Tourism Export Council: “The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) in its current form is nothing more than a PR-stunt from Government who continue to ignore scientists and expert opinion re the state of our freshwater. The NPS-FM does not address the serious problems facing our waterways and, in fact, will make them worse.”
Discussions of the MfE Our Fresh Water 2017 report to be held in workshop that excludes the public and the media.
We won’t be able to say that we didn’t have ample warning, with a another detailed and damning report on water quality out yesterday. Does National really want to be remembered for allowing the poisoning of our water?
Higgins: “Water quality should be a massive issue this election. Some friends, who are the kind of dyed-in-the-wool National supporters who call everyone else a loony leftie, now say water quality will guide their vote and it can’t possibly go to National.”…
A full report into the Havelock North water crisis has been delayed until (surprise!) after the election.
The Government will be embarassed by another example of a corporation planning to extract ten billion litres of fresh water a year essentially at no cost which has arisen.
Getting sick, tired and angry of this malarkey.
The Government’s timid backdown on water charging is placing it in a very uncomfortable position.
No Right Turn: “The real barrier to National … acting on this is because that “no-one owns water, first come, first served” policy disproportionately benefits one group and allows them to profiteer from a public resource while destroying its value to others. That group is farmers – and they donate to the National Party.”
There are no surpluses in NZ right now, not in any real sense. There is only debt, negative externalities and deferred costs.
The effects of climate change are here, now, playing out in the flooded north. We should be preparing, we should be hardening critical infrastructure like Auckland’s fresh water supply. Instead of building – you know – more roads.
Will Nick Smith get the message and set in place a realistic consultation process and safe standards, or will he persist with a plan so bad that no one wants to be associated with it?
Swimmable standards that aren’t, for all of our rivers except most of them, sometime maybe not now. Nat policy at its finest.
Under the new standards we have up to a 1 in 6 risk of serious infection at the times that we actually swim in rivers, and Smith is trying to hide this fact by fudging around with year-long averages. David Parker’s analysis yesterday was bang on.
Water is both the front line and the rallying cry.
The Government intends to change the definitions of various indicators in an effort to solve some of the country’s most serious problems.
So National’s great plan for swimmable rivers by 2040 is to allow twice as much shit in them and still call them “swimmable.”
Te Tai Tokerau looks to be a hotly contested seat in the 2017 general election, and the Greens are entering the fray there for the first time, with new candidate Godfrey Rudolph.
Clean, green farming is much better for our rivers, our land and our international reputation.
The government is stealing from us again so Forest and Bird are stepping up.
Not meant as a general criticism. Auckland has lovely beaches. When they aren’t drowning in shit that is.
Stuff this morning: “Lord of the Rings actor says NZ tourists shocked by polluted ‘sewer’ Middle-earth”
The Standing Rock water protection movement continues in the face of increasing state violence.
A selection of tweets from this morning. You may detect a theme.
Credit where it is due for the success of the Ross Sea marine reserve. Now how about action where it is needed in our own waters?
In coming together around a common need to protect water and land, community forms.
What we know is coming largely from outside the mainstream. Which is how it should be.
Day one of the International Days of Prayer and Action with Standing Rock. Here’s a post on NZ’s relationship with water, and whether water is a resource or a taonga.
For seven months the next movement of social and environmental justice and resistance has been growing. We should be paying attention.
It’s Conservation Week. We should all go and enjoy the great outdoors this weekend… but be careful of the polluted rivers and the wallabies. But at least we’ll be pest-free by 3300…
Help get the petition to 45,000.
Never heard of it? Neither had I.
Nick Smith’s latest excuse for inaction on water quality is birds. Yes birds. You couldn’t make this shit up.
For a dose of blessed sanity, watch the (10 min) webcast by Dr Mike Joy explaining what the real problem is.
I/S at No Right Turn writes: If the ruling stands, it won’t just kill the dam, but also National’s policy of trying to crack open reserves for development through an ideology of “net conservation gain”.
A new phrase is about to enter NZ’s clean green image lexicon.
