No more excuses for delaying clean water rules

With the release of the Land and Water Forum’s report, Environment Minister Nick Smith no longer has any excuse to delay adopting clean water rules, the Green Party said today.

“We have a freshwater crisis and we urgently need rules to ensure clean water in our rivers and lakes,” Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman said.

“The Land and Water Forum’s report says we need to set standards, limits, and targets for water quality as soon as possible. After years of careful work we have a National Policy Statement (NPS) on Freshwater Management all ready to go that would set these rules.

“The forum agrees that we need an NPS, and we need one fast – so what is Nick Smith waiting for?”

Dr Smith previously deferred making a decision about the NPS until after the Land and Water Forum had presented its report.

“Well the Land and Water Forum has reported now, and it recommends setting clear rules and adopting an NPS quickly. Dr Smith has run out of excuses and should adopt the NPS without delay,” Dr Norman said.

“The sooner we have some clear rules for clean water, the sooner we can get on with cleaning up our rivers and lakes.”

Dr Norman welcomed the release of the Land and Water Forum’s report today.

“While the report could have gone further to recommend changes that will protect our precious and stressed water resources, it has the potential to lead to positive change, and its collaborative process has been a good example of consensus building in action.

“The Green Party supports the establishment of a Land and Water Commission and a fund to clean up contaminated water bodies. We agree that incentives are needed for water to be managed efficiently, and suggest that the best way to do this is to charge a resource rental for commercial water users.

“Nevertheless, I am concerned that the report does not adequately address the issue of water storage and irrigation.

“John Key has repeatedly stated that he wants fast-track irrigation, but more irrigation means more intensive dairy farms, and more intensive dairy farms mean more pollution in our waterways.

“The Land and Water Forum’s report doesn’t go far enough on this issue. Without clean water rules in place to limit the impact of these activities, we’ll just end up in an even bigger mess,” Dr Norman said.

References: Report of the Land and Water Forum: http://www.landandwater.org.nz/

ENDS

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