Christopher Luxon says National would scrap the Three Waters model if elected in this year’s election.

The National Party leader says a National government would remove the Three Waters model, including the controversial co-governance, and replace it with a sustainable system for drinking water, stormwater and wastewater – which would remain in local control.

Christopher Luxon said the current situation of failed pipes, wastage and huge ratepayer bills could not continue, but the answer was not Labour’s Three Waters scheme.

“The sub-standard status quo where pipes are too often allowed to fail, creating pollution, wastage and massive bills for ratepayers, will not be allowed to continue under a National Government,” Mr Luxon says.

“But the answer is not Labour’s unpopular Three Waters scheme that the Government has pushed through Parliament. It will take assets off local communities, transferring them to  four mega-entities that no-one asked for, no-one wants and that have mandatory co-governance.

“Instead, a National Government will set and enforce strict water quality standards and require councils to invest in the ongoing maintenance and replacement of their vital water infrastructure, while keeping control of the assets that their ratepayers have paid for.

Here are the key points in the National Party’s plan for New Zealand’s water system:

• Repeal Three Waters and scrap the four co-governed mega-entities

• Restore council ownership and control

• Set strict rules for water quality and investment in infrastructure

• Ensure water services are financially sustainable