the nation’s citizens are not binding and can be ignored with impunity.
If the vast majority of the public really understood how thoroughly they were being side-lined in Three Waters, Labour would be crushed in a wave of voters’ revulsion on October 14.
