2020 Election: National Party Leader Judith Collins Reveals Water Storage Policy, Discards Working With Advance NZ ‘Because I’m Not Crazy’

National leader Judith Collins announced a $ 600 million water infrastructure policy while touring Northland and ruled out working with Advance NZ to form a future government, “because I’m not crazy.”

Under the new policy, National would spend $ 600 million a year for three years on water infrastructure projects across the country, such as potable water and storage projects.

Collins unveiled the water policy today in Kerikeri, where there are a number of billboards for Advance NZ, spearheaded by Billy Te Kahika Jr and former National Party MP Jami-Lee Ross and proposing internet conspiracy theories about Covid. -19, the United Nations, and 5G, among others.

The national leader ruled out any coalition agreement with Advance NZ after the elections, in the unlikely event that that party exceeds the 5% threshold or if Te Kahika wins the Maori electorate of Te Tai Tokerau.

“Because I’m not crazy,” she said when asked why.

The $ 600 million for the new water policy would come from the party’s recently announced National Infrastructure Bank, its proposed state bank for central and local government infrastructure projects.

National’s plans involve targeting the 98 percent of freshwater flowing into New Zealand that is currently not captured.

To do this, the party would grant loans or participate in water storage projects; That money would be repaid over time so the money could be recycled and spent on more projects over time.

“Done right, water storage can be just as beneficial to the environment, the economy and the community,” said national leader Judith Collins.

The party is also doubling down on its belief that “water is nobody’s property”: Labor’s position is that everyone owns it.

National would work with iwi to make sure they had access to water, Collins said, but “here is a gamble on the ground; the water belongs to all New Zealanders.”

“In New Zealand it rains a lot … we don’t have storage. Our problem in New Zealand is mainly storage … it takes money to do these things.”

“National wants a strategy and a model that allows us to unlock our economic potential and protect our communities from the increasing drought,” he said.

He used the recent Auckland water crisis as an example of why this planned spending was important.

“Cities like Auckland need a clean and robust water supply to remain a world-class city and to ensure that we can cope with the economic crisis we are facing.”

National environmental spokesman Scott Simpson said less than 2 percent of the water that flows over New Zealand is captured at this time.

Of that, half is used in towns and cities, while the rest is used for irrigation.

“Our country has water, we are just not using it,” Simpson said.

“We cannot continue to let the water flow into the sea while our villages run out of water and our farms dry up.”

National’s water policy uses Kerikeri as an example of a scheme that has worked well, one that it wants replicated across the country.

“The Kerikeri water storage system alone is estimated to provide 2.5 percent of the Far North’s GDP,” the policy says.

“It is not a coincidence that Kerikeri South has the lowest levels of deprivation in the Far North and the best access to water.”

National has also promised to develop a National Policy Statement on Water Storage.

Collins said this would provide certainty about strategic water use, streamline consent, and set minimum environmental standards for newly irrigated lands.

In broader questions about the balancing of spending promises, Collins was asked if National considered the money set aside by the government for future Covid-19 response fair to spend in other areas.

Collins said there would be no more widespread outbreaks under his rule.

“In the fiscal plan everything is accounted for and we are very clear about it.

“The Covid fund is simply borrowed money. Whether I stick a label on it … it still has to be repaid.”