Govt must turn its new concern over dairy conversions into action to stop them
The Government must immediately introduce a moratorium on dairy conversions and call on its legal heavyweights to help
Landcorp stop converting forestry to dairy farms, after admitting for the first time today that the conversions are a
problem, the Green Party says.
On TV3s the Nation this morning, Finance Minister Bill English conceded that the Government and Landcorp were
"uncomfortable" with the large-scale dairy conversions Landcorp was undertaking on behalf of foreign and local
landowners.
Mr English said the Government was trying to work out the extent of Landcorp's obligation to continue with the
conversions.
Landcorp is in the process of converting 25,700 hectares of forest to dairy farming in the upper Waikato River catchment
area alone. As at December 2014, the conversions had so far cost $87 million.
"Looking into the legal situation is not enough. The Government must commit to ensuring Landcorp can pull out of
conversions that are underway or planned or, before waterways are damaged further and existing dairy farmers put under
more stress," Green Party water spokesperon Catherine Delahunty said.
"For months, Ministers from the Prime Minister down have refused to concede there is any problem with converting
forestry to dairy the middle of a dairy downturn and when rivers and lakes are already choking from intense dairying.
"More than 8000 people have signed my petition calling for a moratorium on further dairy conversions, but so far their
concerns have fallen on the Government's blocked ears.
"It is a huge relief to hear the Government has finally woken up to the damage that the conversions will do both to the
environment and the farming economy.
"the last thing New Zealand ends is to lose forestry, which helps keep carbon emissions down, and increase dairying,
which is the chief cause of our emissions and river pollution.
"The Government must back farmers, and back the environment, by putting in place a moratorium on furhter dairy
conversions, while pulling out all legal stops to help Landcorp put a stop to the conversions its currently involved
in," Ms Delahunty said.
ENDS