Previous govt’s bid to sell water ‘disturbing’
WELLINGTON: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand’s pristine freshwater should not be promoted to overseas companies, and has blasted the previous government’s efforts to do so as ‘‘very disturbing’’.
Ms Ardern yesterday revealed a 2015 document from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise that listed eight potential sources for bottled water exports, including West CoastFranz Josef, the Te Anau basin and Golden Bay’s Waikoropupu Springs, famous for its water clarity.
‘‘[The document] details aquifers that for all intents and purposes look like they might be for sale,’’ Ms Ardern said.
‘‘West CoastFranz Josef was listed as one of the pristine glaciers that overseas investors might come and want to take a stake in.
‘‘I find it incredible that we would have been in that position in 2015 — and absolutely unacceptable.’’
NZTE, a government agency, is meant to promote New Zealand trade and exports, but Ms Ardern said it should not have been promoting bottled water exports, and no longer did.
A spokesman for Ms Ardern said NZTE had stopped promoting bottled water exports in 2016, but the Government spoke to NZTE yesterday to make it ‘‘very clear’’ bottled water was not a line of trade to pursue.
Ms Ardern noted that any attempt from an overseas investor to buy New Zealand water for export would have to pass the sensitivity test with the Overseas Investment Office.
In June, the Overseas Investment Office approved the sale of a Bay of Plenty spring, near Whakatane, to Chineseowned company Cresswell NZ Ltd to export more than a billion litres of drinking water each year. Most will be exported to China.
Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage, who granted the application along with Associate Finance Minister David Clark, received heavy criticism for approving the sale, given her vocal opposition to such deals in the past. Ms Sage has said her hands were tied as the application ticked the statutory criteria, including significant job creation.
The Labour Party campaigned last year on introducing a broad waterpricing regime, but this was downgraded to a royalty on bottled water exports following coalition negotiations with New Zealand First.
Ms Ardern said yesterday the Government was still looking at options.
‘‘It does have some complexity around the kind of mechanism you would use to ensure we stick with the rules and obligations from a trade respect.’’
THE Government’s fiveyear clean waterways plans are being welcomed in Otago as a way to halt a ‘‘worrying trend’’ of lake and river degradation.
Environment Minister David Parker yesterday detailed plans to improve the country’s waterways, promising a ‘‘noticeable improvement’’ in water quality within five years.
No major decisions have been made.
He promised new rules by 2020, including a new national policy statement for freshwater management and national environmental standards.
The Resource Management Act (RMA) will be amended within 12 months to enable regional councils to more quickly implement water quality and quantity limits.
The changes included controls on the excesses of some intensive land use practices, as well as ensuring wetlands and estuaries were better protected, Mr Parker said.
A report discussed at the Otago Regional Council last month showed 40% of Otago water bodies were considered ‘‘poor’’ or ‘‘fair’’ in terms of overall health.
Otago Fish and Game environmental officer Nigel Paragreen said the announcement was big step in the right direction of aiding a ‘‘worrying trend of degradation’’ which needed to be ‘‘urgently halted’’.
He hoped the programme would add to discharge quality standards already coming into effect in 2020.
‘‘Sediment discharge is probably the biggest issue for water quality in many of our catchments.’’
Regional council chairman Stephen Woodhead said he supported the minister’s focus on atrisk catchments. He welcomed the RMA changes, as plan change timeframes were too slow, costly and ultimately affected the council’s ability to adapt in a timely manner.
However, real change relied solely on the actions of urban and rural landowners, he said.
Cr Gretchen Robertson said the Government had listened to the public cry for better water quality nationally.
‘‘Otago is a region that prides itself on high quality water resources and enjoys many economic benefits from these. We also have some serious water quality issues to face up to.’’
Manuherikia farmer and water leader Gary Kelliher said he had not had time to digest the information yesterday in terms of how changes would impact the setting of minimum flows.
Allowing a quick process for plan changes was good as long as they were robust, focused on problem catchments and did not paint all catchments with the same brush.
The work programme sets out a new approach to the Maori/Crown relationship that will acknowledge Maori interests in fair access to water to develop their land.
Federated Farmers waterquality spokesman Chris Allen said the fiveyear goal was ‘‘really ambitious’’.
In the past 10 years, farmers had come a long way improving water quality and the pace was increasing.
National environment spokesman Scott Simpson said the announcement was ‘‘underwhelming’’.
‘‘Today’s announcement is just another working group that kicks water issues to touch until 2020. . . . coincidentally this is when the Government’s Tax Working Group proposals of a series of new environmental taxes would take effect.’’