The Government has delayed Three Waters until early next year.
Labour says it is because they want to wait for a report from their Three Waters Working Group of nine “hand-picked” mayors, nine iwi representatives and two officials that was established last October to advise on how “co-governance” would work in practice.
But in reality, this delay is damage control aimed at quelling the criticism over a lack of ‘consultation’ that erupted once it was realised that the new Three Waters Bill had been scheduled to be tabled in Parliament before the Working Group reported back.
With its restrictive terms of reference, and a membership largely supportive of the reforms, no substantive changes are expected from the Working Group’s February report. However, there’s little doubt it will be ‘spun’ by the Government as an important round of ‘consultation’: “Government listening to the concerns of the people”.
The Minister for Local Government Nanaia Mahuta has advised a draft Bill will be released “in the coming days” to both to the Working Group, and to the public. As soon as it becomes available, we will post it on our NZCPR Three Waters campaign page here: www.nzcpr.com/3waters
In reality, the Working Group report is simply another thread in what has become a tapestry of lies and misinformation to conceal the real objective of the reforms, which is to deliver control of New Zealand’s water infrastructure and services to the Maori tribal elite. It’s part of the He Puapua agenda that Labour – under the direction of the Maori caucus – is rushing through Parliament while it has an absolute majority in the House to pass any laws it likes, and while the Maori caucus has the dominant influence within the party.
Three Waters is the most significant change to local councils since amalgamation in 1989. Despite its significance, Labour’s argument for reform lacks any credible foundation. It is based on, unreliable data, bogus advertising, exaggerated benefits, and a fabricated Treaty ‘partnership’ claim.
As if that is not bad enough, they have even attempted to suppress resistance from local councils by enticing Local Government New Zealand – an organisation that supposedly speaks on behalf of councils – into signing a Memorandum of Agreement to “partner” with central government and promote the reforms.
Furthermore, through their multi-million-dollar Public Interest Journalism Fund, the Government is preventing the media from investigating the Treaty partnership claim on which “co-governance” is based, by requiring those who participate in the fund to proactively promote Treaty partnerships: “Actively promote the principles of Partnership… under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, acknowledging Maori as a Te Tiriti partner.”
Let’s go through some of the misinformation threads in more detail.
A water contamination incident in Havelock North in 2016, when farm runoff seeped into an aquifer used for town water supplies during a storm causing widespread illness, is being used as the catalyst for the reforms.
With water supplies governed by the Resource Management Act and regulated by the Ministry of Health, regular surveillance reports from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) however, show that overall, councils and other water suppliers largely meet the standards with the incidence of water borne infections through non-compliance relatively minor.
As a result, the Government has used a Ministry of Health report that pre-dates that Havelock North incident by ten years, to justify the Three Water reforms, claiming, “At least 34,000 New Zealanders become ill from drinking tap water every year”.
That 2006 report on the incidence of waterborne gastro-intestinal disease in New Zealand – prepared by the ESR for Helen Clark’s administration – starts off by finding there is no real problem: “An average of 16.8 waterborne outbreaks occur annually, affecting an average of 145 cases/year… the size of most outbreaks is small, averaging nine cases per outbreak in 2000-2004, and is smaller than any other countries for which data are available.”
But the author was asked to estimate the occurrence of endemic waterborne gastro-intestinal disease in New Zealand, and because of a lack of dependable local data, highly questionable assumptions had to be used to arrive at an estimate of between 18,000 and 34,000 infections a year – with the author noting, “the reliability of this method is questioned by the author.”
In fact, the author had good cause to alert the reader about the reliability of the figures, because they do not pass the common sense test.
On the one hand the report claims the number of outbreaks in New Zealand is smaller than virtually anywhere else in the world – something consistently found in ESR monitoring – yet on the other hand, it claims tens of thousands of people get sick every year.
With the Havelock North incident affecting 5,000 people making national headlines, surely illness on a scale three to seven times greater would at least gain some attention in the public domain!
The reality is that there is no drinking water quality crisis in New Zealand.
Using a fifteen-year old report that the author admitted was unreliable as the basis of their reforms, the Government’s claim of 34,000 infections a year is dishonest and deceitful.
Then there’s the advertising campaign, which has already been discredited and shown to be false, that cost taxpayers $3.5 million, with a further $500,000 spent on a website. Claiming councils were failing to keep water clean and safe, and implying the answer was amalgamation, it even went as far as depicting green slime coming out of showers, and waterways turning into sludge.
When the ad first screened, the country’s Mayors were outraged that such insulting and alarmist misinformation was being promoted by the Government, and they called for the campaign to be abandoned.
But the Government refused.
Forty-eight New Zealanders also complained about the ad to the Advertising Standards Authority, but they ruled that in the context of advocacy advertising, the ads were neither offensive nor misleading.
Let’s call this “advocacy advertising” what it really is: political propaganda that has no basis of fact and is deliberately designed to scare the public into believing the fiction created by Labour to advance it’s own agenda.
And the agenda that underlies the deceit and propaganda – and is the primary motivation for the Three Waters reform – is Labour’s “partnership” agenda, He Puapua. This blueprint for tribal rule over New Zealand by 2040, has Maori control of water as a key objective.
Developed in 2019 under the guise of enacting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and quietly rolled out during 2020, the Prime Minister kept He Puapua secret – not only from her Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, but also from voters during the election.
Without a mandate from voters, Labour’s “partnership” plan for Maori control of public services and resources is totally illegitimate. At no stage during the election campaign did the Prime Minister even hint that she was planning to give control of water to Maori – nor that she was planning to undermine New Zealand democracy.
Treaty “partnerships” represent a major erosion of democracy – unaccountable private individuals representing 17 percent of the population, and acting in their own best interests instead of the public good, commanding 50 percent of decision-making power and the right of veto.
Using official records, we can follow the evolution of this tribal water privatisation plan.
A Cabinet paper, issued by the new Minister of Local Government Nanai Mahuta in April 2018, simply mentioned the need for consultation with iwi over Three Waters reform: “This work will be led by the Department of Internal Affairs, and will involve substantial engagement with local government, iwi, and other sector interests.”
By November 2018, Cabinet papers show iwi were being prioritised by the Minister: “Engagement with iwi is important… because of the significant expertise and experience iwi have in resource management, infrastructure development, and water issues. It will be necessary to engage at the national, catchment, and local levels given the range of iwi interests, and also the different and often localised way that three waters challenges are experienced by Maori communities.”
Fast-forward to June 2020, and a Three Waters Cabinet paper mentions asset transfers: “We will need to consider and address Treaty-related rights and interests, and engage with iwi… Further work is required on the impact of the potential of asset transfer and Treaty issues… When engaging with iwi, we will seek to use the National Iwi Chairs Forum.”
With iwi leaders representing multi-million dollar business corporations involved in policy development, once the election delivered Labour the power to govern alone, Treaty “partnerships” became a fait accompli: “On 14 December 2020, Cabinet agreed that a high-level principle of partnership with iwi will be followed throughout the reform programme, and reflected in the new three waters service delivery system… I am proposing that we commit to a high level principle of partnership in this work, and seek to ensure this approach is reflected in the governance and operational arrangements of the new water service delivery entities and broader regulatory system.”
In other words, with Jacinda Ardern’s blessing, the Treaty has become a partnership, and the partnership has become co-governance and power sharing.
It doesn’t seem to matter that it is constitutionally impossible for the Crown to enter into a partnership with subjects and that the Treaty “partnership” is a big ‘lie’, Labour is pro-actively promoting a 50:50 co-governance Treaty partnership as the truth.
In this environment, democracy is under attack as never before. How can any New Zealand Prime Minister think it’s acceptable to forfeit democratic control of critical resources and essential services to private sector groups operating in their own best interests?
The reality is that we will have to fight to prevent billions of dollars of ratepayer-funded assets being taken away without fair compensation – and without consent. But fortunately, leaders are emerging who have the fortitude to stand up against authoritarian rule.
Bruce Smith, the Mayor of the Westland District Council and this week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator, is one such leader, who has been sharing his Three Water journey with us throughout the year. In this last update for 2021 he outlines the state of play:
“Kiwis will not support the loss of local control. They will not support having the three waters assets owned by Councils placed into a large corporate entity with 50% of the governance Councils and 50% Iwi. They are saying its undemocratic as we are one people not two tribes.”
Bruce outlines the lies and how he and other councils are fighting back: “Government has consistently maintained that councils will continue to own their water assets and that’s been proven to be a real porkie. Through a Statement of Claim filed in the High Court three councils are asking the courts to provide a legal affirmation of their council’s position and its ownership of assets. This will provide a legal framework of shared understanding for all parties going ahead on the key issues of council asset ownership and its democratic responsibilities. This will assist both parties to understand the parameters of ownership.”
At least one other group has also launched legal action against the Government’s Three Waters plan, with a focus on Maori rights to water.
Without a doubt, Three Waters has become a major battleground between the Government, attempting to elevate iwi into a permanent ruling class, and Kiwis fighting to defend ratepayer rights, democracy, and our way of life.
Labour’s recent slide in the polls shows the public is finally waking up to the damage this Government is inflicting – especially the dangerous and escalating racial divide.
Labour Party voters need to wake up too – are they happy that the Maori caucus is in control and is orchestrating the iwi power grab that is presently underway?
Mayor Bruce Smith assures us that most local authority mayors are pushing back against Three Waters, but as he reminds us, “the power rests with the people.”
