Draft Ruataniwha Doc Report ‘Shadow Boxing’

Federated Farmers is unsurprised a draft Department of Conservation (DoC) report on the proposed Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme never advanced beyond draft status. The Federation instead believes publicly accessible information needs to lead the debate.

“I would have thought our politicians would have learned from the recent C. botulinum scare that the only report which counts is the final one,” says Ian Mackenzie, Federated Farmers Environment spokesperson.

“Instead of shadow boxing over what a draft DoC report may have said, we need to focus on the facts and the detailed amount of evidence, which is publicly accessible.

“Take the Section 32 report on the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme. This identifies the source for up to 70 percent of phosphorous (P) loading at times of low flow in the Tukituki as being the four urban wastewater treatment ponds, servicing Waipukurau, Waipawa, Otane and Takapau.

“So if you genuinely want to stop the Tukituki from “running green,” then upgrading wastewater plants seems an obvious place to start. That is underway but it also takes money; the kind of money economic activity generated by water storage delivers.

“But don’t take my word for it. Read the backgrounders that are available from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s website. I would also encourage doubters to read up on Canterbury’s Opuha Dam because it has exceeded all environmental and economic expectations.

“This is why we take issue with the suggestion Ruataniwha is open slather with few controls. That’s insulting to anyone who takes freshwater management seriously. There is also a package being put in place, which puts greater expectations on farmers and townships alike.

“That’s the kind of community-led ownership of freshwater management that reforms underway are looking to encourage.

“It also baffles me that those who speak loudest about ‘collaboration’ and ‘democracy’ become combative when they don’t get their way. Or rather, when they don’t think they’ll get their way.

“If you don’t trust my words about the volume of work being put into Ruataniwha, just read the evidence submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“It shows you how the applicant has little to hide,” Mr Mackenzie concluded.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

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