Otago must come clean about rogue farmers

Otago Regional Council must stop protecting names of persistent polluters if it is serious about the problem of worsening river quality in the region, Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman says.

“The council is running a ‘Watering the Future’ forum this week in Cromwell after a ‘water quality workshop’ last month at Clydevale Hall and I totally support getting farmers and others around the table in this way.

“But keeping secret the names of a small minority who offend against council pollution rules gives an impression the council is firmly on the side of polluters rather than the wider community and environment,” Dr Norman says.

The Green Party has been trying for weeks to get names of offenders from the council without result and a direct email from Dr Norman to council chief executive Graeme Martin nearly a week ago (see below) has not been answered either.

“Names of the worst polluters should not only be supplied to us, they should be listed on the council’s website and available to everyone so there is real pressure, not just talk.

“On July 15 the regional council said in a statement that, ‘It isn’t acceptable to the community, including farmers and the regional council, for the water quality of streams and rivers of South and West Otago to continue to deteriorate’,” Dr Norman says.

“On June 13, The Otago Daily Times reported Otago Regional Councillor Duncan Butcher saying, ‘Money, education and consultation with industry have failed to achieve the environmental outcomes the council and community desire of dairy farms’.

Says Dr Norman, “Let’s continue the consultation, but it’s time also to get tougher, and more honest, about individual polluters.”

-----Original Message-----

From: Russel Norman

Sent: Wednesday, 6 August 2008 9:39 a.m.

To: 'graeme.martin@orc.govt.nz'

Subject: For Graeme Martin, Chief Executive

Dear Graeme,

After a great deal of feedback from the public and from freshwater ecologists and others about the state of this country's rivers, lakes and groundwater, the Green Party has been researching consent breaches and prosecutions in regional council areas.

As part of this, one of my research interns, Prue Clark has been endeavouring for some weeks to obtain specific information from your staff about farms which have breached consents in your region.

I understand from Prue that there is considerable reluctance from your staff to provide such detail, which is surprising as I thought it would be in the council's interests to promote compliance. Prue tells me the person she has been in communication with is Robin Crawford.

Perhaps Prue was not clear enough from the beginning about what information we needed and the reasons for the enquiry. However, I would be concerned if it was instead a case of the council endeavouring to hide names of the minority of farmers who cause problems.

For your information, we have been collecting details of "model farmers"

in the Manawatu, Waikato, Wairarapa and Nelson regions for example, as a way of providing balance and I have started to meet such farmers. I would be keen also to hear of dairy farmers in Otago who may be role models from a regional council perspective and who may have appeared in your publications or elsewhere.

Kind regards,

Dr Russel Norman MP

Green Party Co-Leader

04 817 6716, 027 4585181