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THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Do you believe iwi should have any special role in water management?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| Definitely not! What happened to the ‘we are one’ campaign? | Sonya |
| Absolutely not!!! | Sarah |
| ABSOLUTELY NOT !! | patricia |
| This government lies cause they know the left leaning TV1 and TV3 will hide the truth from us.I urge people to watch Fox News if you can, you will be shocked at what the main stream media withholds from us about Sleepy Joe Biden.Merry Christmas everybody. | morea |
| Certainly not now or ever the whole concept is crazy. | Sidwell |
| Iwi members can’t manage their own personal finances, so how are they going to manage the financial aspects of three waters. | Bob |
| It is a totally contrived rort being promulgated by Government on the back of grossly exaggerated claims / LIES about the extent of problems with water. 3Waters is a totally dishonest device to try and give Maori governance control of water and control of the replayed assets and to provide them an opportunity in perpetuity to make huge wealth from water. It is a total rort on ALL other New Zealanders. | Hugh |
| It will be another nail in the coffin of democracy | Gary |
| Thi needs to be stopped NOW. | paul |
| Im feed up with this government. | Irene |
| We are one country and racial origin must not be taken into account. | Brian |
| No democracy, ratepayers should have their say | Ngaire |
| We never voted for a totalitarian state-control government | Joanne |
| Absolutely NOT. Words fail me – to say what I really think, I would be locked up. I have never been so angry in my whole life at what is happening. I came to a democratic country 50 years ago, under a three-year bond, enjoyed the lifestyle and stayed on. I do not want to end my days regretting that decision.. As far as I am concerned I think all 120 MPs should just be known as EXPENDABLES – let’s get rid of them all and start afresh. | Fiona |
| No no no | Bev |
| Ratepayers input with their mayor/council of each area only | Jon |
| Water is one of the few monopopolies that MUST remain in Council ownership. Any option is a short road to privatisation and huge profitsi | bill |
| Apartheid is nearly here | John |
| it is just not fair !!!! | graham |
| Of course not! What’s happening to the concept of one NZ? Does this government not want to represent the majority? | Paul |
| We need true and fair representation and control based on all New Zealanders being equal. | Murray |
| absolutely not. there has been the odd glitch but by and large the system works well | john |
| No no no ! | andrew |
| They will steal it from New Zealanders. They can%u2019t be trusted | Kenneth |
| It is a joke as is the labour govt | John |
| Dump Three Waters! | Allan |
| We are 1 = 100% | Roydon |
| No words can describe my anger at what this government is doing to New Zealand. Well, they would be very bad words actually, | Chris |
| This whole thing is absurd! | Glenda |
| ‘Lenin with hair’ Ardern and her apartheid co-governor Mahuta are a disgrace to democracy – fragile indeed. Maori supremacists have no skills in water management and would be a disaster. | Monica |
| This is an openly racist proposal, and , for the record, Maori ate the indigenous people of our country. | Andrew |
| Congratulations to Westland Mayor Bruce Smith for continuing to bring the 3 waters saga to the public notice. Gaining traction throughout New Zealand In my letter to the two Christchurch newspapers in July about the numerous draconian regulations this government is imposing on all New Zealanders. My letter started off “an unwelcome to the new New Zealand Communist Party (previously known as the New Zealand Labour Party”. Letter not printed. | Cyril |
| Out of respect, they could be consulted but they don’t need a starring role. | Kate |
| Our water belongs to all New Zealanders and not just the Maori elite. Rate payers have paid for local infrastructure and should be controlled by local councils. | Helen |
| Foreign affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta stated that all water coming from the heavens belongs to Maori . Three Waters was a proposal to be discussed now she saysi it is not open for discussion . About three weeks ago a fire at a water treatment plant in Chrischurch showed a building clearly marked THREE WATERS LABORATORY how come when Three Waters was not in existence, but obviously was ,who works there ,who pays them ? WHO IS RUNNING THIS COUNTRY is it the Maori caucus or the Perveyor of a tapestry of lies. Maori are now engaged in setting up a TRIBAL based concept for indigenous economic trading funded by govt another TRIBAL scam paid for by hard working tax payers ,and will comprise of only Maori who historically will meet discuss until the money runs out and blame the colonists . Now we have reached a stage where the rest of the world has decreed booster jabs are essential do not wait 6 months except NZ who did not even specify what 6 months calendar of 4 weeks there is a 15 day difference I know because I have a chronic respiratory problem and was refused because it was less than 6 calendar months my due date being 27 Dec when the vaccine centre would be closed , I hasten to add this was my forth visit to this center and each time the only people there were the people running it . RULES ARE MADE FOR THE GUIDENCE OF THE WISE AND THE OBEYANCE . | Vjvian |
| Iwi SHOULD NOT have any special role in management of any Government affairs | Kay |
| one rule for all | claire |
| 3 water will be undemocratic. Still believe in one person one vote. An individuals vote should equal no matter their social status, ethnicity, sex, wealth, religious beliefs or politics. | Paul |
| What a bunch of dishonest bastards- give politicians a bad rep forever! | Mary |
| Racist apartheid | Greg |
| Nor in any other infrastructure. | Vic |
| The real agenda is passing “ownership” of our water through Maori and on to global corporations. | Charles |
| Both the English and Maori versions of the Treaty require all citizens of NZ to be treated the same. | Robert |
| come sooner next election – please. | maurice |
| absolutely not. lets move on as a multiracial democratic society | Anon |
| Zero Nil Nada Rien Zip Status Quo derived by history and local ratepayers should stand. It isnt broken so don’t fix it. Who in their right mind will endorse the machinations of a delusional idiot; espousing empty promises and moronic infantile logic. Climate, KiwiBuild, Clinton Foundation, Gang money……thinking kickbacks throughout? | Zoran |
| Jacinda should be impeached for pushing this racist agenda. | Roger |
| No way !! Completely and utterly Undemocratic !! | Graeme |
| The role of water management needs to go to the best QUALIFIED people in NZ. | Jim |
| No no no not now not ever | Tom |
| this is nationation by a hard left socialist government cowtowing to its Maori caucas. It must be stopped | Colin |
| If they can gain a position of authority within their qualifications and expertise equal or better than any other race then yes . If the can’t then they should never be gifted such a position. | John |
| 16% of the population should not have any special role!! | Gillian |
| No! No! No! | Phyl |
| Local councils are made up of iwi and the local population, I do not want to see our water taken out of council hands, with the possibility of an overseas corporation gaining control. | Ritchie |
| They have a role, because they in present fact, control large areas of land important re water: absorption/retention, waterways, irrigation etc. But not more than Councils, Regional Councils and input from Ratepayers and all people generally. | Rochelle |
| No, I wouldn’t even let them run a bath ! But all joking aside any Maori who has special qualifications or expertise is welcome to be on a panel or management group. But today it is raining and Maori do not own this life-force. Rain is God-given and always has been and owned by us all. Did you see our two-faced Prime Minister on the 10th of December on television mouthing on to the nation about her live meeting with world leaders regarding improving world democracy ? What about us first !? What a twisted young fool she really is and that statement for many Kiwis would have been a real vote killer Keep it up Jacinda– you are as mad as a duck in a thunder storm. One people, one nation should be our aim. | John |
| We are ONE nation. The racial division must STOP. | dave |
| a criminal conspiracy – lies upon lies. | murray |
| We should be treated as one people – New Zealanders together not by race. | Tony |
| no | Claire |
| A rude intrusion and power grab – which must not happen at any cost | Robert |
| Three waters control is NOT legitimate. This would lead New Zealand totally out of being a democratic nation. This government has brought us this far – half way to being undemocratic with favouritism to those who number less than ten per cent of the whole population. Make maori b.ack off and accept equality is the most they should be aiming for – a level they are already way past but still pushing for more, more,more!!! | CMM |
| No Co Governance | Stephanie |
| Certainly NOT.That idea is completely unconstitional,and against the intention of the Treaty of Waitangi. | David |
| We are all NZers, therefore why should the majority be held to ransom by minority who by the way contribute the least for the most. But then they tell us it is their way? Historically little is contributed by the Iwi to the majority of Maoridom, which relies on a modified Treaty and the Tax Payer. As for the protectors of the Fauna, their record is abysmal, and again relies on the taxpayer. As a taxpayer why haven’t the Government approached the voter, they were never mandated to introduce or the constitution. | Brian |
| Since we live in a democracy control of the nations water resources should NEVER be seeded to a group of non elected and one would say radical iwi’s | John |
| Of course not. They can’t govern themselves how do they expect to govern a modern Country? | Peter |
| Water control is not a Utility based on race. It is a New Zealand wide resource for all and not for Iwi to control. | Cheryl |
| NONE! | Carol |
| No Big Government in local water administration. Set the standards and hold local councils responsible for maintaining and delivering water infrastructure. Severe penalties for not meeting/delivery of required standards | Tjaart |
| Absolutely and totally NO ! There is nothing radically wrong with the current structure that some minor adjustments cannot fix. | Donald |
| Absolutely No! We have a democratic system of voting which gives everyone an equal say and what can be fairer then that? When Jacinda imposes special deals for Maoris only, she is the one who is blatantly racist. It just shows there can’t be a law against being racist. | Eric |
| Water is for all kiwis and not to be controlled by a minority | Tony |
| Absolutely not. We are one people, and there is no place for one group of New Zealanders to rule over the others. | Vicki |
| Water is an essential component of life itself. Like the air we breathe it is a God given commodity for all peoples to enjoy and use. No tribal group should have any say or control in its management. Democracy must be allowed to be the only factor in this debate. | Phil |
| Definitely not any special role. | Margaret |
| Iwi control is undemocratic and unwanted by the majority of New Zealanders. | Richard |
| The majority of the people need to be the arbitrators of any move to take control of this country’s assets or freedoms. The people need to be strong against adversity in all forms, even if it is the government. | Carol |
| No way this should be managed by all of NZ no segregation | Ewan |
| No,no, no no!! | John |
| The Government is voted in to do this for all New Zealand. | Sue |
| IWI do not own water rights. The asset rights belong to ALL New Zealanders. and anyway did IWI provide fish in rivers and oceans? NO ! They did not !!! SO DUMB! | David |
| The councils run their water depts. for all rate payers within their jurisdiction irrespective race, creed or colour the last thing we want is for or water suppliers to be run by committee’s | Brian & Trish |
| Simply on the basis that there is no justifiable reason for iwi to be involved. | Gavin |
| A very dangerous and racist agenda not democratic and must be stopped | leo |
| WE all and I mean every New Zealander has a special role in Water Management | Don |
| The more I learn about Ardern her 3 Waters plan, thee more nauseated I become. In the next election, I will vote for any party that promises to overturn almost everything Ardern has done. Amen | Mark |
| The whole thing is just a recipe for disaster. Thanks Labour. And – these buggers are supposed to represent New Zealanders and look out for the countries economy, welfare and future??? Does’nt look that way to me. | Roy |
| Iwi should not have any greater say than any other group | Peter |
| The fault for this rubbish can be traced back to John Key Chris Finlayson, first by not carrying out the election promise to remove the Maori seats and then signing that un convention on indigenous people. | Hugh |
| WATER BELONGS TO ALL NEW ZEALANDERS | RICHARD |
| No way ever, Maori do not “own” water in any shape or form. They have no more or less of a special relationship with water than any other race. They want control of water for reasons of political power. They also, by and large, as tribal groups; possess a limited technical and scientific background required for water delivery and control at large community levels ,on a national basis. | Russ |
| We have years of skill and expertise around our Council tables. This should be used to correct any problems with water. Maori are at most 16% of the population yet under 3 Waters they are going to dominate the outcome. | David |
| No, but the Court of Appeal did hold (in the originator of the so called “partnership” that the treaty does impose on each party a duty to act in good faith towards the other in matters relating to the treaty, and I have no problem with that. | Trevor |
| If a race-based group is granted special rights affecting all individuals in our country then we are heading for a disaster of Immence proportions and the future of our country. I consider that the proposal would place a real split in society – the Them and Us. We must put a holt on these mad ideas – Now. | Brian |
| Maori or any other group have a democratic right to be elected Into any government or council role, this should not be a given to any citizen of NEW ZEALAND. Not a Jacindar them and us or divide and conquer. | Owen |
