Call For Outdoor Kiwis To Protect RMA

An outdoor recreation organisation is calling for New Zealanders to stand up and counter government plans to weaken environmental safeguards in the Resource Management ACT (RMA). Andi Cockcroft co-chairman of the Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations said  government planned to gut the Resource Management Act and turn its emphasis dominantly in favour of economic development. - and relegate the environment to a low ranking.

"Chief target would be rivers both flowing and underground - the latter known as the aquifer - in order to increase the corporate style dairy farms.  Remember water from the aquifer will deplete “above the ground” water flows i.e. rivers and streams,” he said. 

The biggest danger lay in the apathy and “political indifference of the public.” 

Andi Cockcroft said an encouraging sign to dispelling apathy was in the recent Northland by-election where NZ First’s Winston Peters took the traditional National seat from government. From the outdoors perspective the Northland result has stymied government plans.

He was critical of government’s obsession with corporate dairying not only environmentally but economically too. 

        " Government thinking to have a monoculture of mega0-dairy farms doesn’t even make economic sense. Government is so short sighted in the light of the slumping in dairy payout prices. Early April dairy auction prices plunged almost 9 percent. AgriHQ has cut its forecast of dairy payouts to $4.60 per kg of milk solids. Fonterra will revise its $4.70 forecast in late May. Dairying looks gloomy.

          He described as bizarre that  Environment Minister Nick Smith was one of the main architects to gut the RMA, at the expense of the environment. 

“Frankly his exploitation advocacy has made a mockery of the portfolio Minister for the Environment."

          But who is going to challenge the government or Nick Smith?

Andi Cockcroft said there was an important underlying principle - should a government dictate to the public or should the people tell the government what to do?

           "Apathy is commonplace, but is is the public awakening going by the Northland by-election result?” he said.

ENDS

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