Freshwater campaigners find country full of ‘extremists’

Immediate release: 24 January 2016

Press release: Choose Clean Water tour

New Zealanders around the country are being forced to watch their rivers run dry or become toxic as freshwater legislation fails to protect rivers and lakes. Choose Clean Water campaigners say that those who speak up for keeping freshwater clean and safe are regularly labelled ‘extremist’ by decision makers and others.

The group is on a month long tour of the country to document through short films New Zealanders’ relationship to their waterways. Group spokesperson Paul Boyce says there is an imbalance in public and private use of freshwater. He has been alarmed to discover that members of the public are routinely ignored when they call for the health of people to be the priority in freshwater management.

“Safe and healthy water is fundamental to New Zealanders’ lives. All over the country we see people working hard to protect their rivers and lakes. Parents should be able to expect that their children can swim and not be at risk of serious illness, and town water supplies should not be compromised. Instead, we hear people are being told they are extremist for wanting access to clean water.”

Last week, the group met with artist Sam Mahon in North Canterbury. Fifteen years ago, his local Waitohi River began drying up over summer. Mahon says the local community has become divided and are “at each others throats” over freshwater.

In a short film posted on the Choose Clean Water Facebook page, he describes how a thirty-year friendship with a local farmer ended over water use, and that the farmer claims his views on the river are extremist. “You’re poisoning the water that [my child] swims in and drinks and when I say I don’t want you to do that, you call me an extremist?” says Mahon.

Hawke’s Bay mother Paula Fern also appears in a film produced by the group. She became concerned about local Waipawa River when it was proposed the Ruataniwha Dam would be built upstream. Fern says that when she attends council meetings for community members the public’s voice is ignored. “When they have public consultations, it’s going through the motions but those [freshwater management] decisions have already been made.”

“It’s insane that wanting clean water is considered extreme. Decisions about freshwater management are meant to be community based as a central part of current freshwater legislation. We are yet to come across a community that has had genuine inclusion in management decisions. Sadly, few people feel any positive outcomes for their waterways have been achieved”.

The group are half way through their tour, which ends on 6 February at Waitangi. The campaign will present to parliament a petition calling for strong protection for freshwater, including raising the minimum standard for rivers and lakes from ‘wadeable’ to swimmable. They also call on the House of Representatives to establish that the priority for the freshwater legislation currently under review by the Land and Water Forum is the health of people, wildlife and the environment.

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