Toxic waste sites are an issue for all of NZ

The New Zealand public need an easily accessible national register of toxic and potentially toxic sites, said Green Party Toxics Spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.

This afternoon in Parliament’s question time Environment Minister Nick Smith rejected the idea of a national register.

Following a recent Ombudsman’s decision which will force the Hawkes Bay Regional Council to provide information to the public on toxic sites in their own region, Dr Smith stated he supported information about toxic sites being accessible at a regional level.

“For Dr Smith to let this issue rest with regional councils is an abdication of his responsibility as Minister for the Environment – a role that surely encompasses all of New Zealand,” said Ms Delahunty.

“The public of New Zealand deserve a proper national register of potentially hazardous sites rather than leaving a patchwork quilt of hard-to-find information.”

“We have a bad habit of minimising the risk from toxic chemicals in this country and providing less than adequate information. This can now change in the wake of the Ombudsman’s decision – a decision which puts the public’s right to full disclosure ahead of vested interests.

“Toxic waste sites affect the entire country. A centrally located database would not be a doubling up of bureaucracy - as the Minister dismissively put it when pushed on this issue but a step towards taking this issue seriously,” said Ms Delahunty.