| I now wonder if its mahuta up our dictators backside or the other way round with the way things are now told by our lieing mp’s and media. surely there is a brilliant lawyer who can destroy this myth about a partnership in the treaty which should stop all this polywog corruption and our commie dictator from destroying this country called NEW ZEALAND once and for all otherwise what’s next to be taken, air, land, roads, transport, the list will never end. | Richard |
| We must stop the unfair push to give Maori more than a fair share of power in NZ. NO to Three Waters, Pae Ora and Northland roadblocks. Please National state your views on Maorification. | Chris |
| Absolutely not. This scheme sets a dangerous precedent and talk of a “partnership” is untruthful propaganda. Three Waters will end up costing millions annually, will give control of water to a handful of maori elite and racially divide this nation. | Gavin |
| Maori as a minority has way too much say now | Neil |
| Why are they special than others? | Suzanna |
| No, no more than any other person or group, we are supposed to be one people, one nation. All I see with proposals like this is a divided nation. I think Three Waters may sink the Labour government and be their downfall. | Fraser |
| Consultation with iwi is fine by me, to get considered and sensible points of view, but NOT to place radicals in a position of power over democratically elected governments. Time to scrap Maori seats. | Vic |
| I will should concentrate on educating their children rather than try to take ownership of a resource which is all races absolute right. HANDS OFF IWI! | Claire |
| No more than any other NZ citizen | Maxwell |
| Water Management, as with all central and local administrations should be colour blind in a democracy. | T |
| Definitely not. What happened to democracy. The treaty was never a partnership, which is constitutionally impossible. | Tim |
| 15% of the population should not be allowed to control/manage anything | Raewyn |
| not “special” but some input yes. | mike |
| water is a resource owned by all people and no group should have special input rights | Gerhard |
| This is racial segregation by stealth. Lies disguised and manipulated with misconceptions to fool the unaware. Beware! We are one nation. Not a divided nation. Never! | Robert |
| Maori should only have the samer rights as any other New Zealander. We are/were a democratic country until all the present Maori suterfuge and Govt. lies were indtroduced under cover. | Ian |
| definitely not. greedy greedy lot. | dona |
| Water falls from the sky. Nobody owns it and we all have an equal right to it. | Andrew |
| No race should have any SPECIAL ROLE in water management. Only elected officials should have a say in management. | Glyn |
| no there is far to much special consideration and treatment given to 1 small group of people in OUR country and its causing major problems. | Jocelyn |
| Iwi should have no rights in the management of anything, until they put a flag in the sand and tell us when and where the treaty negotiations will end. It will be at that point that we will become one people, not before. I fear this will never happen as it seems Maoridom have no interest in resolving this whilst New Zealand seems intent on perpetuating the never ending settlements. | Craig |
| It is not all Maori who will have control, just the new elite Maori. That would be disastrous for democracy. In fact, Ardern’s government is a complete disaster for democracy and must go. | Frank |
| Water is for all new zealanders not to be dominated by any one group | Mike |
| This will divide the country even more!! | Russell |
| Hobson’s choice i | Peter |
| Absolutely definitely NO. !!! | Andrew |
| ABSOLUTELY NO. This is the most insidious manifestation of APARTHEID that NZ practices to date. | Geoff |
| Jacinda and her caucus should be charged with treason. | Mike |
| Absolutely and categorically, no. | Stuart |
| There is absolutely no reason that a particular race or racial group should have a role in water management. | Doug |
| With apologies to William Shakespeare, I say: “Out, Damned Labour Government, and take your negative National mates with you”! We put one team into the waka (canoe) and they row it across the lake, then we replace the team with that other bunch, and they row it back again, and we are going nowhere. It is time to change direction! | Kevan |
| New Zealanders first and foremost. Identifying by face and dividing the spoils by race is a recipe for disaster. | Mark |
| This is far more serious than COVID | Iain |
| IWi have no place in South Island leadership. Ngai Tahu wrangled a huge settlement for themselves which they have not put to good use. Prehistory shows that Maori in the South Island were transient. The Waitaha were true dwellers of the South Island. They gained nothing from the Ngai Tahu pay off. Tine to stop the rot and accept that if Maori want to lead they need to stand up before the whole nation. | Peter |
| Absolutely NOT This war on democracy has to be stopped | Parick |
| Absolutely NOT This ridiculous racism has to be very firmly rejected | Patrick |
| There is only 15% of Maori that make up the total population of NZ, why in hell do they get so much say here in NZ? | Don |
| No, because they are no more special than the next person. | Heather |
| Why should they they can never own the water | Laurel |
| Emphatically NO. They have little or no experience in control of any resources. Their competence in conservation is demonstrated by their extermination of the Moa (or are they going to say that was a result of colonisation so whitey’s fault?) And let’s not forget that they very nearly succeeded in self-extermination prior to the TlW | Ron |
| THe government is conning the people of NZ and attempting to turn us into a communist country using racist edicts and methods | Derek |
| They should be included in community consultations like all citizens. | Tim |
| Because this is not about water quality, it’s all about power and control | Gavin |
| How do you define a Maori? Are there any Maori’s left in New Zealand? | Peter |
| This is nothing more than govt sponsored theft, and the blatant lies told to “sell” this via taxpayer funded advertisements was and is pure propaganda. | Robin |
| Equal rights for all New Zealander’s | Chris |
| None at all.. | Allan |
| No way they should have any more say than anyone else. At the end of the day they are just colonials and most certainly are not indigenous. Their whole history is a lie . | Harvey |
| Emphatically no! It is racially divisive, unconstitutional, a step towards an apartheid-like society. | Robert |
| why should one group be so special as to hold ownership. we are all in this . | Heather |
| No. No. No. No. | Doug |
| Absolutely not , they should have NO more special rights than anyone else, otherwise you have tribal governance and who in their right mind would ever want that. | Carolyn |
| History is being changed by this Government. They fail to see that New Zealand is for all New Zealanders – equally, not split into two groups – them and us. All New Zealanders have paid for these assets through their rates and taxes and have a right to own them in unison, not split amongst some. | Leslie |
| They have been given two hundred million to get jabbed.That didn’t work, so how would you expect 3 waters to be a great success? | Allister |
| The government have muddied the water by “taking” assets from a public funded community, a giving it to a minority group. Has nothing to do with treaty partnership. | Tim |
| Absolutely NO. Water falls from the sky free for every person on earth. Moari have no more rights to water than anyone else. It is the life blood of every single th I ng on earth. If they get control of water are they going to be responsible for any floods or damage caused by water? Like hell they will. They can smell money in water,thats their aim | Peter |
| Definitely NOT | Ian |
| Water should owned by the nation & not a minority with a reckless history in managing assets prescribed to them fishing and a National Park to mention two. Veto rights to assets that were paid for by the tax and rate payers is undemocratic if not a crime. It is all money based & will, in time be sold to the highest bidder with no consideration to the majority. Resentment will fester as the tax and ratepayers will have to bear the burden of higher water charges while paying for on going administration, repairs and maintenance while expected to fund new investment while propping up yet another monolith that produces nothing but duplicate records or ?, maintained and paid for by ratepayers through individual Councils.. | Brian |
| We are one people through intermarriage. | Neville |
| Never– They are NOT indigenous people of NZ. This is a farcicle notion and must be halted. | Ray |
| Nothing should be racially controlled | Neil |
| All NZ people should be consulted and treated equally and no special rights given to anyone. I see by giving rights to iwi we will have more of a chance of slime coming out of our taps! They haven%u2019t looked after a lot of their resources | A |
| Racism gone to the extreme. | Allan |
| none what so ever. | steven |
| Maori make up only 15% of the population. | Carol |
| 16% of the population and 50 % of the control. Does not compute. | grant |
| Definately not | Barbara |
| madness, send those trouble makers home where they come from Taiwan we are told. | gerard |
| Water is for everyone. So basic. Who can believe this, our water being controlled by an ethnic group. Shame. | Mark |
| We have democratically elected councils and there is no reason why maori folk could not be elected. They need to put forward candidates who are educated, mature, experienced and competent to make wise decions for their region. | Pam |
| Council are doing a good job managing our water on a democratic basis on behalf of the ratepayers who have funded the cost of the infastructure. | Chris |
| utter rubbish, needs to be Top of the list of things to be dismantled by the next Government. | Lionel |
| No. End of story! | Rex |
| Definitely not and nor should they have any involvement in, local government, health, conservation, corrections, justice, police, immigration, social welfare, agriculture, fisheries, and most certainly not finance. They, like the labour cult fail at everything, including looking after their own. I see no good reason why , if they want their own governance system, they should expect to have any access to the tax paid by those who do not wish to be included in their apartheid based agenda. | Terry M |
| No. It is way past time that the anonymous few who claim to represent the various collection of warring tribes under the fiction of “Maoridom” were identified,, In my view there are just a few very rich part Maori folk who are behind this Treaty feast that has assumed a momentum all of its own. Name them. Expose them to the Maori in the street who have seen no benefit from the billons of settlement dollars. | Geoffrey |
| Just more racism from this communist govt | Ihaia |
| No, No, No, No, Never! | Grant |
| None whatsoever — this is the real agenda by this dreadful Government and all will note our English language is being more and more bastardised as time goes on. This is either one country or it is not and the bullshit being spoken about past wrongs is also disturbing and resu;ts in more cliams under that grossly exaggerated document called the Treaty of Waitangi. It does appear however if you are suffering from self pity, human failure ending up with a massive chip on your shoulder you will do very well in NEW ZEALAND. | Alan |
| Water belongs to all humans not to any one racial group | Rob |
| No more,no less than you or me.Certainly not 50/50 governance with Maori or any other section of the community.NO.NO.NO. | Peter |
| This is straight out political pandering as vote buying. It is racist, undemocratic to pass through without a referendum and Ardern and Mahuta have no evidential basis that it is what the majority of New Zealanders want or voted for. | Mike |
| This whole issue is causing a divide between Maori and the rest of us, when it is really only the wealthy privileged iwi who will benefit from, the intended outcome of the lies and deceit this Government is producing to promote co-governance of all our assets. Their destruction of our Democracy is insidious, as it’s intent is to destroy our country as we know it. Sadly, many people do not understand what is going on or do not believe their role model – the “lovely Jacinda” would be involved in such a deceit.!! | Mary |
| This is He Puapua p31,…levies on resource use where Maori have a clear interest if not strong claim to ownership, such as water | Darrel |
| Maori already participate in our government in the same manner as any other special interest group. To give them more leverage than that is beyond disingenuous. It is an outright LIE and serves only to disenfranchise the majority. | Gary |
| Part- Maori are only 15-17% of NZ population and with the UN Declaration of Indigenous People being misused to promote 50:50 Governance is simply prepostorous & NZ Voters have never given any positive mandate for this Liebour Govt to blindly & defiantly barge ahead with this He Pua Pua except for a “Ripped-Off” Election 2020. | Bruza |
| Please note. THE Havelock North “infrastructure failing ” was not a failure at all. It was run-off contamination into the well from surrounding paddock runoff. A $2000 water proof bund would have prevented this. There should be a commission enquiry about this so that the facts are known. I | Derek |
| This Maori govt. is out of control and put politely stinks. | Iain |
| The right people for the job NOT preference by race. | Helen |
| All people ought to have as say. | Mary |
| No no no | Bev |
| Most councils will know better | Ted |
| This is a mischievous move by this labour government and must not be allowed. | William |
| They are just ordinary NZers like the rest of us. The idea of a Treaty ‘partnership” is absolutely laughable. A bit like the people we call government these days.- it’s as though we have a bunch of inexperienced, ignorant kids trying to run the country. How they won the election is a total mystery to me. I only know one person who admits to voting for them! | Rosemary |
| Can legal action be taken to settle the question of partnership once and for all? | Alan |
| Definitely not! All part of undermining our democracy. A real threat that we must get rid of. Somehow! | Dell H |
| We are all one in Democracy | Cath |
| We need to go back to the Treaty and put it in the hands of the voters for ratification as to whether we should accept this as the founding document in N.Z Then the 2nd part should be a vote as to which version we accept. I am fed up with M.P.s making decisions without a proper mandate from the electors. | John |
| Every council in NEW ZEALAND should vehemently oppose this attack on democracy. Local ratepayers should track those present elected councillors who are willing to give away ratepayer assets and ensure they are not re-elected in the next local body elections. Similar action should be accorded to those Mayors who show no backbone and who simply comply with the actions of this socialist government. | Joseph |
