Hurunui moratorium should cover other waterways
new-zealand-labour-party
Wed Jul 21 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Hurunui moratorium should cover other waterways
Wednesday, 21 July 2010, 4:10 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
**Hurunui moratorium should extend to other Canterbury waterways
**
Imposing a moratorium on the Hurunui River until the next election is an inevitable response to growing public concerns about decreasing water quality in Canterbury, says Labour’s water spokesman Brendon Burns.
“Given that Environment Minister Nick Smith replaced elected ECan councillors with commissioners, he had little choice but to agree to their recommendations for a Hurunui moratorium until October next year,” Brendon Burns said.
“Dr Smith knows he has alienated thousands of Cantabrians by giving wide powers to his appointed commissioners, though he retains the ultimate authority to ignore them or replace them.
“People in Canterbury are concerned about increasing contamination of waterways from industrial agriculture. Water quality in the lower Hurunui is already so degraded as to be unsafe; the Commissioners had to act and Dr Smith had to support them, but we are a long way off being home and dry on this issue.”
Brendon Burns says Hurunui Water Project wanted to dam the south branch of the Hurunui River to irrigate 42,000 hectares. “Commissioners are charged with assessing this quadrupling of irrigation off the Hurunui at the same time as deciding whether to amend or extend the Water Conservation Order on the Hurunui River.
“Dr Smith is playing for time with the Hurunui moratorium which runs, conveniently, until around the time of next year’s election. Meantime, the Government is pressing ahead with its agenda which has the Prime Minister on record saying he wants water from new schemes flowing in Canterbury next year.
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
“If Dr Smith is serious about improving environmental outcomes he now needs to impose moratoria not just on depleted aquifers but on many other Canterbury rivers and streams until tough new environmental rules are in place.
“That, of course, would totally disrupt the Prime Minister’s growth agenda and projects such as Synlait’s expansion now it is being taken over.
“So a temporary reprieve for the Hurunui is not going to be followed by the wider response that is now needed across Canterbury,” Brendon Burns said.
ENDS
Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}
Using Scoop for work?
Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.
Join Pro Individual Find out more
Find more from New Zealand Labour Party on InfoPages.