12. BRENDON BURNS (Labour—Christchurch Central) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What responsibility, if any, does he accept for the continuing exposure of one in six New Zealanders to unsafe drinking-water?
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Associate Minister of Health) Link to this
Under the Health Act, the Local Government Act, and the Building Act, the relevant territorial authority has overall responsibility to ensure that every dwelling house or building has a safe and adequate drinking-water supply. The Minister’s officials in the Ministry of Health administer the Health Act, and the Minister makes sure they take their responsibilities seriously.
Can the Minister confirm that more than 9 months ago he froze the $80 million balance of the $130 million Drinking-water Assistance Programme, which was introduced by the previous Labour Government to assist small communities to make their drinking water safe, and why is he in no hurry to help New Zealanders have safer drinking-water?
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN Link to this
In answer to the first part of the question, that fund was frozen because some work needed to be done to make sure that the money went to the communities that needed it, rather than it going to communities on a “first-in, first-served” basis. We are determined that the money will go where it will have the greatest effect. That is why that happened.
Is the Minister aware of public warnings in recent weeks from the medical officer of health in Canterbury that a South Island - wide system is needed to alert mothers to the risk of blue baby syndrome because of rising nitrate levels in groundwater, and will this warning prompt him to change from his current Pontius Pilate approach to taking responsibility for safe drinking-water?
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN Link to this
What I can tell that member is that a report recently released by the Office of the Auditor-General on the quality of drinking water across the country looked at eight territorial authorities. The report looked at Canterbury, and it said that the water supply there was actually safe, and that the people of Canterbury are well-served in terms of their drinking water.
Is the Minister actually aware that the Auditor-General’s report, in terms of Canterbury, assessed Christchurch only, and that it found that even in Christchurch some of the city’s drinking water is graded D, which is not acceptable?
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN Link to this
What I can tell that member is that the Canterbury water supply is actually safe. The report from the Office of the Auditor-General focused on forecasting ability to provide for the needs of communities into the future. I believe that Canterbury scored pretty well on all counts.
If the Minister has confidence that all local authorities are meeting his ministry’s requirements to deliver safe drinking-water, would he drink a glass of water from the bottle I have here, which is from an unsafe supply in the Kaikōura electorate?
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN Link to this
If you would like to have a glass, I would be quite happy to follow you.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I believe that the Minister did not actually answer my question.
Mr SPEAKERIn fairness, the only mistake the Minister made was to say that if the Speaker was prepared to have a drink of the water, he would have one too. I hope he did not actually mean that! I think he meant that if the member was prepared to drink some of the water, then he would too, so he indicated that he would be prepared to drink the water.
Hone HarawiraTēnā koe, Mr Speaker. What advice is provided to district health boards about the effects of fluoride in drinking water, including the effects on the thyroid, the brain, the joints, and fertility, and how did this information influence the Northland District Health Board in considering fluoridation of the water supply in Kaikohe and Kaitāia?
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN Link to this
Local authorities in New Zealand determine whether to have fluoride in their water, so that is a decision for the local authority up there.
I apologise to the honourable member for interrupting. I ask members at the front on both sides to show a little courtesy to the member asking a supplementary question. It is the last one of the day.
Have some of those members down the back had a swig out of that bottle? I ask them to show a little courtesy, please—I mean it.
How can the Minister continue to assert that the safety of drinking water is the responsibility of local government, when he has instigated a 3-year moratorium on meeting the World Health Organization’s minimum guidelines for drinking-water quality?
The member asked how the Minister could assert something, and the Minister answered by saying “Because it is safe.” The quality of the answer might not have been to the member’s satisfaction, but it was an answer to that question, and the public can judge the adequacy of it.
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Do I take it from your comments that the Minister has said that drinking water is safe across New Zealand?
Well, I am not here to interpret the Minister’s answers but I heard the Minister say “Because it is safe”. [ Interruption] Does the Minister want to correct his answer?