MEDIA RELEASE

Water policy: regional councils ready to bring expertise to the table

11 March 2013

Local Government New Zealand has cautiously welcomed the Government’s proposals in “Freshwater reform 2013 and beyond,” launched on Saturday at the BlueGreen conference by the Minister for the Environment, Hon Amy Adams.

However, co-ordinating the proposed Government reforms to the Resource Management Act announced last week with the proposed changes to fresh water policy announced Saturday will be a challenge, says LGNZ Regional Chair, Fran Wilde.

“Water is a resource that underpins our economy, is the foundation of the nation’s natural character and is culturally important. Getting it right is vital.

“Also, both reform work streams are on very tight timeframes with limited opportunity for consideration and feedback by stakeholders, including the public.

“For example, careful analysis of the practical implementation issues and costs associated with data collection should be carefully understood. This is exactly the type of issue recently highlighted by the Productivity Commission as leading to poor regulatory design and unnecessary implementation costs. Having got to this point after several years of deliberation by the Land and Water Forum, the length of the consultation period is disappointing.

“Regional councils have the collective experience to help with practical application of these types of reforms and we want to work in partnership with central government to ensure that they hit the mark and can be properly implemented with a minimum of extra cost to the community.

“National expressions of water related policy are important, but each region has particular needs relating to their catchments and other geographically specific considerations. This is where regional councils can step in and fill a vital gap,” Ms Wilde said.
ENDS
Link to Freshwater reform: 2013 and beyond

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