| it should be decided between councils and govt | Tom |
| NEVER | Cedric |
| NO | Pam |
| That little raddicule group should be dispersed to a far of Island where thay can fight themselves and leave us to get on with our lives | Russell |
| What has happened to our Democracy? Even the Prime Minster should not change important events like water management. | William |
| I don’t believe I should have any more say in anything other than in line with every other Kiwi person, why are they so special to this Government. I is separating us and it wont be pretty in the future. | barbara |
| Definitely Not! | Tony |
| Absolutely not. No, never!!! Jacinta Adern is out of control. | Greig |
| Absolutely no role what so ever | Anton |
| another manouver of the racist looney left labour government to divid the country | allan |
| Leave it as it is now. | Susan |
| Water assets should remain under local council ownership and control. | Jacky |
| the water lakes in Auckland were built from rate payers money hence they are owned by the ratepayers of Auckland. The lakes were not there before the arrival of the European settlers so Maori have no rightful claim to them at all. | Donald |
| Bloody helll NO | Barry |
| Maori have hidden agendas and Three Waters is just one of them. 17% is Not a majority. | Peter |
| All New Zealanders have an equal share in water. Why isn’t that hard to understand. | Dennis |
| definitely not. | Marilyn |
| Maori when they landed in NZ did not bring their own 30000 litre water tank on their waka to have their own water supply , Water was here the same as when the Europeans arrived , even Captain Cook landed on Kaiti Beach Gisborne. | Ian |
| Any more moves toward apartheid in this country from the evil clowns in government and I’m moving to Australia! | Pieter |
| Iwi has already messed up many things and money is NOT passing on to THEIR people. We, the taxpayer HAS to foot the bill. | peter |
| Of course not! All they want is to oversee the resulting income streams. | Folkert |
| It is a part of the steps to remove democracy from the NZ way of life | keith |
| The water is everyones and not just one race’s | Brian & Margaret |
| As a stakeholder, but alongside all the others and not 50% | Paula |
| We are all doomed if we travel that road! | J J |
| I have a view if the Maori want have the water then they should pay half the costs when it floods. so for instance if you house floods then insurance and the council pay one half and the Maori the other . you cant just cream of the money HaHaHa | Les |
| We have got to stop this Government before it’s too late! | Malc |
| NO,They can’t even look after anything, they are always looking for the next handout. | Bruce |
| Never | Wayne |
| Aparthied again from Cindy | Gordon |
| Water should be as all business should be that is run by the best people available. Gender, ethnicity etc should not be part of the equation. Just the best people with the skill set for the job. | Trevor |
| NO, NO, a thousand times NO!!!! | Helen |
| Under no circumstances should any special privilege’s be extended to iwi, water is a natural free requirement for all worldly members of Earth. Not to be controlled by one racial group of people! | Roy |
| No way ..should never be race based | Carl |
| Why would they, do they not listen to the fish and chip wrapper upper we are a team of 5 million. So how could they have a special role to play or are they so special words confuse them. We should be safe if they are unable to get out the door to be vaccinated how would they get out of bed to go to a meeting. This country used to be one country and still is as far as I am concerned all we have to do is biff out Cindy the red and all get back to normal and live as one. | rod |
| Absolutely not, they should have no more say in the matter than any other group people ie a church, a rugby club, a school …. what gives iwi any ‘special’ say in the matter. | Tony |
| Why do politicians keep allowing themselves to believe the subtle deception that Maori have a “special” connection to nature?! | Jane |
| A great big NO | Dean |
| Don’t think maori should be granted different privileges in a free society. By definition that is racism. | ash |
| There is no significant need for change. | Mal |
| They are to dangerous and stupid to be allowed control of anything. | Mike |
| definitely not – we are meant to be ONE people | Lorraine |
| A very BIG NO | Don |
| A No brainer and beyond words. | sheryl |
| Just because all so called Maori are only part Maori, they should not have any special role in anything. | Andrew |
| I would like Nanaia Mahuta to substantiate her claim that – iwi have ‘significant expertise and experience … in resource management, infrastructure development and water issues’ — with supporting evidence. | Karen |
| Certainly not. Fresh water belongs to all New Zealanders. | Colin |
| Control of the nation’s water should not be decided on the basis of race. It is an appalling concept. | James |
| The govt seems determined to decide our country | Raymond |
| Water cannot be owned by anyone it falls from the sky and makes its way back to the sea it cannot be owned. | Dennis |
| maori are only 4% of the population the other 12% are more other races than maori so do not have any rights to controlling water in NZ | graeme |
| definitley no no no she is up to her communist ways by using the divide and rule | eric |
| This is out and out RACISM | DAVE |
| Absolutely not. | Graeme |
| absolutely not, if appointments are based on race. | Gordon |
| It should continue to be managed through the peoples representative, the local Council. | Judith |
| Under no circumstances should a minority have control over assets which they have not constructed nor paid for. THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY! It reeks of racism by a government hell bent on favouring a minority. | Peter |
| No sector of society, especially a minor group of society, should have the right to have control of an essential necessity of life, one that is currently owned by everyone in the country and managed on their behalf by regional councils. | Dougal |
| There is no place for unelected veto holders in our democracy | Gordon |
| Iwi elite, who we are talking about here, have proven, time & again, to be no more than opportunist GOLD DIGGERS. This is just another free ride opportunity. All part of He-puapua, which stems from Nationals signing of UNDRIP. I would be absolutely in favour of Maori being in charge of the water, provided they guaranteed payment for all repair work & compensation to those who needed it, in the event of a major flood. NOW THAT AIN’T GOING TO HAPPEN, IS IT.. | A.G.R. |
| VOTE NO CONFIDENCE IN THIS APARTHEID FORMING GOVERNMENT. WE ARE ONE PEOPLE THE CITIZENS OF NEW ZEALAND!!!! WHO ARE THE CHOSEN MAYORS -( 3 WATERS), WHO ARE THE DEMOCRATICALLY NOMINATED MAORI REPRESENTATIVES. RATEPAYERS NEED TO KNOW THE NAMES OF THE GOVT CHOSEN DECISION MAKERS!!!!! | JULZ |
| NZ is a multi cultural nation,we are at one together,no matter what colour or creed we still have the same colour of blood. NZ district councils have invested huge money into water infrastructure,water belongs to the local communities,Government water asset valuations is an attempt to buy or rob NZ water rights at a substantial discount with little governance ability to improve water supply efficiently.This an asset grab and should be a major policy directive for action leading up to the next election.Put simply the public won’t stand for it. | simon |
| This whole 3 Waters/Co-government issue is a deceitful con to the majority of New Zealanders who vote this lot in. Obviously people could see National were in no shape to run the country with their own problems. With not many options and with Jacinda appearing to in most part had handled the Covid pandemic reasonably, people voted Labour. I have just learnt prior to writing this that Labour on the 4th June, Cabinet agreed behind closed doors to mandate 3 Waters and kept it quiet for 5 months. What happened to a transparent government? They have lied to the greater majority of voters in 2020. I hate to think what else is going on behind closed doors?? No way should we just hand over 50% control of 3 Waters to iwi. No bloody way. | Chris |
| water belongs to everyone and not to maori. nobody owns water. | John |
| NO!!! | Mark |
| Giving iwi any water management roles is an absolute outrage. I am Ngai tahu and a microbiological consultant. This will end in disaster for everyone but the maori elite! | Roseanne |
| IT WILL BECOME RACIST CONTROL | JOHN |
| Having had a personal involvement in the upgraded Rotorua Lakes work done in recent years, I know that Maori were involved and benefited from the work done there. Their co- operation and inclusion was a credit to all concerned and the results speak for themselves. In a word the work is done and continues on an ongoing basis where repeated work is maintained annually, to sustain the good work already done. Why the hypocrites continue to overlook such improvement and pick out more minor isolated discrepancies bewilders me. | Barry |
| Planet Earth is the “Water Planet ” …. | Chris |
| No-one should have control over essential assets other than local councils. Water, rubbish, roading and similar assets belong to NZ, not some jumped up misguided bunch of opportunists – it must be stopped | Nichael |
| This is simply a money and power grab. | Alan |
| Never ! | Bryan |
| What benefit would they have to offer | Robin |
| It is regarding New Zealanders, not a select group. | Rodger |
| I’m sure they already fill expert roles already , should they have the capabilities – just as any ordinary Kiwis will. We are one – not two peoples | tony |
| There is no reason how or why this would improve water outcomes for New Zealanders. | Maria |
| Corruption, setting up a few Maori leaders to create a monopoly. As such, it will enable them to charge for the scarce resource. | Bob |
| Absolutely not. | john |
| Maori do not have “significant expertise or experience in resource management and infrastructure development and water issues”, but they do have expertise in asset theft! | john |
| It’s a ludicrous suggestion that iwi should have greater rights concerning water rights than councils & ratepayers | Margaret |
| Useless labour bullshit bloody useless | Allan |
| We must resist this racist government and its totalitarian methodologies | Tom |
| they are totally incapable and biased. | Coral |
| Councils should retain control of their own assets | Frank |
| Totally medievil concept !~! | Ross |
| Without sounding racist unfortunately most Maori cannot look after themselves, Their sections or land so how are they going to look after New Zealand’s fresh water interest’s. This Three Waters grab is to gain control and rip off all non Maori citizens of New Zealand and must be crushed at all costs. | Wayne |
| Definitely not, who do they think they Are! | Ann |
| I don’t think that it is necessary. | Kim |
| Absolutely not. | Martin |
| The suggestion that Maori be given more rights than other citizens is outrageous. | Richard |
| Absolutely not. Why would we give control of water to the most dysfunctional sector of our society. | Philip |
| Absolutely no way this should happen what a sham | Alan |
| Iwi should have no special role more than anyone else who pay rates. Local councils should be democratically elected with anyone able to stand for council. | Jacquetta |
| To say a particular race is better suited than another to govern a publicly owned asset is racist | Shane |
| totally unjustified.-one people one country | Nicholas |
| NO. This is diabolical for the future of ONE New Zealand. This seems to me to be a determined extension of MMP List members push to take over New Zealand and covert NZ into Maori controlled super tribes. – The original Treaty of Waitangi was signed – using X s – as Maori had no written language – to bring peace to New Zealand. Sadly NZ now has massive division which democratically elected governments should actively discourage. | Stuart |
| It is pure theft!! | Helen |
| No select race is above GOD, and SELECT IWI have been given enough RACE PRIVILEGE, PERKS , stolen from hard working kiwi taxpayers, ENOUGH !!! | David |
| So when did they speak to the good Lord and demand that the water that falls is theirs by special rights???. If too much falls will they pay for the cleanup???? | Lizzy |
| No I don’t | Muriel |
| What next? | Mark |
| none whatsoever. we are one people | Colin |
| We should all be the same not colour coded | Lynn |
| We must fight for our democratic rights – NZ does not need or want social division | Denise |
| Definitely not! | Trevor |
| Sadly, one needs only look at the statistics — If Maori generally were such hot shot managers of anything why do they feature so prominently in the negative side of the social ledger? | Philip |
| Can someone help me understand how a Government can pursue this track when ” constitutionally impossible for Crown to form a partnership with subjects”. ? Is the partnership with a different party??? | lynda |
| Absolutely NOT Water Management and expertise doing a very good job as it is. | Karen |
| Racism t it’s ugly best. Iwi haVE NO MORE EXPERTISE THAN i DO. | ian |
| Why the Hell are we giving in to these Maori Racist who want to steal assets that they have never contributed to and just sit on their fat arsess and call the shots .This Government and the prime minister with the support of the likes of that arsehole Wille Jackson and the Maori caucass should be charged with treason as they are turning the country into another Zambezee | ken |
| Rate payers should have the control of their assets built up over generations | peter |
| I agree with the councils | Pamela |
| Definitely no, no, no. They can be elected like everyone else. | Irene |
| 20 people on the board comprising 2 officials, 9 Mayors and 9 Iwi is too many for getting an efficient and timely process. | John |
| Maori want full control of our water …3 waters has to be rubbished its theft! | Gillian |
| No No No. They are a racist, unelected group with no political standing.. It is well over the time for New Zealand to get back to one law for ALL. NOT a racial divided country. It was a very bad move to allow the formation of a Maori group to have a political Maori party. This racist party has blinkers. They are only interested in THEIR people to the exclusion of all others.. That is NOT democracy. Parliament should rule for ALL without favour. New Zealand is going down a very dangerous path. Towards separatism | Graeme |
| Iwis are private organisations and are not governmental bodies and should not have any special role in water management. | John |
