31 August 2016

Government and Regional Council must walk away from Ruataniwha Dam

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) needs to take the hint that the Ruataniwha Dam is doomed, now that there’s no longer anywhere to store the water, the Green Party said today.

February’s High Court decision to allow the Department of Conservation (DOC) to swap conservation land to make space for the dam was appealed by Forest and Bird, and the Court of Appeal has today ruled in Forest and Bird’s favour.

“The Ruataniwha Dam has always been a bad idea. It will enable intensified agriculture that will pollute our rivers and lakes, and protected conservation land was going to be sacrificed for it,” said Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.

“The case for the dam is so weak, public money and political interferencefrom the previous Minister for Conservation was needed to get it this far. HBRC has barely scraped together enough interest from farmers and growers to make the scheme viable.

“While the cause of the recent Havelock North gastric illness outbreak has not been pinpointed, scientist Dr Gil Zemansky has said that the already degraded Tukituki River could have contaminated the town’s drinking water.

“If the Ruataniwha Dam goes ahead, it means the Tukituki River will be polluted by more intensive farming.

“The Green Party in government will wind up taxpayer funding for large irrigation schemes like Ruataniwha, as they subsidise pollution and enable an unsustainable form of farming. To protect our water quality and help our rivers, lakes and streams improve, we have to turn off the pollution,” Ms Delahunty said.

The Tukituki River is part of the Green Party’s Swimmable Rivers campaign.

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