Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer is elated her members bill to protect our wai Māori has been drawn from the ballot.

This Bill would protect freshwater from commercial exploitation by prohibiting its extraction for the purpose of on selling in a packaged form.

“We must put an end to the corporate exploitation of our freshwater. No person should have to pay for fresh water in Aotearoa, and no one should have to deal with the contamination that commercial extraction causes,” said Ngarewa-Packer.

“This Bill was inspired by Ken Mair, Sister Makareta, and our whanaunga in Whanganui, who fought to protect Te Awa Tupua from the Horizons Regional Council’s plan to establish a bottling plant to extract and sell 750,000 litres of groundwater a week.

“Hapū, iwi, and local communities have been resisting commercial water bottling consents for many years, including Ngā Hapū o Tūpoho, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and Ngāi Tahu.

“Groundwater is a taonga protected by Article 2 of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Hapū and iwi have proprietary, customary, and decision-making rights over freshwater, they were guaranteed ownership over aquifers and groundwater resource.

“Protecting water quality and quantity in our aquifers and groundwater is important for public health. Around 40 percent of people in Aotearoa rely on groundwater for their drinking water. Aquifers also feed wetlands, lowland rivers, and lakes.

“I am calling on all members of the house to support this Bill.

“As kaitiaki, Te Pāti Māori will continue to lead the debate on protecting our environment from corporate greed and restoring the mauri of our taiao for future generations,” said Ngarewa-Packer.

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