| The whole thing stinks of racism. | Mike |
| Maoris have unfortunately branded themselves as non-productive citizens by their record of pursuing handouts from the public purse, falsifying their history of intertribal warfare from which they were rescued by the English settlers, they killed and ate one another and were treacherous to deal with. Nowadays over half of the inmates in prison can call themselves Maori, the bulk of firearms offences seem to come from Maori, the Mongrel Mob, a Maori gang are probably the largest organised hard-drugs suppliers in the country and there are many examples of theft of tribal monies by their own folks. Clearly with so many examples of lack of worthy principles these people are by the records of a large number of their members not the least trustworthy to run affairs of local government. A great shame for these people to burden the majority of good citizens of some Maori descent with this legacy. | Edgar |
| If iwis have a right to be consulted, what about the rest of New Zealand. Are iwis the only groups that have “the significant expertise and experience……… in resource management, infrastructure development, and water issues? | Pieter |
| Iwi have NO role in anything | Norm |
| Racism should not be part of New Zealand, either now or in the future. | Russell |
| Absolutely NOT! | Frank |
| Absolutely not. They are in no way in the majority and in fact in history attacked and ate each other! This is absolute tribal communistic nonsense | Shaun |
| Another move towards Apartheid | Cole |
| No never. We are a democracy which means one law for all. 3 waters under Maori control is an insult and breech of democratic HUMAN RIGHTS | Peter |
| Water is life and he who control’s it controls life. We cannot let unaccountable Rangatira Maori have control and profit off our water. This will neither benefit non-Rangatira Maori nor the rest of us. | Brenton |
| This is New Zealand. One people working together for the wellbeing of all | David |
| Iwi Maori elite are looking to financially empower themselves by deceiving the 83% majority into agreeing to the apartheid 3 Waters. It is part of the Maori Iwi elite COUP to rule this country. Ardern had no right to be chairing the recent forum on democracy when she is backing the Maori takeover of our democracy. | Brenda |
| My understanding of the treaty is that we all have equal rights,no less no more | Greg |
| 3 waters should be dumped as it current objective is for a group to seek control of all NZ water. NZ currently has the 5th best water system in the world. | Peter |
| We are all equal. | Andrew |
| Why should they – we are New Zealanders and should all have equal rites. | Lois |
| No more than any other democratically elected and/or appointed New Zealander. Insist on one rule for all | Don |
| If they can’t own it why should they control it | John |
| Utter rubbish. Iwi have shown countless times that they have no ability to run anything properly. It will be a plug hole for money. OURS> | Darren |
| If it is to become a them and us situation I wouldn’t want to be around to help clean up the destruction.This take over by stealth and a huge amount of dishonesty has to be the most traitorous thing a nz Govt has ever done. | John |
| All NZ`ers together | Leonard |
| It defies logic. Resign now Ms Adern before you inflict serious harm on this beautiful Country, New Zealand !!! | Richard |
| Iwi shouldn’t have any more say than any other New Zealander. We are living in a so called Democracy. | Neil |
| Major corruption being perpetrated by our Government. | Mike |
| one country one people | Gerhard |
| All Management of New Zealand should be equally done by and for all New Zealanders. | Andrew |
| What a bloody cheek! “Maori” iwi should control water management which they have never paid for, have any understanding of, and nor have they contributed towards. The water infrastructure in this country is the lawful property of ratepayers. Let’s work through this, step by step:. Number 1: Who are, in reality, Maori? What is the number, if any, of full-blooded Maori? Seventeen per cent CLAIM TO BE Maori, perhaps because they “feel Maori” or they have some percentage (perhaps quite a tiny one) of Maori blood. So why are they claiming to be “Maori”? The most likely obvious answer is that by this claim they can get on the gravy train and demand free handouts and at times these handouts are outrageously over-generous, and paid for by the taxes of real working New Zealanders. It is time this rort is stopped. It is not to say that all Maori are in the rort but the few who are need a sharp halt. Number two: The wording of the real Treaty of Waitangi (yes, the real one rather than that incredible pie in the sky version the Maori supremacists keep talking about) is worded fairly clearly and simply and largely unambiguously. No mention there of a “partnership” between Maori and the Crown and indeed such a partnership would not be legally possible. The childish nonsense of it shows the mentality of the twerps who are citing it. Number three: Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of our current Parliament, made no mention – not a hint – of her intentions before the election but since the election has undemocraticly issued a series of orders that have seriously damaged New Zealand’s economy and fed the Maori supremacist demands towards running the country as stone-age lords. These guys hide their faces and try to reach their ends by manipulating weak others such as Ardern. To get back to reality and prevent a disastrous pile of damage would probably require the present government to be thrown out and an immediate fresh election in the hope that a replacement government would sensibly dump any harmful legislation the present one has already installed and proceed to get the country running properly however there is no lawful way I know that this could happen. New Zealanders will probably need to bite the bullet and let this present disastrous regime do its worst until the time of next election, when we hope some of the damage can be undone and we can get back to working and living, and enjoying, our great country once more. We need to take the warning never to let some horror like Ardern into the driving seat again. The Labour Party has a reasonably decent history but any Labour candidate from here on would have a lot to live down after the tenure of Ardern and her Maori supremacist masters. | Rob |
| No Iwi shouldn’t have a ‘Special’ role I think it would be fine for Iwi to possibly be involved in the process but in my opinion only to the % Percentage of Maoris that live in NZ. | frank |
| No way. A veto power means they are in control in perpetuity. Stating that iwi make up 17% of the NZ population is ‘generous.’ It is more like 7%. Half of Maori vote from the general electorates. Why? Because they believe in democracy! | Paul |
| Iwi involved will have people with no understanding of water sciences and their culture input is likely to be based on superstition. | Doug |
| Definitely NO | Allan |
| Definitely No! – any “special role” that they claim for anything is based solely on the “Treaty Partnership” lie which should be discounted out of hand! | Scott |
| Water belongs to no one and Iwi have no more right to its management than any other New Zealanders. | Doug |
| Stealing ratepayers assets to give to people with a few drops of Maori blood. A travesty of justice. | Alan |
| One Flag, One name for the country, One law for all, we are all NEW ZEALANDERS. Do not divide this country, because we will all regret it if we do. | Graham |
| No. Why should they? They couldn’t manage the Urewera national Park anyway. Maori are not indigenous, they were just here before the rest of us. Why should they have the biggest say? | Sheila |
| WAWATAM—–What a waste of time and money! | Graeme |
| this proposal can not be allowed to proceed. It is undemocratic & not in the best interests of the majority of NZ’s | Evelyn |
| I have had enough of this devisive and race based government. Maori do not have any special rights to water or anything else. | Allan |
| They should not have ANY special rights !! | Maurice |
| Race must not be a determinant of how water is allocated | George |
| Absolutely Not! | Albert |
| Absolutely not. We are supposed to be in a democracy. | Dianne |
| No body, but no body owns water. What I fail to understand is why our radical Maori population believe they have the God given right to even contemplate such a move. Put it down to greed, there cannot be any other explanation. Words fail me. | chris |
| They can’t even manage themselves, let alone water! It would be a disaster! | Yvonne |
| Water is for all New Zealanders. | Sue |
| Please get rid of this PM and her government now we can’t wait till next election as NZ will be totally destroyed | Dianne |
| It’s not democratic ! | colin |
| Tribal Governance will bring problems in the future of NZ. | Pierre |
| Not at all, why should they? Water comes from the sky, no-one owns it! You could argue that Church Groups could also make a claim on water, as it comes from God! Totally ridiculous! The only people who should be involved in planning upgrades to water services, should be Council staff who work in that sector, any any professional/engineering people brought in as needed. | Hugh |
| “We are all now one people” I see no reason why Iwi should have any more control over our waterways other than through the normal democratic processes that are open to all New Zealanders. | Peter |
| Definitely NO!!! It is unthinkable what could and probably will happen if it is allowed to proceed. | Don |
| It is almost unbelievable that any P.M. would promulgate such a suggestion let alone carry her caucus with her. Where is the National party? | Richard |
| There is no place for race based politics in New Zealand | John |
| ALL New zealanders should be consulted about what this government is trying to push through!! | Dominique |
| Unreal | david |
| Water belongs to NZers, which Maori come under. It should be left to the Councils to manage not some select committee. Iwi have already tried to steel the foreshores without success and they are trying to do this as well. The Government is buying the Maori votes to stay in power. | Trevor |
| Theft and racism abounds with this vile government | Peter |
| We are all New Zealanders. This government is operating a dictatorship. Stop fostering separatism and lets get back to NZ equality for all | Stewart |
| why should they are not we meant to be one people | David |
| We are all New Zealanders and giving one ethnicity 50% control over public assets is nothing short of a racist act – something that this deceitful Labour Govt under Ardern is becoming well practised at. | dave |
| Certainly not. We are one people and no separate group, undemocratically elected, should have a non-proportional power in any government operations that are so important to every single person in the country. As for thinking a government run entity can be more efficient than what we have now with local democratically elected representatives being responsible for our owned 3 waters, defies understanding and reality. | Keith |
| Water management should be done by all the people through the democratically elected council or area bodies | Jens |
| ABSOLUTELY NOT. This “unrepresentative elite embittered maori swill” in parliament are dangerous and need to be exposed for what they are. Remember the “TROJAN HORSE” that Dear Leader has given a free hand to to set about destroying this country in the introduction of APARTHEID. | Tim |
| As usual Muriel has it right | June |
| Every New Zealander gets the opportunity to vote for those best able to represent their values. That is being removed. What’s the opposite of democracy? | Graham |
| Water management is a New Zealand responsibility NOT iwi | Don |
| No legal basis to “Nationalalise” council assets (ipso Facto), | Samuel |
| It is pure racism | Roger |
| This is a social democracy now with more state control at the expense of the majority view | Bryan |
| This is a step too far. | Kath |
| No need for change to a system that has worked well for many years | Ian |
| NO A MILLION TIMES, IWI SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY MAJOR CONTROL OVER ANYTHING IN THIS COUNTRY SIMPLY ON THE GROUNDS THAT THEY ARE ONLY 16% OF THE POPULATION, THE WATER DOES NOT BELONG TO ANYONE GROUP OR PERSON IT BELONGS TO EVERYONE OF US AS KIWIS. IT SHOULD BE LEFT UNDER GOVERNMENT AND LOCAL COUNCIL CONTROL. | COLIN |
| This apartheid racist policy is an asset grb by a communist govt. In one 4 minute speech Jacinda used the word COMRADE 14 times,this tells it all | Maurice |
| Absolutely not | Moyra |
| This is another money grab guarantee Iwi will take a royalty from water once it is all under their control as it was declared some time ago | Ian |
| More Adern racism & treason | bud |
| 1. They have no expertise and insufficient education action 2. It is not democratic.. 3. They only want money 4. Jacinda will destroy our country | Cin |
| Why should they? | John |
| Good heavens no. Is this Maori’s new Renaissance of a different kind ? I call it for what it is, “Maori” is back is back to its old tricks. This time the flavour is “representation” : Representation Cannibalism ! | Hendrik |
| publicly owned assets should not become a milch cow for a minority | john |
| What ‘expertise and experience’ can maoris possibly have in water management? They were effectively stone-age people before the arrival of those nasty Europeans with their health care, laws, civilised codes of conduct, water treatment plants and so on. Be aware that the only possible justification for ‘co-governance’ is as the first step to full ownership and governance, but like all their moves, it has to be done by stealth. | TOBY |
| Time this divisive behaviour by Labour ended. | Stephen |
| one country one people | brian |
| Iwi cannot even legitimately claim to represent a ‘majority’ of Maori (whoever they are) so why are they being given rights over the true majority (New Zealanders); it makes no sense at all | Michael |
| No way and never. Water is a public resource to be available for all. | David |
| Apartheid | Brent |
| Absolutely not. This leads to tribal elitism and therefore dangerous state of control of NZ water. | Galina |
| The water is for ALL New Zealanders. Nobody owns it. The iwi did not put any of the infrastructure in place, either, so they should not be paid for any rights. | Glenn |
| It is Maori intent to take over much more than 3 waters . Let’s stop this onslaught now. | dennis |
| No way this is so undemocratic and racist. | Paul |
| None whatsoever.. Councils do an excellent job and we pay a fair price, DO NOT LET IT HAPPEN or VOTE FOR THOSE WHO WILL SCRAP IT. | Dick |
| That is why we have local elected councils, to work on everyone’s behalf | Murray |
| The majority have contributed nothing, they have been taking since 1840 | Hone |
