Ruataniwha Saga Is Not Common Sense

With spring delivering below average rainfall on Hawke's Bay’s Ruataniwha and Heretaunga plains, New Zealand First is gobsmacked at the roadblocks being erected before the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme.

“New Zealand used to be a country of can-do, but what the Ruataniwha saga increasingly tells us is that we’re now the land of can’t-do,” says Richard Prosser, New Zealand First’s Primary Industries Spokesperson.

“With parts of Hawke’s Bay receiving 60 to 50 per cent less rainfall over the past two months, the need for Ruataniwha is self-evident.

“Central Hawke’s Bay has the fertile land, it has the sunshine hours but often lacks the water over summer. This turns what ought to be a consistently awesome farming area into a seasonal lottery.

“While the business case for Ruataniwha is about Hawke’s Bay farming to its full potential, Ruataniwha will also help the Tukituki River by increasing its minimum flows over summer.

“Yet the National government is hardly being the farmer’s friend. It’s quite the opposite because its rhetoric on water hasn’t been backed by investment into either Overseer or filling the many gaps that exist in water science.

“Take Overseer, which farmers will have to use to calculate nutrient losses like nitrogen. It has been funded by government on the smell of an oily rag, I am talking just over $500,000 a year. That’s pathetic given many regional councils are basing planning rules on Overseer.

“New Zealand First backs the storage of rain water and we back investment into the science of water and the speedy calibration of Overseer.

“Unless Hawke’s Bay gets this dam it will miss out on what’s needed to kick start economic growth and jobs.

“We know the secret to regional economic development is just add transport, just add water and that’ll add back the people. This is what other schemes have delivered and it is just what Hawke’s Bay needs,” saysMr Prosser.

ENDS

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