Double whammy for waterways

Government Ministers have launched an unprecedented assault on freshwater. 
By Cate Hennessy

Regulations intended to boost the health of our rivers, lakes, and wetlands may be rolled back by the most anti-nature government we have seen in many decades. 

Meanwhile, the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill could see the return of environmentally damaging irrigation projects previously turned down by the courts. Only this time around, Forest & Bird may not be allowed to challenge them in law. 

Organisations have been invited to submit their nationally and regionally significant development projects via the fast-track process. Many people and groups, including Forest & Bird, are warning this new legislation could wreak havoc on river and wetland ecosystems, and there are fears the proponents of the Ruataniwha scheme may come back for a second go at getting it across the line. 

In 2017, Forest & Bird won a landmark Supreme Court decision that stopped the environmentally damaging Ruataniwha irrigation dam from going ahead. “We’ve already seen several organisations whose projects were turned down by the courts invited to submit a fast-track application,” said Forest & Bird’s freshwater advocate Tom Kay. 

“Water Holdings Hawkes Bay Ltd and Tukituki Water Security Project, who are now responsible for the Ruataniwha Dam, gave an oral submission to the select committee in favour of the Fast-track Approvals Bill. 

“There are other projects, such as the Wakamoekau Dam in the Wairarapa and the Waitaha hydro scheme on the West Coast, that may have applied for fast-track, and we intend keeping a close eye on them.” 

The assault on freshwater does not stop there. In May, the government introduced the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. This Bill removes and undermines existing policies and regulations designed to make our water clean and our rivers safe and swimmable. 

Under the proposed amendments, people applying for consents will no longer have to show they are prioritising water health above any commercial gain and profits. Currently, they must do this under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. The amendments will also: 

• Weaken the rules around intensive winter grazing – the practice where lots of cows are grazed in a small area, often resulting in muddy paddocks and water pollution. 
• Remove and dilute protections that restrict coal mining from destroying wetlands. 
• Reduce the requirements for the government to consult on changes to national policy, including freshwater regulations. 

“The health of our rivers, lakes, and streams is important to Kiwis, and we should all be proud to have developed the original policies that put the health of the environment and people ahead of corporate profits,” added Tom. 

“Now we are seeing the policies we worked so hard to achieve under attack, with Ministers bowing to industry and putting profits ahead of people and planet. “This is the start of a government-led assault on clean healthy water, and every community is likely to face deteriorating water quality because of it.”