| One country – one people. Once we were all classed as Kiwi’s, now we are heading for a dangerous racial divide. | Alan |
| When will all this dishonesty & apartheid cease??? Most govts are dishonest & deceitful but this lot take the cake!!! They rule by confusion!! She is PM by default & her lack of life experience is certainly showing. Thank god Chris Luxon has stated his opinion on co-governance….roll on 2023 and the demise of this lying lot & their activist cohorts! They are destroying this once proud country!! | Ron |
| Do not lose local control. | Beverly |
| absolutely ridiculous | ross |
| This is a terrible Bill Labour is forcing on all New Zealanders trying to force us to give up our assets we have paidor with very high rates.IT MUST BE STOPPED | Ian |
| absolutely no look at the nonsense at the so called Northern Boarder | robin |
| The water falls from the sky through natural processes and is owned by no one. The infrastructure which the I Want It brigade is seeking to control was unheard of in this country prior to European settlement. Iwi have no justifiable claim to water or the infrastructure that goes with it! | Alan |
| It is apartheid by stealth and will cause racial war. | mike |
| Do the powers that be really understand apartheid and its consequences ? This is representation cannibalism. | Henk |
| out right aparthied | brian |
| jawhat is proposed is straight out racism and communism, and should not be allowed to destroy our democrasy,even my maori mates are nervous !!cinda is a fool,and should retire. | norman |
| No as in NO | Garth |
| Water comes from the sky & NO-ONE owns the sky.ASK LUXTON if he,ll have the guts to REVOKE jacindas maori 16% laws shes made & to READ the treaty & SEE that NO PARTNERSHIP was EVER mentioned.NEW ZEALAND is 84% & we are ALL EQUAL & DEMOCRACY NEEDS TO RETURN TO NZ not OUR ASSETS given to 16% but maori treated like us 84% EQUALLY. | Cindy |
| ABSOLUTELY NOT..ITS NOT THEIRS..! | Dave |
| Proportional representation is OK | David |
| Suitably qualified engineers and scientists, directed by a democratically elected local council only should oversea our water supply. | norm |
| Absolutely not especially since they will not be voted in. This is more Maori racism by the radical group | Gareth |
| I was wondering if we could claim the rain? | linda |
| ABSOLUTELY NOT – EVER! | Sylvia |
| Not at all. Their rights should be no different from anyone else’s. | Dorothy |
| NO way not in any think they are not the Indigenous of NZ. | Ron |
| Racist and not in the best interests of New Zealand | Ray |
| No way | Terry |
| They should be welcome to participate on a democratic basis to manage the resource and benefits for all NZ’rs equally. | Murray |
| Hapu and whanau were traditionally more important to Maori than Iwi. And because of poor average educational standards Iwi do not have specialist knowledge to do the job. They do have the same rights as anyone else to be heard about their needs and concerns. | Kelvin |
| Absolutely NO Their basic Culture does not include any form of conservation This government is hell bent on creating a divided country. WHY?????. | john |
| No.Thay are just New Zealanders and should have no more privlagers than the rest of us | john |
| ABSOLUTELY NOT | Murray |
| Stop the division. We need to be one people and one law for al. | Jenny |
| Mahuta is a thief! The partnership BS needs to be called out and shoved in her face. | Barbara |
| It ain’t broke, so don’t fix it!! Councils are doing a good job, and should continue to do so. Lack of funding is the main problem, Government could assist in this area. | Colin |
| NO WAY water is for every New Zealander no matter what their color/race/creed. | Carl |
| It’s a racist scam and anti democratic. Smacks of apartheid. | Bruce |
| No we are all New Zealanders with equal rights and it must stay that way. | Mike |
| The entire He puapua document should be destroyed before it destroys NewZealand. Racist and divisive. | Elizabeth |
| The problem has always been lac k of money to update and improve reticulation of the 3 waters systems. Government nis intending borrowing all the money to do this. The Local Authorities already have the management and contracting resources to carry out the work. All they need are the financial resources to do the work. The new authority will only offer personnel more money and new utes and carrhy out the planning, recommendations, reviews, construction and reporting without audit. | John |
| Always call them “tribes” NOT “iwi”! | Bruce |
| Absolutely not, iwi cannot look after themselves as evidenced with the covid injections. They also tell lies about their past and therefore can never be allowed to have positions of authority. In addition they are not in partnership. Get rid of this communist prime minister and her cohorts at the earliest | Tom |
| undemocratic, unnecessary, theft | Giles |
| The Iwi should have some representations but only by democratically elected people | Bryan |
| No means No | Mack |
| Absolutely not! | Alan |
| Leave it as it is, it is ‘owned’ by rate payers, not any iwi. Everything they touch fails, the top level get richer and all the other ‘iwi’ remain entrenched. | Rod |
| No they are only 15% of population yet are trying to control the other 85 % at the 85% cost with no accountability | John |
| Just another example of the Socialist agenda of power to the Maori elite not to the tax payers of New Zealand. People do not trust a government that is blatently lying. | Paloma |
| Iwi will have made very little financial contribution to any water supplies in this country. I have been drinking my tap water for years and am still well | Elsa |
| NZ needs to have a real discussion about who we are. Are we all Kiwis or are we to be broken up into tribes. | Peter |
| NO. Just like they should have no special role in any other part of our society. They are part of New Zealand and are entitled ONLY to the same rights as every other Kiwi – nothing more! | Derek |
| The most privilieged race in the world are becoming more and more used to their elevated status and are becoming more and more needy as a consequence. It has to stop. | Mike |
| Water is for all New Zealanders | David |
| If New Zealand is NOT Careful it’s on the way to having an Apartheid system DEMOCERY MUST RULE New Zealand | WILLIAM |
| No way these tribal racists should have control over anything except their own primitive culture. | John |
| Water like the air we breath are on the same plain. Both are vital to life. As such the fundamental ownership can never be actually owned by any human being or any specific human group of any kind. This also goes for the absolute control of air and water. So the answer is an obvious NO. | Garry |
| Te Paupau should be challenged strongly and urgently by opposition through the courts. | Pamela |
| Its time our we needed a new “face” labor leader came clean. What is her real agender and beliefs. What she is proposing and causing will as time goes on cause huge division within the country. What they are scheming is part of a long syterm plan by elite Maoris to gain wealth through stealth . Tribes alraedy have huge benefits over businesses with their no tax businesses. Who can compete against that . The old storey, a squeaky wheel gradually is excepted as fact by the masses and if a claim is made enough it becomes accepted as correct or fact. This labor mob must be voted out asap. | alan |
| Absolutely not.. there is no place in 21 st century NZ for Tribalism and the disproportionate assignation of power and control to a non democtatically elected Maori elite who have consistantly sought to enhance their own status and wealth, often at the expense of the Iwi that they puport to represent. Shame also on the current Labour government who in a few short years have set race relations between Maori and the rest of NZ back by about 50 years! | Rob |
| Absolutely no!!!! | Joe |
| nearly all iwi are mixed european | anne |
| We need to move on from the past as people we can all claim wrongs done to our ancestors NZ is a multicultural society that is equal not a two nation democracy | julie |
| Absolutely Not | Tony |
| This Government is most dangerous for the future of aa NZ. They control the media narrative and are using propaganda to divide this nation. Ardern and her bunch of miscreants are hell bent on deceiving this nation. They have to be brought to task by someone – but who? We now have all parties in the Beehive agreeing to pass a law which forbids putting the sex of a baby on the birth certificate. Don’t they realise that there are only male and female, any attempt to alter that in later life can only be a perverted deviancy from the natural order of things. At this rate the fall of Rome will be nothing compared to the collapse of our civilisation. | Kevin |
| The CLEAR intent of the Treaty was to ensure Maori were not denied access to things, not to give them racially preferential advantage / ownership! | Andy |
| Everybody owns water! | Murray |
| Claims that Treaty of Waitangi implies a partnership between crown and maori are incorrect. And nowhere has it been inferred that maori have any rights in respect of water other than as new zealanders. | Peter |
| All such roles have an underlying motivation of exercising power – ultimately complete power. | Jack |
| Absolutely no. Originally I thought we were one country and one proud group of citizens and then along comes a Marxist government that intends to pit Maori against the rest of us. | Albyn |
| If only the media would stop only highlighting the asset loss to ratepayers AND NOT EVEN MENTIONING THE LOSS OF DEMOCRACY FOR RACE BASED POWER GRAB. Ardern is the most dishonest and dangerous politician we have had in my 70 years of interest. | Creed |
| Definitely not. Everything to do with water or the environment should be handled by councils and DOC. If we give them the power our water etc will definitely deteriorate- going on past experience of Maori taking over the running if things they are only interested in the money. | Muriel |
| Their track record shows they are incapable. | Florence |
| To claim that the treaty has the status of an equal partnership between Maori and the crown is absolute rubbish | Mark |
| None whatsoever as a separate group. They are either part of New Zealand or not.They know that they cannot govern without the majority of money coming from the majority of us. Iwi groups are not part of our governing structure. | Murray |
| why?? This is one NZ for one and all!!!! | miles |
| Iwi should not have special roles in anything. The grassroots Maori would be badly affected by such a decision. Election day can’t come soon enough. | Judith |
| The current system caters for all New Zealanders | Peter |
| The principles of democracy and fairness to all should be upheld in all Government decision making or it is not our government at all. | Harvey |
| Our council spent 50 mil up grading our water and the govt want to give 3 mil to compensate under 3 waters. Lairs and thieves no way. | Stephen |
| Once again Iwi in my mind have no understanding of today, as a whole they are only interested in whats in it for their iwi ( financial compensation) It would be a never ending battle of control … | james |
| We are one people so special iwi rights are anti-democratic | Philip |
| We are one people, one nation. Giving control of water to an exclusive group based on race is apartheid in action. | Susan |
| No not corporate iwi, they are part of the problem, if we got back to the Treaty of Independence 1835 we could progress | Wayne |
| One country one people why the sepratisim | Phil |
| New Zealanders are fools if they ever trust a Labour government again. It has no commitment to genuine democracy or to the principle of equality under one law for all. | Denis |
| We are one people. Full stop. No question about that! | William |
| This issue has concerned me for ages. Even if a majority group is given more rights than a majority it’s still undemocratic. | Michael |
| Insane and racist | Thomas |
| Absolutely NOT. | Janine |
| We are one people one nation and not two tribes, them and Us. | Lindsay |
| Definitely NOT | Arthur |
| Are we ONE PEOPLE or not !! This is just another SCAM for Maori Elite to CONTROL everything !! The choice is, either; we become one People OR we go to a total Apartheid. | geoff |
| The management of water should not be in the hands of one sector of the community regardless of that’s sector % of the population as a whole. Imagine the uproar if the management was put entirely in the hands of the sector which holds the greatest %. | Sue |
| We are one country, one race, one colourblind nation | John |
| Because it is a natural resource and we are a democracy all citizens should have equal rights over it and access to it. | Brian |
| Absolutely not. This Labour Govt is out of control. | Addrianne |
| I am glad to hear that at least one group is taking the Government to court on an issue. It is high time that both the idea that Maori are “indigenous” and are “partners” in the Treaty was once and for all taken to the Supreme court and cleared up. It is just a pity that we don’t now have the opportunity of taking such things to the Privy Council who would not be “tainted” on matters like this, as it is obvious that some local judges are. | Ted |
| are we not all New Zealanders? Answer YES we are!! | Wiremu |
| they should not be involved | John |
| As I have said before once the treaty is interpreted as a partnership a never ending cash flow is turned on. This means they have 50% of all Government Bodies. The next step is to get the treaty into our constitution. If this happens they will have an eternal cash flow. This Government is heading in that direction. | Dene |
| Unless they have been democratically elected for a specialised position | clive |
| Hard to believe they are even thinking about it ?? constitutionaly all wrong | Roger |
| no role whatsoever. | Valerie |
| No evidence has been produced that the present system is broken. faulty maybe, The Govt has no mandate to rebuild the present system. Just repair what is faulty now. The proposal is totally illegal. 1 law for all. | mike |
| Absolutely NOT. We need all NZers to wake up now before it’s too late if its not already. | Tracey |
| Definitely not! I am becoming increasingly concerned about what is happening in government with this issue, and any other issue regarding Maori | Kerin |
| Maori shouldn’t have a “special” role in anything in NZ. Their racist agenda in every part of NZ is becoming more apparent. Eliminating Maori seats in Parliament should be the start of stopping this crap. Maori immigrated to NZ and were over come by a stronger, more developed set of immigrants who charitably consented to Maoris survival. | Tony |
| Racial discrimination | Allisson |
| Absolutely not……leave it to the councils, they have the ratepayers backing and expertise! | rick |
