17 September 2013

DOC Report On Ruataniwha Dam Should Be Made Public

UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne is calling for the release of DOC’s currently secret report critical of the Ruataniwha Dam proposal.

Mr Dunne says there is a great deal of interest in Hawkes Bay and elsewhere about the Ruataniwha proposal, and that all relevant information should be in the public arena.

“There is a great deal of concern amongst recreational and environmental groups in Hawkes Bay with whom I have spoken recently about this proposal and the way it is being advanced.

“They are especially about its impacts on the flows and fishery of the Tukituki river.

“On the other hand, I also know of strong support for Ruataniwha from a water storage perspective from bodies like Federated Farmers,” he says.

Mr Dunne says the Ruataniwha decision will have implications for water management regimes across the country.

“That is why it is so important that the right decision be made, based on all the evidence available, including DOC’s reported concerns about the plan’s viability.

“A decision reached on only some of the information, and not all of it, will lack credibility and will be in no-one’s long term interests.

“The Government needs to make the DOC report available now to allay fears it is only interested in presenting one side of the story to the review board,” he says.

ENDS

© Scoop Media