The management of land and water areas
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
I move for approval of the proposal in the committee report and rejection of the reservations 1. I believe that the state must be able to sanction municipalities that neglect the municipal sewage network 1. I want people with functioning private sewage systems to be allowed to solve the issue themselves 1. I move for approval of reservation 1 2. I believe it is high time to review the national interests in order to reduce the number and remove bottlenecks for housing construction 2. I emphasize the need to reconcile energy needs with food needs and environmental considerations 2. I applaud the EU's role in the transition for a better world 2.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Lars Beckman (M)
Madam Speaker! Today we shall debate the management of land and water areas, and I wish to begin by moving for the approval of the proposal in the committee report and the rejection of the reservations.
Madam Speaker! Most of us probably take for granted that water should come out of the tap. I believe that is quite uncontroversial. But we know that today there are major deficiencies in the municipalities. I do not know the exact figure, and there are slightly different reports, but I have seen figures stating that the maintenance debt is up to 800 billion for the municipal water network. Other figures show that it is 500 billion. But as you hear, these are very high figures.
Why has it become like this? It can be so simple, Madam Speaker, that in election campaign after election, the voters ask for football halls, hockey halls and other things, and that they perhaps forget the water issues. But we who are interested in the water issues naturally know how important they are. Every day all around Sweden, one can see that there are interruptions in the municipal networks and that it has enormous consequences.
Madam Speaker! What happens when a municipality neglects the sewage network? What happens when a municipality cuts back on maintenance and does not replace a pump that is supposed to pump away water in a viaduct during heavy rain? This example exists. Gävle is such an example, where it had devastating consequences when they first removed the preventive maintenance - and I happen to know which contractor was in charge of the preventive maintenance in Gävle. For reasons of savings, they removed it and said: When there is a blockage in the sewer, we will go there and flush it out.
The management of land and water areas
Several people had alerted about a broken pump in a viaduct. Then the rain came. You saw the TV images from Gävle; the viaduct was filled with water. Would there have been less damage if the broken pump had been replaced before the rain came?
The road culvert in Hemlingby had been warned about for several years: If there is a flood in Hemlingbybäcken, it will have nearly catastrophic consequences! The municipality had been asked to clear the road culvert and told that it was too small. What happened was that it became a gigantic dam. This, therefore, had devastating consequences.
The Moderates believe in local self-government. These are important fundamentals. But I believe, not least considering the example of Gävle, that we must place stricter demands on the municipalities. When a municipality mismanages the municipal water network to such a mild degree that it becomes like what happened in Gävle, the state must probably have some form of sanction possibilities, which we have in other areas of society.
It appears from the preparatory report that the government appointed an inquiry on 18 August 2022 due to the need to review regulations and distribution of responsibility. I believe that it is very important.
When it comes to individual sewage systems, we also have a problem in Sweden's 290 municipalities. There are people who have a well-functioning private sewage system, for example in a vacation home, but who are nevertheless suddenly forced to connect their property to a municipal water and sewage network. Many feel totally powerless, because this has serious economic consequences for the owner. We said from the Riksdag on a number of occasions that we were not satisfied with the previous government. We think that one should be allowed to solve this oneself. When the issue was discussed the last time, the then Social Democratic government thought they had solved this by arranging so that a municipality can make exceptions. We in the Riksdag did not think that was sufficient. I hope that the new government also takes hold of this issue, because it is extremely important.
There is a great deal written about national interests in the report. A very large part of Sweden is currently comprised of national interests, which hinders the societal transformation. I know that our new responsible ministers are on their toes and are working on that issue.
More water for the people! Ensure that the sewers work! I move for approval of the proposal in the report.
Denis Begic (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to begin by moving for approval of reservation 1. We, of course, stand behind all our reservations.
Madam Speaker! I have looked at previous debates and tried to understand what has been said in this report. The dominant issue has been small-scale hydropower. I do not know at all how it has been previously in the committee and in corresponding reports, but if I have counted correctly, there are at least three announcements from the previous parliamentary term. Therefore, I took the pleasure of checking what has happened with those announcements now that we have received a new government. Judge my surprise when I find nothing that has been done in this area!
In the document 2022/23:75, of course, there is an answer. It states that the announcers were satisfied by the previous government, not by this government. What remains is, as we all already know – we have talked about it before – that we need an analysis of what a changed environmental permit means for the Swedish hydropower.
Now I look forward to receiving the analysis that Svenska kraftnät, the Swedish Energy Agency, and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management have been commissioned to conduct on September 29. I gather from previous debates that there is a large majority in this chamber that small-scale hydropower should play an important role in meeting future energy needs as well. I also gather, Madam Speaker, that there is a large majority for protecting the environment. I am no longer one hundred percent sure of that, but it is good that an analysis is being conducted.
Madam Speaker! I want to remind the Chamber and everyone else listening to this debate that it is only 10 percent of the Swedish watercourses that are unaffected by humans. The migrating fish have it very difficult in these watercourses. Not so long ago, Madam Speaker, I read a frightening article stating that the migrating fish have decreased by 90 percent in Europe. Is that such a world we want to leave to our children and grandchildren?
I am perfectly clear that we need more energy, but we also need more water and food. Therefore, we as politicians must be careful with the decisions we make. They could, in fact, mean catastrophes in the future. We must be able to reconcile energy needs with food needs and a world that is not dirty. Future generations shall not suffer from our mistakes.
Madam Speaker! National interests are another issue addressed in this report. When the national interests system was introduced, the intention was that only few and unique areas should be considered. Boverket has, together with other relevant authorities, conducted a review of the national interests. The review shows that the authorities have made efforts to clarify the criteria for which areas should be considered of national interest. According to the report, all participating authorities have judged that a review must be carried out. Four out of five authorities also judge that their collective national interest claims do not in all parts correspond to the criteria. It is unreasonable.
We Social Democrats consider that it is now high time to proceed with the work of reviewing which areas should be of national interest, with the ambition of reducing the number. We must not forget that other interests have arisen. We need to build more housing, and we must have more food. In that case, the national interests have become a brake that we must review—not because I believe that this government will build more housing, but given the current public opinion, it is very good if a review is conducted, so that a Social Democratic government by 2026 at the latest can accelerate housing construction.
Madam Speaker! I note today that the Sweden Democrats are also irritated with the government in precisely the issue of national interests. I welcome the Sweden Democrats to vote on our reservation 1. Unfortunately, it is surely just a matter of words, for I note that they do not even vote on their motions if there is a risk for the government to lose the vote. All the talk about them being irritated that nothing is happening with housing issues is just talk and nothing else.
Madam Speaker! Finally, I must say that many of these issues are regulated in the EU. The EU has become an important part of the transition we must make for a better world. When national assemblies look towards the future, the EU sets requirements for its member states to do right in matters concerning climate, water, and human rights. Therefore, today, May 9, I want to celebrate the EU, which every year on May 9 celebrates the work for peace and cohesion in Europe.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.