| NO! But it’s too late. The country is stuffed now.l All done behind closed doors and abetted by a compliant or paid media. Luxon’s leadership of the opposition is the sane Kiwis only hope and if you place your trust in politicians then it really if a truly forlorn hope indeed. Sad but true. | Bruce |
| No one owns the water | John |
| How is 14per cent of population allowed to claim ownership of water. Are they now God?? | John |
| Definitely no. This shame is totally undemocratic and if passed it will end in a complete shambles. | Warren |
| Hell no!! | FloJo |
| God ,made the water so Iwi and no different than any other person at all. | charlotte |
| NO | Eddie |
| No more special than that of all NZers. | Brian |
| What is so special about Iwi. They support gangs who pollute their own people and do absolutely nothing to stop it. | Frank |
| It is nonsense that a relatively small % of the population by DNA should have 50% or more voting control of 100% legally owned Council assets. | Jim |
| Of course not! They should not have a special roll in anything- just as the local golf club (which is a damned more democratic) has in anything. Time to emphasize democracy! | Roger |
| Partnership = corruption | Neil |
| Ref: “the principles of the treaty of waitangi as expressed by the courts”, at best they should only be allowed 12-15% partnership rrepresentation. Not 50% | Bruce |
| They have been after this gravy train for years and see this as an answer to all their perceived problems. We as a nation are surrounded by it, it is a world wide and joined on and off shore. NO | Ken |
| To say iwi have “significant expertise and experience iwi have in resource management, infrastructure development, and water issues.” Is clearly a farcical lie. Obviously they have no experience in infrastructure as non existed till the Europeans arrived! They also torched a great deal of the country and made several species extinct, in particular the moa. So how can they be more suited than non-maori to look after these. What a joke! | Steve |
| Whoever controls the water controls the country | Kevin |
| who owns the water is a nonsense, in the treaty we were equal so what is the motive behind it all ??????? | John |
| what are we…idiots? My apologies but that was my first reaction on reading the question. | Sharron |
| Definitely not! We should all be treated as equals in our own country and this point needs to be driven home, otherwise we will lose all our democratic rights to the iwi elite. | Marg |
| We are all New Zealanders. The Three Waters process is undemocratic, based on lies and deceit in pursuit of a particular agenda of minority Iwi control of assets that belong to all New Zealanders. | Margaret |
| It is racially divisive | ivan |
| We are all nzers | Lyn |
| No. Many thanks to Bruce Smith and Muriel for Fighting back against this evil corrupted Govt. Iwi are are New Zealanders and they signed the treaty in 1840 that gave them the same rights as British subjects. Read the book “one Sun In The Sky” (McQueen) Iwi will have a fight on their hands, they do not own the water or our assets. Labour cannot be trusted. | Sam |
| Certainly NOT! | Peter |
| How did Maori manage their waste water in 1700 to make them such an authority on the subject of sewage disposal today. | Brian |
| We are one people | Sue |
| Surely there must be people in positions of power that can stop this disgusting move toward apartheid I have written to the Race Relations Commissioner Meg Foon (aka Bufoon) no response .Another Tooth Fairy bribe me thinks .Where are all the Anti TOUR protesters that protested against Apartheid ?? Professional WANKERS !! . | Ray |
| The Labour Party is no longer a party for the workers. Ardern has become obsessed with all things ” Maori” so the elites are naturally taking advantage with Three Waters and He Pupua. One has to wonder at the wisdom and calibre of the opposition parties though who have allowed themselves to be manipulated into being sidetracked by the covid issue. We k ow what Ardern stands for so no surprises there. To me it is shameful that ordinary Kiwis have to fight this battle rather than a competent, courageous opposition political party. | Janine |
| Water belongs to ALL New Zealanders | Bill |
| Water and other resources should be managed by people with expertise in this area. if this was done transparently I would be very. surprised if some of maori origin. were not involved. I think national versus local is a valid question across resources like roads, prison, power, and water. | Mike |
| Definitely not, but the bigger question is, how do thinking New Zealanders actually get the majority of NZers who don’t read or think coherently and get their whole decision making based on Cindy’s and her cohorts daily tripe. This tripe is rolled out by a media that’s reliant on payouts from Govt and is therefore reliant on telling their story to remain in their jobs. I’m at a loss to trying to think through the answer to my own question. I feel that we, as a nation, are on the brink and if there is nothing done very soon to stop what is happening, there will be no turning back because no party in waiting has the balls to stand up and say how it really is. | Joseph |
| We are all one people. The water does not ‘belong’ to anybody. As a ratepayer I refuse to be controlled by a minority interest | Dave |
| Absolutely not. The big lie that they are on partnership with the Crown is so false yet is not being challenged hard enough. The statement by Mahuta that iwi have the expertise to manage water assets is a falsehood. They can’t even manage their people to get vaccinated and are demonstrating their “expertise” in the way that they are managing Te Urewera, which has been closed for several months, and facilities have fallen into disrepair. Is that how they will manage our water assets? | Kerry |
| HELL NO, NO AND NO | G |
| None whatsoever. Water is the equal property of all New Zealanders. | Gordon |
| It is a natural and national asset for all New Zealanders. | Laurence |
| Nobody owns the water. To even suggest anything different is utterly ludicrous. | Logan |
| Absolutely no control in any publicly owned asset. No private entity should be involved, particularly in water, an essential need for every New Zealander. Private business is simply that, and are concerned with the profit margins that should never be part of a PUBLIC entity. Govt could better employ people with the right expertise in water management (probably from overseas) to assist local councils on a maintenance program instead of wasting billions on a “Power take over” | Rita |
| There is no place for any group to own or control water or any other assets in NZ. The irony with water being that it comes from across the Tasman and Antarctica | BRUCE |
| This country was built by the British. | Brandon |
| The very idea is a blatant miss use of power and a national disgrace. Wake up Kiwis! | Don |
| Councils should be the ones to maintain & develop infrastructure. I suggest having councils in charge of their own water would (hopefully) focus their attention on water – rather than sail off into the sunset with grandiose inner-city sports stadiums… | Tim |
| We are all equal. | Janet |
| absolutely not | Robin |
| Water rights should be retained as they are for all New Zealanders to enjoy equally, regardless of race, medical status, etc. All this may yet come down to another series of complaints to the human rights commission over exclusivity and denial of access to some people of natural services | Trevor |
| No ! water is for all New Zealanders and any special role in the management of it should be through the democratic process. | Lawrie |
| Greed and convenient interpretation of treaty. | Terry |
| definetly no, | Nev Kath |
| Local councils understand the needs for their own district. The local ratepayers have invested money into the needed infrastructure. | Pam |
| It is racist move to give Maori control of an asset that is an integral part of life . with that Maori have control of us | John |
| If maori were the most intelligent race of people we would not want them having control of anything, and only 12% having control of 85% is strait out dictatorship | Colin |
| This 3 Waters debacle is based on lies and political deceit. All councils in Nz need to step up and loudly tell this lying government NO stop leaving this mess to just a few. | Wendy |
| Ownership – by any group – is undemocratic for NZ. | mary louise |
| Roles should not be determined by race/ethnicity, ‘who was here first’ or any belief system or ‘marginalisation’ status. | Chris |
| They are NOT the government who is elected by the people. We are all one people and governance is by the people not part of the people | Jacky |
| No unelected officials should hold power over New Zealand’s people or resources | Craig |
| Absolutely NOT! All statistics in New Zealand show that the maori race is a total disgrace. | Darryl |
| The Labour Government are giving into Maori demands with no regard for the rest of New Zealanders | Noeline |
| Apartheid policy at play , all part of Jacindas attempt to give control to IWI | Mark |
| a vote of no confidence in the current govt should gathered and this govt sacked. | Rick |
| It is not what the treaty was about. Good faith bargaining from 1988. Now it is Jacinda’s hidden communist agenda to get her to the top of the UN. She has no interest in NZ or NZers. | michael |
| Read and understand the Treaty -Iwi control and dominance is impossible. We are one people. | Gerry |
| Any Maori involvement can only lead to dodgy dealings!! | Bruce |
| Water belongs to no one except Mother Nature. Three Waters just another ploy to make the majority of us second class citizens in our birthland. | Mary |
| Does one need to comment? | Charles |
| What a disgrace this government is! Where are the unions and Labour backbenchers on this? Have they no spine at all? | Tony |
| The reasons are well set out in Dr Newman’s article. This is total in-caucus activists and external elitist-activists driven rort on all other New Zealanders, including non-aligned Maori. It is a contrived governance control, asset seizing, exploitation in perpetuity power grab by Maori activists bent on self-enrichment | Hugh |
| No No No | Felicity |
| No,No,No,No,Not Ever, | Mark |
| NO! Their aim is by claiming to be a “Treaty Partner” (No such thing exists) they can impose an IWI tax ALL water. Wake up New Zealand | Bob |
| Iwi are not, and can never be allowed to become a special ruling class in New Zealand. To promote a dubious treaty interpretation as requiring partnership is a disgraceful abuse of democracy. It is simply not acceptable to move away from one person, one vote. Equality has been and should remain a foundation for a successful country. | Peter |
| Never, never ,never…ever !!! You cannot trust this Governments blatant lies….. | Peter |
| They should have no special role in anything in this country. The “real” treaty of Waitangi (a very short 3 paragraph document) makes absolutely no mention of co-governance | D |
| We must take a stand now on this racist grab of Water, Health, Local Government under the guise of a “Treaty”. Enough is enough the gravy train is live and well. | Errol |
| This regime consists of a number of rather suspect characters devoid of any real skills and driven by ideology. Under the cover of this pseudo pandemic they have exploited their position of power and they will continue to do so in the next two years. No matter what the cost or what the damage to our country and our society will be. This criminal outfit can be compared with a cloud of locusts ravaging the land and when there is nothing left to feed on they simply will move on and do damage elsewhere. To be honest, I fear for New Zealand’s future and I would have never expected to see this country deteriorating at such a frightening pace. Welcome to totalitarianism. | Michael |
| We should all be treated equally not seperated | Paula |
| If there wasn’t money to be made they wouldn’t be interested anyway. | KT |
| This water grab featured throughout the whole of 2017! The hints were started then. | Kevin |
| We should be a ‘team of 5 million’ all the time, not only when it suits the government to use this line. What we shouldn’t be is a team of 15% of the population having the right to veto the remaining 85% population. | Tina |
| Never should we allow an elite minority to control what the ratepayers own and pay for. | Marion |
| All they think about is getting something for nothing | Mike |
| Water is a natural resource given by Nature that should available equally to everyone and not controlled by a single cultural group | John |
| Only with the water they harvest THEMSELVES, for their OWN NEEDS. | Warwick |
| Absolutely NOT. I’m so sorry but I’m becoming more & more Racist. I have never been this way ever! | Teresa |
| Unfair undemocratic | Murray |
| Racist policy has no place in the World. | Coral |
| WAKE UP NEW ZEALAND! | Peter |
| Absolutely ridiculous, one country one people | Graeme |
| The whole idea is just racist, we are hating to see our country being turned into an apartheid regime ruled by PART maoris | Charles |
| Our democracy is being destroyed by this government. | Liz |
| Maori should no special role in this country – period. | Graham |
| It is farcical to even consider it. The current system is not broken and 3 waters is theft on a grand scale. Lies and deceptions. | John |
| No conspiracy here! The United Nations Agenda 21 is in play. Jacindas globalist agendas are racist. Divide and conquer! If she forces this…. we the people have the powers…. No one should pay their rates. | Mike |
| I remember several years ago the greed in the voice of a northern Maori I met at a tango when he said “we will get one power station and the lot.”exact words. The three waters echoes that control attitude.. | Catherine |
| Tribal control of our critical Three Waters assets? Total garbage. Since when did iwi have hydrological skills and qualifications? Just ask the Moa about maori conservation skills and experience. | Chris |
| Water management along with all ratepayer decisions has to be made democratically by all New Zealanders not one minority. | Jane |
| Water comes from the sky’s. Iwi do not and never had any rights to the sky’s. What next, will they want to own the air that we breath. | Jim |
| Definitely not. We are one country, one people. No one should have special rights. | Chris |
| Maori are not indigenous to NZ they landed in boats a few hundred years before the settlers did. | Kevin |
| I don’t accept this belief regarding Iwi is true and wonder from where it (the belief) came? “because of the significant expertise and experience iwi have in resource management, infrastructure development, and water issues.” | Paul |
| Ridiculous and racist. | Louise |
| Absolutely NOT. | Lenise |
