22 March 2004
Dr Nick Smith - National Environment Spokesman
Waitaki Bill still deficient says National
National has been successful in eliminating the most obnoxious provisions in the Government's special legislation for
Project Aqua, but the Bill still has serious deficiencies, says Nick Smith, National's Environment Spokesman.
Dr Smith's comments come in response to the Resource Management (Waitaki Catchment) Amendment Bill as reported back from
the Local Government and Environment Select Committee today.
"The Bill is much improved from that introduced by Environment Minister Marion Hobbs, but you can't make a silk purse
out of a pig's ear," says Dr Smith.
Specific improvements that National welcomes are:
1. Reducing the powers of the Minister to sack members of the Water Allocation Board.
2. Removing the Minister's power to direct the Board on process and to override the Resource Management Act.
3. Removing clauses enabling the normal and thorough section 32 analysis to be bypassed when developing the water
allocation plan.
4. Removing the "national perspective" test for Project Aqua.
5. Transferring consent processing for Project Aqua from the Ministry for the Environment to Environment
Canterbury.
"National remains opposed to this Bill because it does not provide for normal Environment Court appeals and because the
consent criteria is being skewed from that for any other resource consent," says Dr Smith
"We are also concerned that it makes no attempt to ensure historic commitments given to farmers in the MacKenzie are
honoured.
"The great irony with this Bill is that Labour has steadfastly defended the Resource Management Act but when it comes to
its own billion dollar project it wants to change the rules to suit itself," says Dr Smith.
Ends