Meka
WHAITIRI
Spokesperson on Water

4 February 2014 MEDIA STATEMENT

Environment watchdog’s submission makes sobering reading

The submission by the Commissioner for the Environment on freshwater management is a deeply disturbing document ,says Labour’s water spokesperson Meka Whaitiri.

“Dr Jan Wright says the Government’s National Objectives Framework and the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management have missed the mark.

“It is obvious to me from this submission that the Environment Minister Amy Adams has done too little too late. For Dr Wright to say there is little in the National Objectives Framework, that would prevent her bleak scenario on water quality in 2020 becoming reality, is nothing short of a tragedy for New Zealand.

“I urge the Minister to tackle the issue of nitrate runoff that Dr Wright has identified as our biggest challenge. The Commissioner for the Environment has made it clear that her report is consistent with reports from the Land and Water Forum.

“For the Environment Minister Amy Adams this submission must come as a wake-up and a call to action.”

ENDS

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