Federated Farmers say Otago Regional Council have been caught with their pants down when it comes to tough questions about the region’s proposed freshwater rules.

"The council have completely botched their response, leaving the community with more questions than answers," Federated Farmers Otago president Luke Kane says.

"We’ve raised some serious concerns about how the regional council plan to implement the principle of Te Mana o te Wai in Otago.

"We expected straight answers from the council about what these rules could mean for our community, but we’re yet to hear anything compelling to address our concerns.

"It’s simply not good enough to say there are ‘some inaccuracies’ in what Federated Farmers have claimed without providing any evidence to support that statement."

Kane says Federated Farmers firmly stand by their claims about the cost and implications of Otago’s proposed new freshwater regulations.

"Instead of being straight-up and honest with our community, the council are dancing on the head of a pin and hiding behind vague bureaucratic language," Kane says.

"It’s totally disingenuous for the council to say Federated Farmers are wrong and that there’ll be no prohibition on cross-mixing water or the discharge of treated wastewater to water.

"They can talk all they like about finding a ‘balance’ between what has occurred historically and how they will treat new applications, but let’s cut through the nonsense here.

"What they’re really saying is they won’t be allowing any new cases of cross-mixing water, and that existing cases will be phased out as consents come up for renewal.

"That’s not a real consenting pathway. It’s nothing short of a ticking timebomb hanging over the heads of Otago’s irrigated farmers as they watch the years on their consent count down."

Federated Farmers are also highly critical of Otago Regional Council’s statements that there will be no prohibition on the discharge of treated wastewater to water.

"The rules may not include an explicit prohibition in name, but they will almost certainly mean prohibition in practice," Kane says.

"If the rules require a discretionary consent to discharge treated wastewater to water, with a strong preference for discharging to land, what do council expect to happen?

"If the consent has strict conditions, including consideration of the spiritual and cultural effects of the discharge, nobody will be able to meet the requirements.

"The discharge of treated wastewater would be effectively prohibited in almost all cases."

Federated Farmers say neither of these measures have anything to do with improving the scientific health of Otago’s waterways, of which 82% are already swimmable.

"This is all about regulating the spiritual and cultural health of our rivers, and the mana of the water," Kane says.

"Otago Regional Council need to be transparent with our community about how much it’s going to costs us to achieve these outrageous new freshwater rules.

"I was completely horrified to read that Clutha District alone could be facing a $611m bill for water infrastructure that would send the council insolvent within a decade.

"That should be a huge eye-opener for local ratepayers and it raises some serious questions about what these rules could cost Dunedin, Queenstown, Central Otago and Waitaki."

Federated Farmers are also disappointed that elected councillors, including chair Gretchen Robertson, have failed to front up and answer tough questions from journalists.

"They’re completely missing in action. We might need to send out a search and rescue team to try and find them," Kane says.

"Councillors should be accountable to the community who elected them, but instead they’ve chosen to send staff members to front their political trainwreck in the media.

"Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to get answers to even the most basic questions, like what will the new rules cost the region or why the council are needlessly pushing forward to notify this plan in October."

The Government is currently reviewing the national direction for freshwater, including the concept of Te Mana o te Wai.

While this review is underway, the deadline for regional councils to notify new plans has been extended until the end of 2027.

"There is absolutely no need for Otago Regional Council to rush these new rules through. To do so would be a purely political decision to the detriment of our community," Kane says

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