Govt must address fail grade for freshwater

A Ministry for the Environment report that shows that more than half of the freshwater recreational sites surveyed have poor or very poor water quality should be a wake-up call for the Government to do more to protect our waterways, Grant Robertson, Labour’s Environment Spokesperson says.

“New Zealanders should be able to have confidence that most, if not all of our rivers and streams that they swim in are clean.  What this report reveals is that for 55% of them that is not the case.

“Central government has an important role to play in setting the standards for water quality and they have completely dropped the ball.  They have let New Zealand down.

“In the last term of government National gutted the National Policy Statement (NPS) on Water to such an extent that regional councils do not have to adopt water quality standards until 2030.  There are no national standards at all and each Council is left to work on its own.  New Zealand needs better than a government that is sitting on the side-lines as water quality declines.

“Because of new methodology it is impossible to compare the 2012 results with previous years, but the Government cannot be happy with this result.  Labour believes what is needed are national water quality standards and strong support for regional councils to set and enforce limits on nutrient flows into water.  The Land and Water Forum reports offer some hope of consensus on this issue, but whatever happens we need more decisive leadership from central government.

“Like other environmental issues such as climate change and protection of the EEZ,  lack of action risks damaging New Zealand’s reputation as a clean, green country and the economic and social benefits that go with that.

“This report represents a fail grade, and as a country we must do better,” Grant Robertson says.