by Selwyn Manning:

The decision on who gets to turn off water supplies of people who refuse to pay their bills will soon change.

Metrowater will lose its right to cut water off from homes which do not pay their water bills.

Auckland mayor Christine Fletcher wants the Auckland City Council to take back the sole right to decide who should have their water disconnected.

The proposal will be moved by Mrs Fletcher at a Council meeting in two week’s time. A new tariff structure for Metrowater will also be discussed at that time.

The move, she says, recognises that water supply is not just a business but also an essential service to the community.

Metrowater has had a “disconnection if no money” policy for debtor families. A lobby group fighting the structure of corporatisation of water supply has been reconnecting those homes which have had their water disconnected.

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