Re: Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta accepts responsibility for two parts of the Three Waters reforms she 'got wrong” on ‘Q+A'.

Unconvincing, insincere and half-hearted – that best describes the Minister of local Government's attempt at an apology.

She certainly underestimated quite a few things, notably her staff's ability to give her a coherent action plan for the Three Waters project, the strength of the Local Government and the public's negative reaction to it, and the fact that the Labour Government's standing in the community would suffer.

Her refusal to consider a democratic response from the local councils, the Taxpayer's Union, or indeed almost anyone, is badly affecting her credibility.

Has anyone told her that all the experts in water reticulation work for Local Government or a few of their contractors? She must know that very few local bodies have questionable water.

It would be much better to form a system of inspectors to monitor water quality on a regular basis (which I'm sure most councils do now), and work with the councils to improve the quality if needed. They should also be able to arrange government funding when needed.

If you add to that the un-consulted extension to the commissioner's period of governance in Tauranga, the Minister appears to have become dictatorial?

There seems to have been a certain amount of good press about the Commissioners lately, but what have they achieved so far? Well Cameron Rd is progressing, but that was one of the ‘shovel ready' projects. The new water project for Papamoa (Waiāri) was started before they arrived. The city centre rebirth is in design mode, and will provide us with a new library, museum (what) and a whole bunch of other stuff. So when they said we were underspending on infrastructure is this what they meant? All our underground stuff seems to be working alright. So what is all the fuss about?

D Russell, Welcome Bay.