Over waterways
all intensively stocked land near waterways to be fenced off within five years.
The Greens would make amendments to current policy similarly requiring that all waterways be safe for swimming, but also banning new dairy farms and subsidies to irrigation schemes.
Gareth Morgan’s The Opportunity Party (TOP) would place interim moratoriums until catchments have plans to improve water quality, ACT would sell off state-owned Landcorp, and the Maori Party would aim for New Zealand’s freshwater not just to be swimmable, but “drinkable”. hydro-electricity use, irrigation was the largest consented user of consumptive water by volume (51 per cent) followed by household use (14 per cent) and industry (13 per cent).
National has left a technical advisory group, as part of the Land and Water Forum, to look at possible new policy around the allocation and pricing of water.
“Our government is not opposed to reform, but wants any new allocation policy to be fair, consistent and workable,” Environment Minister Nick Smith said.
But Labour has announced it would go ahead and charge water bottlers and others with heavy water consumption, at per-litre rates to be determined in a water summit after the election. The royalties would be distributed to regional councils to fund improving the quality of rivers and streams, after some of the royalties had been paid to Maoridom to meet treaty settlements.
The Greens and New Zealand First would also make water bottlers pay, and the Maori Party would put an interim ban on exports by foreign companies until Maori rights and interests had been addressed.
ACT has stated it’s against any moves for Maori to hold cogovernance of water, while NZ First would drop provisions requiring consultation with iwi and oppose other recognition.
That’s in contrast with Labour and TOP, which would both work to resolve Treaty issues around water.
But ACT and TOP are somewhat aligned in advocating cap and trade systems for commercial water use.
ACT would set up a market-based scheme for water rights like the Quota Management System, prevent overallocation and ensure existing permits remained with holders until expiry with a “grandfathering” approach.
Under TOP’s freshwater policy, consent owners would get priority to use a certain proportion of the water available for commercial use, but they’d be made to pay a market price for each litre they used — and they’d be banned from offering what they didn’t to others. TOP also favours a polluter-pays scheme, where businesses that cross sustainable levels pay a penalty, and those who stay below them receive payment from the penalty pool. Go to to watch a panel of young Kiwis blind-test parties’ freshwater policies.