Media Statement
July 13 – for immediate release
Green’s Water Policy Unrealistic
Irrigation New Zealand (INZ) thinks that there is some merit in the Green Party’s environmental policy relating to water
announced today, but is concerned about the economic and social impacts of the policy and about how the Green Party will
achieve its outcomes.
INZ agrees that dams must not be built on New Zealand’s pristine rivers and where possible new dams should be located
off-river. It also agrees that ‘no go’ areas should be identified.
But INZ does not agree that dams and irrigation destroy rivers or add to pollution if they are designed and constructed
properly.
“The reality is that New Zealand needs large scale water storage. This is essential for town and city drinking water
supplies, as well as to produce fresh food,” says Andrew Curtis, chief executive of INZ.
“Without water storage we would have to explore other expensive options to cope with future population growth. These
might include implementing intense food price hikes; importing foreign fresh produce and building desalination plants.
“Irrigation schemes are also key to fixing up problems of the past by storing high winter flows and using these for
irrigation during the summer which prevents rivers being impacted by irrigation takes,” says Mr Curtis.
INZ agrees with the Green’s proposed collaborative approach to setting water policy, but INZ says that New Zealand must
realise the complexity of its water issues.
“The government’s NPS is actually one of the toughest pieces of environmental legislation anywhere in the developed
world and people need to understand the legislation in detail,” says Mr Curtis.
“The NPS policy states that river water quality in New Zealand cannot get worse and it provides a minimum level for
rivers in a poor state to reach.
“The reality is that it is unrealistic and prohibitively expensive to have swimmable rivers everywhere – particularly in
towns and cities where water quality is by far the worst.”
INZ looks forward to further discussing water policy with the Green Party to see if we can work toward a way for both
preserving New Zealand’s water quality while still continuing to grow our economy.
INZ is committed to finding a way for New Zealand to develop sustainably managed irrigation schemes within acceptable
environmental limits.
“Water is our most valuable renewable resource and we believe that irrigation in New Zealand is essential to protect
against climatic variations and to enhance the country’s ability to feed its population and to contribute to feeding the
world,” says Mr Curtis.
For more information on future SMART irrigation visit www.smartirrigation.co.nz