29 June 2009
Media Statement

Ratepayers pay water costs for those who benefit

Environment Canterbury rates in Christchurch this week rise by nearly 8 percent more than needed because farmers and other major water users aren’t being directly charged a single dollar for water management, says Labour water quality spokesman Brendon Burns.

Brendon Burns, who is also Christchurch Central MP, says the 10.6 percent rise in Ecan’s general rate could have been 2.7 percent if one more Ecan councillor had voted to start part-charging those who benefit from water.

“It is bad enough that dairy farms which often use a billion litres of water a year are major contributors to the loss of our birthright of being able to safely swim in Canterbury’s streams.

“Yet last Thursday’s Ecan meeting confirmed that those same farmers and other major water users will next year pay nothing directly towards managing the downstream consequences of water pollution and monitoring water resources.”

Brendon Burns says most people would probably accept that rates are necessary to pay for a range of services, community support and infrastructure.

“They have every right to be outraged to learn that they are paying an Ecan general rate increase that’s four times higher than that needed if farmers and other major water users began paying some share of the cost of water management.”

Brendon Burns says the proposal for these users to pay 31 percent of the $7m cost of Ecan’s water management was eminently fair and would still have left general ratepayers paying a larger share on behalf of the public,

Ecan councillors had a tied vote of 7-7 when it came to deciding on whether to begin charging water permit and discharge holders about a third of the cost of managing the resource.

Brendon Burns says he has asked Ecan for information under the Official Information Act about whether any councillors that use irrigation might face a potential conflict of interest if they voted against the move to part-charge water consent.

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