Recommendation to charge for water the ghost of policies past

A newly-formed group, aiming to stop the commercialisation of domestic water
supply, says that a proposal for user-pays charges for water is a warning
that the corpse of madcap neo-liberalism is yet to stop twitching.

Responding to the “Funding Local Government” report released this week,
Maria McMillan, spokesperson for lobby group Right to Water, says the
proposal to introduce charges for water takes us back to the bad old days of
Rogernomics, with its insistence on slapping ‘user-pays’ charges on
everything, regardless of the social and economic consequences.

“User-pays for residential water is a morally corrupt proposal. Water is
essential to human life and recognised by the United Nations as a human
right. Charging for an essential service results in poor outcomes for both
individual and community well-being,” Maria McMillan says.

Internationally, user-pays charges for water have been shown to hurt poor
people the most. While another few dollars won't stop rich people washing
their SUVs or filling their swimming pools, another unavoidable bill might
mean low income families, with less disposable incomes, will have to choose
between food and water.

“Councils should focus on providing core services to every member of the
community. What is more fundamental to the well-being of the community than
clean water?”

“The report doesn't even make sense in its own terms. This inquiry resulted
from concerns that rates were too high. It's pointless to simply remove an
unavoidable cost, and charge for it in a different way. It doesn't matter
what local body charges are called, it still hits pockets just as hard.
Likewise, calling for central government to pay for water meters is just
moving the cost from one bill to another.”

“Charging for water may cause a slight reduction in water use, but at the
expense of the health and quality of life of people in the community who are
already struggling.”

“The chair of the inquiry, David Shand, is a former employee of the World
Bank and the IMF and is bringing their neo-liberal politics back to New
Zealand. These institutions are implicated in forcing the privatisation of
domestic water supply in developing countries. His schemes are not welcomed
by the majority of New Zealanders.”

“Water is essential to life and well-being and cannot be treated as just
another commodity to be bought and sold in the marketplace by those who can
afford it,” McMillan says.

ends

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