Govt pulls plug on irrigation

The Government will cut funding to the three major irrigation projects in Canterbury and Marlborough.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson announced yesterday afternoon that the Government would stop funding the Hurunui, Hunter Downs and Flaxbourne projects through Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd as part of its confidence-and-supply agreement with the Green Party.

Funding for the Waimea Community Dam, Kurow-Duntroon Irrigation Scheme and the second phase of Canterbury’s Central Plains Water Scheme have been given the green light though.

Robertson said the decision would provide certainty for those schemes, which were also trying to attract private investment.

‘‘We recognise that year-round water availability is important for drier areas of New Zealand. Smaller-scale, locally run and environmentally sustainable water storage projects could be considered on a case-by-case basis.

‘‘Large-scale private irrigation schemes should be economically viable on their own, without requiring significant public financing. We must also be mindful of the potential for large-scale irrigation to lead to intensive farming practices, which may contribute to adverse environmental outcomes.’’

National’s agriculture spokesman, Nathan Guy, said this was the second major the Government has dealt to regional New Zealand within a week.

‘‘Fresh from whacking a major new fuel tax on New Zealand motorists, the Government has announced it will leave regional farmers and growers at the mercy of prolonged droughts . . . These irrigation projects would have given them the certainty they could deal with future dry spells but that certainty has now been ripped away.’’

IrrigationNZ chief executive Andrew Curtis said he was disappointed because irrigation projects were worth $1.2 billion to communities every year.

The Green Party celebrated the decision, saying it would lead to cleaner rivers and less pollution.

‘‘Large-scale irrigation projects and dairy conversions put all of that at risk, leader James Shaw said.

‘‘The industrial-scale irrigation schemes subsidised by the Crown Irrigation Fund created dependency, increased farm debt and led to increased pollution.’’