14 March 2013

Straterra slams Green Party claims against industry

Straterra rejects Green Party list MP Catherine Delahunty’s misrepresentation of the mining industry, in relation to Straterra’s submission opposing her Private Member’s Bill seeking to limit to five years an “exceptional circumstances” provision in the RMA.

“How can Catherine Delahunty say that Straterra wants to “pollute our rivers,” Straterra policy analyst Bernie Napp said today. “That would be illegal. We have laws in this country. That is a ridiculous assertion.”

“The Ohinemuri River was lifeless until Newmont Waihi Gold came along and cleaned it up. It’s now one of the top trout streams in New Zealand. Look at Solid Energy’s water treatment plant on the Stockton plateau – this is state-of-the-art water management. Are these examples Ms Delahunty is thinking of?”

Straterra appeared today before the Local Government and Environment Select Committee on the Resource Management (Restricted Duration of Certain Discharge and Coastal Permits) Amendment Bill.

Mr Napp said all businesses have to meet their consent requirements under the Resource Management Act. “The ‘exceptional circumstances’ provision sensibly provides leeway for a business but only if the overall effects are no more than minor, and if that discharge is provided for in a regional plan, and if exceptional circumstances exist. That is a very high bar.”

“The main event now is the Government’s RMA reforms. New Zealand is heading to a new world in its management of freshwater, which will involve conversations with communities about what they want for their waterbodies. That approach is far better than picking off one bit of the Act without considering the legislation as a whole,” Mr Napp said.

For more information visit www.straterra.co.nz

ENDS

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