Four South Taranaki iwi are opposing a water privatisation bill because of a lack of consultation with them by the South Taranaki District Council.
The Cold Creek Rural Water Supply Bill had its first reading in Parliament on 21 March and will now be put to a Select Committee before going on to its second reading.
Under the bill, the council would divest itself of the Cold Creek Water Supply Scheme - which was built using government and community funds 30 years ago - to a private company owned by local farmers.
Chair of Nga Hapu o Ngaruahine Iwi Incorporated, Daisy Noble, says her iwi would have liked the Council to have included them in the plans and explored some mutually beneficial options.
She says this is an example of colonial attitudes to consultation with Maori and a move toward diminishing tangata whenua rights.
