A day after Dr Clark confirmed to the Otago Daily Times that he was to retire from politics at the next election, he was as good as his word that he would continue to work shoulder to the wheel up until then and was in the House bright and early to introduce his latest Bill.
The Water Services Economic Efficiency and Consumer Protection Bill is the final in the unedifying trilogy that is the Three Waters legislation.
Minister for Local Government Nanaia Mahuta has had to bear the brunt of the work and the bulk of the opprobrium for what has proven to be a controversial and highly divisive set of reforms.
Dr Clark’s involvement comes thanks to being Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and his task is to implement the regulatory regime which endeavours to ensure that the brave new water world will deliver aqua to all communities at a fair price.
Much of the framework which the Commerce Commission will eventually oversee is modelled on how Scotland delivers water to its people.
The role of water services commissioner will be established and that lucky person will ensure regulations regarding water quality are followed, and also that water is delivered at an affordable cost.
There will be a maximum average price for water and a cap on how much water service providers can seek to cover delivery costs.
The Commerce Commission already plays a similar role in the electricity sector, with similar consumer safeguards.
However, water is slightly different in that you can change power companies but you cannot find someone else to hook your taps up to the local reservoir.
Guarding against potentially oppressive monopolistic behaviour will be a major focus for the commissioner.
There is an extremely long list of potentially actionable breaches in the Bill, with commensurately intimidating fines ... up to $1 million in some instances.
The Bill also sets up an independent complaints and disputes resolution system, and sets out the information disclosure requirements that the four proposed water entities will have to meet.
"New Zealanders expect and deserve safe drinking water, sewage infrastructure and stormwater systems," Dr Clark said.
"The economic regulation and consumer protection regime established by this Bill will help achieve this and will help safeguard and enhance critical water infrastructure and services for generations to come."
Unlike Ms Mahuta, Dr Clark had a relatively gentle reception from the Opposition — this Bill could seemingly be termed "some of the bits of Three Waters we don’t mind too much", given National and Act New Zealand accept that if you were hellbent on a new system for managing water, it had better be properly regulated.
"The National Party do support the concept of sound economic and commercial regulation, including economic and consumer protection in regards to water infrastructure," National Party local government spokesman Simon Watt said.
"But the challenge here is that this legislation is applying that regulation to a four-entity co-governed model, which we do not believe is the appropriate model in order to achieve the outcomes that we require in order to produce a safe, reliable, and a sustainable water infrastructure model in this country."
Hence, the Opposition were going to vote against it — if you did not like books one and two you were hardly going to enthuse about the final part of the trilogy.
Dr Clark’s long-time rival for the Dunedin seat Michael Woodhouse also weighed in, firstly with a gracious acknowledgement of his foe’s time in Parliament.
"Now that’s probably where the lovefest ends ... this is the largest State-sponsored theft of assets since Treaty breaches in the 19th century.
"It is unconscionable and there’s no way to polish that up," Mr Woodhouse said, which earned him an "Oh goodness gracious" from Dr Clark’s likely successor as Labour’s Dunedin nominee, list MP Rachel Brooking.
It would be nice to say that Ms Brooking, and Taieri MP Ingrid Leary before her, mounted a convincing defence of Dr Clark, but Labour’s MPs were operating in fast and furious mode and were gone in 60 seconds each time that they spoke, trying to get the first reading finished before Parliament rose for the year.
They succeeded, setting up a no-doubt tumultuous select committee process in the months ahead.
Vale John Armstrong
For many years Otago Daily Times readers had the joy of reading New Zealand Herald journalist John Armstrong’s political commentary.
I had the amazing privilege of working with John and of watching an actual wordsmith at his craft on a daily basis.
Both John and the Herald’s then-gallery chief Audrey Young produced columns which were master classes in the art of reporting.
Anyone can have an opinion, but their work was grounded in the view that if you wanted to share it with readers, it should be an informed one.
John’s columns could involve multiple interviews, sometimes over several days, before he approached his keyboard and refined an incisive, rounded, fully expressed view which was entirely his own.
Without their lead, there would be no Southern Say to follow.
My favourite John moment came when the Greens were throwing a party in Bowen House and he and I were walking on the travelator over there, when then-Prime Minister Helen Clark wandered around the corner.
"Boys," she boomed. John replied "Helen" and I said "Prime Minister". When we were out of sight he said, "You could have called her Helen you know, she was off-duty," to which I replied, "John, when I’ve been here as long as you have I might possibly gain Helen privileges", which elicited a full belly laugh.
John not only had Helen privileges, but any politician in the country would take his call.
He died last week and journalism is the poorer.
- Parliament is now in recess, but Southern Say will be back next week for a look back at the year that was for our southern MPs.
