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Proposed Ruataniwha dam on Makaroro River, CHB
Draft Bill by new coalition government threatens our freshwater resource
The blitzkrieg approach being used by this new coalition government to dismantle environmental protections, worker rights, public services, Treaty rights (add to list here) … in favour of their wealthy donors hasn’t been seen since the heady days of Rogernomics in the early-1980’s.
Of particular concern for environmental activists right now is a draft Bill by Chris Bishop (Minister for Resource Management Act Reform) that will fast-track approval for large-scale infrastructure projects and side-line usual consultation processes.
Two of the most respected freshwater advocates in Aotearoa, Mike Joy and Marnie Prickett, have penned an open letter (click here) to environmentally concerned New Zealanders which outlines the proposed changes, and which urges environmentally conscious Kiwis around Aotearoa/New Zealand to write to Bishop expressing their opposition to this Bill, and to spread the word amongst environmentally conscious New Zealanders.
Joy and Prickett sum up the proposals as below:
“What this means in practice is that the Government will produce a list of projects that will bypass normal democratic processes …a number of these projects are likely to be large-scale irrigation schemes…”.
Their concerns are echoed in another open letter to the coalition government penned by 10 scientific societies who all promote native diversity in Aoteroa/New Zealand, led by the NZ Ecological Society.
Can the concerns of so many environmentalists around the country be misguided? You decide.
Certainly, those who have confidently been declaring the death of the Ruataniwha dam would do well to brush up on American author Mark Twain who, having in 1897 read his own obituary, declared: “the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated!”
Forest and Bird spokesperson Richard Capie succinctly captures this government’s agenda here as being "anti-nature, anti-environment and anti-democratic".
Those in doubt as to the accuracy of Capie’s claim might consider the mere 12 day window given to submit on the content of draft Bill – the deadline to write to Bishop expired on 12 February!
Couple this pro-dam fast-track legislation with PM Luxon’s recent tirade on the need for dams, dams, dams to lift our struggling economy and you start to get the picture.
However, as Bishop highlights, there will be an opportunity to submit on the Bill at the select committee stage.
This is URGENT – the quality of our shared freshwater resource is under direct threat, while gains achieved to date under te mana o te wai are being trampled in the interest of big business and profit.
Now is the time for you, as an environmentalist passionate about the quality of Aotearoa’s freshwater resource and the health of present and future generations to think about your submission to the select committee. More guidance on the submission process will appear on this website as the process unfolds.
Dr Trevor Le Lievre
(Spokesperson, Wise Water Use HB)
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