Auckland’s water bid ‘offensive’ — WRC chair
Auckland’s fast-track bid for more water has been lambasted by Waikato Regional Council’s chair as an ‘‘offensive’’ back-door approach.
Auckland’s mayor hit back, saying he applied to the select committee because he wants the consent heard ‘‘without having to wait 17 years’’.
And now Waikato-Tainui have offered support to Auckland’s water crisis, though they’re still opposed to Auckland’s fast-track bid.
On Monday, Auckland Council asked for its 2013 application to the regional council – to take an extra 200 million litres a day from the river – to be fast-tracked.
Watercare’s 2013 application is 106th in the queue for its water allocation.
Auckland’s bid to be heard under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Bill 2020 doesn’t have Waikato Regional Council’s support, chair Russ Rimmington told the Environment Select Committee on Wednesday.
In a council statement, Rimmington said there was no mention of Auckland’s fast-track bid during recent talks.
Rimmington found out late Sunday, the night the application was lodged, he said.
‘‘It’s a backdoor approach that prevents openness and transparency. That’s not how we work in the Waikato.’’
Watercare shouldn’t be given any preferential treatment, Rimmington said.
‘‘Auckland want 80 per cent of what’s currently left to be allocated.
‘‘So if they jump the queue and get all they’re asking for, there’d be just 20 per cent left to allocate between 300-plus other applicants. That means many will miss out altogether.’’
Rimmington said the bid was out of step with the Government’s policies to protect freshwater and support provincial growth.
It would contravene the Vision and Strategy Waikato River policy, potentially leading to Treaty breaches, he said.
‘‘What Watercare and Auckland Council should be doing is focusing their efforts on building adequate infrastructure.’’
But Goff told Stuff the urgency of the city’s water levels required action.
Auckland’s storage lakes currently sit at a 25-year low of 45 per cent, with MetService forecasting a dry spring ahead, and a council economist recently projected 14,000 jobs were at risk.
‘‘We simply want to have our consent heard without having to wait 17 years, which frankly most New Zealanders would regard as ridiculous’’.
He rejected the notion Watercare’s application would take 80 per cent of allocation, leaving little for 300 other applicants.
‘‘If the environmental assessment is correct, that the take would lower the river by 1.5-2.2 centimetres at a point where the river is flowing at six metres deep, it’s hard to believe that could be taking 80 per cent of the available water being used.’’
He denied his approach lacked transparency.
‘‘I’ve made it clear to [Rimmington] we were facing a pretty desperate situation, where people run the risk of losing their jobs, where households run the risk of running dry’’.
The fast-track application will be reviewed by local Waikato authorities and iwi, and will have to meet full environmental standards, Goff said.
But Waikato River Authority Co-Chair Roger Pikia told the Environment Select Committee on Tuesday Auckland’s application was not Covid-related.
‘‘You’ll be aware the consent application is designed to extract water from 2030 onwards. Auckland have been well aware of water issues confronting their city for at least 40 years now’’.
But speaking to Auckland Council on Thursday, WaikatoTainui Te Arataura Chair Rukumoana Schaafhausen said the iwi wants to ‘‘work in partnership’’ with Auckland over its water crisis.
‘‘As Kaitiaki (guardian) of the Waikato River, it’s our duty to protect our Awa, while also caring for the needs of people in Tamaki Makaurau.’’