ACT is at Fieldays this week, garnering farmers’ support for the campaign to scrap the vague, spiritual concept of Te Mana o te Wai and allow regional councils to set their own freshwater standards by scrapping national bottom lines.

The party has launched a petition at rural.act.org.nz and is collecting signatures on the ground.

“All Te Mana o te Wai achieves is to drive up costs on users and add uncertainty and ambiguity to consenting. ACT believes the Government should scrap Te Mana o te Wai and national bottom lines, allowing regional councils to set their own standards,” says ACT Agriculture spokesperson Mark Cameron.

“The vague concept of ‘Te Mana o te Wai’ replaces scientific benchmarks with a subjective idea of the mana of the water that leads to co-governance and unequal treatment based on who someone’s ancestors were.

“Instead of clear metrics like nitrate levels or sedimentation rates, councils are being asked to assess spiritual values that cannot be measured or contested.

“Kiwi farmers are the best in the world. They’re forecast to return $59.9 billion in export revenue and make up 10% of GDP. We simply can’t afford to burden them with spiritual malarky dreamed up in Wellington.

“It means iwi have a right of veto over how water is used. The National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management 2020 requires Te Mana o te Wai to apply to the consenting of all projects involving freshwater management. Consenting is now subject to consideration of mauri, or the “life-force” of water.

“It has led to water users making large one-off and on-going payments for ‘cultural monitoring’ services which do nothing for the environment but add costs to consumer and business power bills.

“Is requiring farmers to comply with a spiritual concept going to make them farm better? Of course not. It means they’ll have to employ a cultural consultant and waste time and money that could instead be spent improving their farming practices. That’s what happens when we regulate water quality based on superstition not science.

“Farmers just want to grow food and look after their land, incorporating spiritual concepts isn’t necessary for them to do that.

“ACT is dedicated to real change. We cannot continue with a policy that burdens our farmers unnecessarily. We campaigned on a complete overhaul of the NPS-FM to remove subjective concepts and ensure that our freshwater management is scientifically sound and adapted to the needs of local communities.

“New Zealanders never voted for co-governance. Yet under Te Mana o te Wai, it’s being imposed on every dam, drain, and ditch. We need to bring common sense back and let farmers farm.”

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