| Sadly we need more of this to wake up the many sheeple in NZ to what these pathetic liars in parliament are up to.. And Covid is a perfect and timely excuse to distract people from their undemocratic agenda. This Labour government will go down as the worst in the history of NZ! | Jan |
| Water came down from the sky yesterday, it belongs to know one. Iwi have been after water for years, they can’t claim ownership over everyone else. | Martyn |
| no way | Steve |
| Ultimately; who is behind all these reforms?. | Sam |
| Definitely not! | Lee |
| The idea is preposterous, insane, has nil merit. | Richard |
| What Mahuta is trying to pull off is a blatant rort verging on corruption. | pdm. |
| The whole Labour plan is insane and illegal !! | Tony |
| This is a naked attempt through patently dishonest double talk and bluff to gain Maori tribal elite control and therefore the rights of ownership over one our country’s most significant natural assets. One which is an essential resource and service to our very existence | Murray |
| Most people in NEW ZEALAND would tell you that WE are ALL one people and should ALL live as NEW ZEALANDERS. ONE PEOPLE! | William |
| Water should be managed by elected local councils and no one else. iwi should not have 50% representation in anything. they are not a treaty partner. | Lynne |
| absalotly NO we will all be buggered if this country is run by IWI including Maori people, One Land One people is the only way. time to put a stop once & for all to the TREATY OF WAITANGI & the lies it has morphed into | Nigel |
| Only those voted into council should have a role. | Barbara |
| The average Maori gets nothing while all tribes have billions in assets | Niall |
| No ethnic privileges should exist in New Zealand, especially when that particular ethnic group do not pay any rates in some regions | Erin |
| Maori should have no special role in anything. | John |
| Absolutely not. In my experience as a visitor to remote areas of NZ chasing trout, iwi’s biggest contribution to our waterways is using them as a dumping ground ……… | Dave |
| Stop the division of our country | Shirley |
| I have seen over many years how Maori have wasted the assets given to them by way of settlement, and the benefits do not seem to be flowing down to the people who need support and help. We are supposedly one people, but whenever Maori do not get what they want, like a spoiled child they throw away their toys and play the racist card | Peter |
| Absolutely not, the water management arrangements should be kept as is. Iwi need no special roles, any more than any other NZ-er. | mike |
| While appropriate to consult water is an asset belonging to all New Zealand Citizens. | Terry |
| I am astounded that any reasonable thinking person could believe a race based approach to resolving any issue in New Zealand is a positive thing. Allocate resources and make policy according to need, not race. | Scott |
| Each of us has a role as an individual voter, there is no room for special treatment based on race. | Rod |
| This Minister cannot be reasoned with at all | Anthea |
| The tail shouldn’t wag the dog | Barry |
| No New Zealander should have a special management role in decisions about water. No one owns water. It is a God given right for all to have free access to water. | Tony |
| How can less than 15% of pop. have that much control. Wont solve any Maori problems just make top of the pile elite fatter. | Billy |
| Water belongs to everyone it cannot be owned by a special group of people | Andrew |
| Water is a necessity for life. Like air, it moves around the world, therefore is owned by everyone, or no-one. | Murray |
| Why? Despite the ongoing propaganda, Maori are without doubt the very worst environmentalists. If there are infringements relating to excesses (eg. shellfish, fishing, etc.) you can guarantee the perpetrators all have Maori names. So how can NZers benefit by them having a special role in water management? | Tony |
| Why should a minority group control a significant commodity like water, which is every Kiwi’s democratic right to use. | Pavithra |
| Absolute racially biased unacceptable nonsense- water belongs to everyone equally | Hylton |
| Totally undemocratic and divisive. Part of a very deceitful government’s plan to implement a co governance with Maori Should NOT be allowed to happen | Phillip |
| The main goal of All if these law changes by labour are designed to divide the the people of New Zealand | David |
| DEFINATELY, DEFINATELY, DEFINATELY NOT, repeat NOT. Again – simply reverse racism and F..ing our NEW ZEALAND. NOOOOOOOO | Brian |
| Maori customary rights does not extend to machinery design and maintenance or modern water management | ross |
| N. O. End of story. | Peter |
| Absolutely not we are one nation | Martin |
| Kiwi, not Iwi! | Gary |
| They fight among themselves how can they look after the waters its not their’s to manage | Jimmy |
| Definitely not | Graeme |
| One people, one nation. No to any form of iwi privilege’s which undermine our democratic rights. One people, one vote, time to remove this Marxist form of governance from New Zealand. We are now the laughing stock of the western world controlled by a deceitful Labor Government who are dumbing down our spectacular country through all sectors of society including education. | Steve |
| No! But you might distinguish management from governance…. | Tim |
| Never | Harry |
| Iwi are ru(i)ning the country and fight back is essential. | James |
| What expertise do they have in this topic? | Lyn |
| Management should be by people specialised in the science of water and formal management. Not run by idealogical folklore supporting elite iwi agendas | Maggie |
| We are all one, how can less than 20% of population? showing week milatant Govt. I beleive Our precious PM will walk soon | Paul |
| Iwi do not represent the interests and ‘common good’ of all New Zealanders. There is no evidence of their purported “….significant expertise and experience iwi have in resource management, infrastructure development, and water issues” | Vanessa |
| Over my dead body!! | Ron |
| Another myth is Maori have a deep understanding of resource management and infrastructure. Who are the great architects – not Maori unless a whare counts. | John |
| A VERY BIG NO | sylvis |
| Iwi should have a consultative role only. They have a role to play in water management as part of their connection to the land, and the preservation of pure resources, but again in a consultative role only. | Colin |
| We are one people not two tribes. Everyone should have equal rights and standing in these matters. | Ken |
| Racist and theft of public property | Reg |
| We are all equal under the ToW, democracy must prevail or there will be decades of unrest. The history of Maori governence and stewardship does not make good reading. | Merv |
| I would like to see and example of Maori water management from the past. | Chris |
| I will have already had more that a far share from the N.Zers purse. They signed sovereignly to the Queen in the treaty. We’re very pleased to do so, there’s no actual problem with N.z. water our problem is the dishonest prime minister we’re having to endure. | Robin |
| The ‘partnership’ with maori is just bullshit! NO, No, NO etc | Carl |
| Welcome their SPECIAL expertise if they have it but limit their influence to their 15% make-up of the population of NEW ZEALAND | Doug |
| This is racism and denies the 85% of New Zealanders who have contributed to the development of the infrastructure around water. There is no way Iwi have the right or ability to take over control of this nation water. | Bryan |
| Over the years everything, and I mean everything Iwi has controlled has been a disaster | Neil |
| None whatsoever. Look what they’ve done to lake waikaremoana. Shameful!!! | Rick |
| No way. | Mark |
| One country one people | Gerald |
| Special treatment for no one. that is NOT democracy | RICHard |
| We are all part of NZ, every race, gender & age. Water is key to survival & is therefore essential. Every NZer equally has the right, not divided by race, to water. Therefore ownership is for everyone and management should be by the most appropriate appointed people, not determined by race. | Paula |
| Water management should be in the hands of public elected Kiwis with no consideration or favour given on racial basis. | Anton |
| Of course not, they are merely citizens like everyone else in New Zealand | Terry |
| Bloody ludicrous! Traitors the lot of them | Terry |
| Never never never | Richard |
| Of course not | Geoffrey |
| Absolutely not | Mark |
| Water is everyone’s right and to be used equally. | Pete |
| Biggest attack on democracy and our way of life ever..it must be stopped and steps taken that ensure this can never happen again. | Peter |
| I wouldn’t have a problem if any of the groups involved have the knowledge and expertise to make decisions concerning our water? So I would like to know there qualifications?? | Ricky |
| Iwi should be like any other corporation in New Zealand, and only have a role in managing their own assets. | Murray |
| Undemocratic! | Catherine |
| This entire process has been an orchestrated power grab by the activist Maori segment in a Labour Govt desperate to hold on to power | Mike |
| Another attempt at aparthied | kelvin |
| another costly disaster waiting to happen , as with everything else that iwi are associated with…the facts do not lie . | Roy |
| Greedy iwi should just piss off back to 1840. | steve |
| Absolutely not, water comes from the sky and is owned by nobody. | Tom |
| All assets should be controlled by local governance and those elected. | Mark |
| outright theft of rate payers assets. criminal | mark |
| The public do not vote for Iwi. | Graham |
| We are One People and we cannot allow this bill to be passed, giving a small minority control of such a critical asset | Merrill |
| It is ridiculous to assert Iwi should have any special rights or role in water management. We the ratepayers do as we pay rates to Councils to look after management of water on our behalf. This is the model used throughout the world successfully. Nanaia Mahuta desire to strip us of our role in control of local water and meekly handing it over to four iwi entities is therefore unacceptable, and intolerable. These Maori entities have no experience or knowledge of such management unlike all existing Councils. Apart from this it is completely against the Christian principle that we are all equal under God as it gives privilege to but one race – Maori. The Treaty itself also does not give Maori and special rights either or advocate a partnership as Andrew Little falsely and continually claims. Instead the Treaty specifically gives equal rights. | Bruce |
| This proposal is an assault on democracy and must not succeed | Graham |
| Racist | Greg |
| This Labour Government is so undemocratic that it is a threat to New Zealanders way of life and worrying for the future | Geoff |
| Never ! Plain and simple … | Des |
| This take over of water is just what one can expect from a communist govt. disgusting! | Ian |
| Water is for everyone | John |
| Bloody ridiculous, racial division is apartheid, we don’t want that here – this has to be stopped. | Clive |
| They should have NO special role in anything !!! | Kevin |
| No special nothing of any sort. This b.s. needs to stop. They have had enough blood from the stone. | Greg |
| IWI do not neccessarily have any special skills when managing water. The board should be made up from suitable qualified people and based on skills not race . This is a racist document. | william |
| Absolutely not… | Lorraine |
| All Kiwi should have equal rights. I will have NO special knowledge or experience. Most of them are Europeans with a minor Maori ancestry. | Laurie |
| No no no no no – What Maori. There are no Maori n New Zealand. Only part Maori with most having less than 50% Maori blood. Time to get on with life as one people and stop this apartheid crap | Trevor |
| The vote should be ALL New Zealanders. No division, no segregation, just inclusion | Bev |
| I am dumbstruck by what I just read. I never expected such litany of deception and misinformation and skulduggery from Labour. | Andy |
| Apartheid down-under-style! Te Puapua, jab mandates, maori road blocks, language……Adern and her commie cabal are destroying my beloved New Zealand. How I detest her!!! | Sharen |
| ABSOLUTELY NOT!! So many times in my life I have seen maori give things they have wanted and ALWAYS accompanied with huge dollops of money! And in almost all situations it has turned into a mess! Sure the likes of Tainui and Ngai Tahu might make a reasonable job of it, BUT AT WHAT COST!?? But my biggest opposition is that my belief is that they ultimately want to have ownership of the water itself. Because once they can say the water is theirs, it’s a license to make money! FROM EVERY SINGLE NEW ZEALANDER THAT USES WATER! To drink,to water livestock, to swim in,to put a boat in, to irrigate, to water their garden, to clean their car, TO FLUSH THEIR TOILET! | Wally |
| Just an lll disguised attempt to give iwi control of water something Maori have been after for years | Anthony |
| No,no,no get rid of this Labour Party and bring back New Zealand. | Laura |
| Iwi members are citizens of New Zealand,the same as the rest of us, no more, no less. | Brian |
| One nation. One people. One law. | John |
| A catastrophal situation. In tribal decisions Mana rules, not logic or democratic process. The “gift -of-the -gab” becomes “the gift-of-the-grab”. | Charles |
| Absolutely not. | Ross |
| Why, some one give me a sound reason why And ill bet there will be a ten thousand people telling you no for every one person saying yes. Iwi have no plausible reason to be considered as a group to be consider to have a special role in water management | Bruce |
| Current water management through out NZ is not in need of any change. | Peter |
| most definitely not, especially without consulting the entire public before deciding what the government should do with our assets. | James |
| To think these scumbags run our country, time to flush them down the drain. | Sven |
| Experts should be chosen on merit not by race. | Neil |
| No more than ANY New Zealander. | John |
| Absolutely not. They should have the same rights as everyone else – nothing more and nothing less! | Darren |
| Jacinda Ardern is destroying our country through her obsession with co-governance and iwi rights. What a disaster she has turned out to be. | Joyce |
| No, No, No! Iwi should not have special rights. They are mired in vested interest. They shouldn’t be permitted anywhere near the levers of power. | Len |
| Three Waters should be dumped. The whole thing is a massive con job on New Zealanders. | Christopher |
| Mayor Bruce Smith is showing great leadership on three waters – what a shame he is not Prime Minister! | Bruce |