Otago Fish and Game support Minister Parker’s directives
Friday, 22 November 2019, 12:47 pm
Press Release: Otago Fish and Game
Otago Fish and Game support Minister Parker’s directives
to the Otago Regional Council
22nd November 2019
The
Otago Fish and Game Council supports Environment Minister
David Parker’s decision, especially his directive that
Mining Rights won't be extended beyond the 2021 deadline
provided in the RMA.
Otago Chief Executive Ian Hadland
says "It’s clear that the Otago planning framework is not
fit for purpose and we’re glad this has now been accepted,
acknowledgement is the first step to resolving the
situation."
Otago’s water plan was adopted nearly 20
years ago and largely grandfathers water use without proper
consideration of the environment or for public good.
Fish
and Game agree that the possibility of up to 600 consents
being granted under the current inadequate policy framework
is very problematic.
"The current framework is the one
which has seen Otago’s rivers depleted on a scale rarely
seen elsewhere in New Zealand and this cannot continue" says
Hadland.
"In the immediate, the ORC must ensure that
decisions made under this framework will not be locked in
for the long term. We owe that to future
generations."
We’re pleased to see the changes that have
been occurring at the ORC in the past year or so.
This
announcement is another step in the right direction and new
ORC Council Chairperson, Ms Hobbs will be well suited to
tackling these difficult issues but there is a demanding
schedule ahead," says Hadland.
Moving forward, the public
in Otago will be best served by clear policy which restores
our degraded rivers and protects them for future
generations.
This will require bold targets to reduce
historic water allocations, which at present can dewater
countless rivers and streams many times over.
"We look
forward to seeing the ORC’s response in December and hope
to work productively with the new Council next
year."
ENDS
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