Media release from Fish & Game NZ

Dairy Accord no longer 'Clean Streams'

Commenting on the release of the Sustainable Water Dairy Accord today, Fish & Game NZ says it is not a good start when “Clean Streams” has been removed from the title of the sector’s supposed ‘commitment’ to reducing its impact on the nation’s waterways.

“The new accord is littered with soft language and makes no mention of the industry’s statutory duty to 'avoid, remedy or mitigate' its adverse environmental effects or the illegality of waterway contamination,” points out Fish & Game chief executive Bryce Johnson.

Having said that, Fish & Game considers the dairy industry has included some positive additions, however, it still fails to address the main impacts on water quality of small streams and is once again seemingly toothless when it comes to ensuring compliance with accord targets, many of which are far too long.

“Some provisions introduced to the ‘Sustainable Dairying Water Accord’ could have a beneficial effect on reducing dairying’s impact on water quality,” says Fish & Game chief executive Bryce Johnson, “but they need to happen much sooner and be backed up by enforcement that will ensure their achievement.”

Mr Johnson commends the commitment to riparian buffer zone management – something environment advocates have wanted for some time – but points out that industry has “fumbled” the timeframes for implementation, some of which extend out to 2030, even though this issue has been around for years.

“On basic stock exclusion from waterways, this has been on the table for more than a decade now – the public should not have to wait another four years.

“And why is it going to take six years to produce ‘guidelines’ for riparian management? It’s pretty basic stuff we’re talking about here which is already well understood and documented.”

Fish & Game is especially concerned that the new accord still fails to address the plight of small streams, completely ignoring waterways that aren’t ‘wider than a metre and deeper than 30cm’.

“Small streams are critically important as breeding and rearing habitat for both indigenous and valued introduced freshwater fish species, and any pollution reaching these water bodies flows into and despoils larger river systems anyway,” says Mr Johnson. “Cows must be kept out of these smaller streams and riparian buffer zones created to absorb some of the run-off – instead the accord essentially sanctions turning them into farm drains.”

On the positive side, Fish & Game says it is good that the new accord formalises the position on conversions – they must comply from the outset – and similarly for offsite grazing, which is also being brought into the frame.

But while the new accord recognises the need to manage both nitrogen and phosphorus, it’s worrying that there doesn’t seem to be any clear commitment to implementation and achievement of designated environmental bottom lines.

“This is the industry’s most significant environmental issue and yet in an accord supposedly demonstrating environmental credibility it hasn’t been adequately addressed. There’s lots of ‘measuring’ and ‘modelling’ mentioned but no solid commitment to actual targets or stocking rate limitations.”

What’s more, the accord’s stated aim of acknowledging ‘the need to manage within nutrient loss limits’ is completely at odds with what DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle is saying publically to farmers: “Nationwide limits around nitrogen had to be avoided at all costs.”

“Why is the dairy industry telling farmers one thing and the New Zealand public something different?” asks Mr Johnson.

Fish & Game considers that for the public to have any confidence that the sector is serious about reducing its adverse impact on waterways, any accord must be underpinned by strong and clear enforcement measures.

“A good start would be establishing it as a condition of supply in all dairy company supplier contracts. Simply ‘not picking up the milk’ is a totally inadequate response,” says Mr Johnson. “To avoid the environmental impact of non-complying suppliers dumping milk, it would be far better to collect it but withhold payment, which then becomes an accumulating incentive for them to meet the accord requirements.”

Fish & Game also notes its disappointment that there is no reference to public reporting of achievement against accord targets, particularly given the recent Horizons Poll indicating 75% of New Zealanders highlighted water quality of our lakes and rivers being the primary environmental concern.

“Water is a public resource being used by this sector for private commercial gain – the dairy industry owes it to Kiwis to demonstrate what is, or is not achieving.”

ENDS

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