Green Party supports call for new water rules

The Government should implement the Land and Water Forum's recommendations to set national environmental standards for freshwater, Green Party water spokesperson Eugenie Sage said today.

The Land and Water Forum released its second report today which recommends how limits for water quality should be set, as well as outlining governance models.

"Our freshwater is in crisis. More than half of our monitored rivers are unsafe for swimming, one-third of our lakes are unhealthy, and two-thirds of our native freshwater fish are at risk or threatened with extinction.

"The report is clear that something has to give. We cannot go on polluting our waterways as we currently are.

"The Government will undermine the Forum's work if it continues to ignore advice and deliver poor solutions as it did with the largely toothless National Policy Statement (NPS) on freshwater last year.

"The Forum's recommendations if implemented can delivery real and lasting solutions.

"The Government needs to encourage and assist the Forum to prioritise work on national environmental standards as part of the Forum's third report due in September, not just take a wait and see approach," said Ms Sage.

"If we want clean rivers and lakes we need strong National Standards for freshwater.

Recommendations 1 to 14 in the report deal with objectives and limits for freshwater.

"National environmental standards with numeric limits for pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus and E. coli would help set environmental bottom lines and protect both river and human health.

"Leaving it to regional councils with no clear national standards would delay action. It would mean further declines in water quality and river flows, leaving the taxpayer with a bigger bill to clean up the mess," said Ms Sage.