Wednesday July 7, 2004
New Zealand Is Only 50% Pure And Local Government Is To Blame
The recent report by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research on 229 lowland waterways, which found they
were unsafe to swim in just confirmed the validity of Fish & Game’s “Dirty Dairying Campaign” the organisation said today.
“We have said all along that the state of our lowland rivers and streams is a disgrace,” says Fish & Game Director, Bryce Johnson. "'Fifty Percent Pure’ and ‘dirty and brown’ are much more accurate statements than
Tourism New Zealand’s 100% Pure New Zealand Campaign and claims about our ‘clean and green’ image.”
The report found that nearly 95% of lowland streams and rivers have levels of faecal bacteria and pollutants which are
in excess of Health Ministry guidelines. These levels of bacteria can cause gastro-intestinal illness, and high levels
make the water unsuitable for consumption by both people and stock. Between 1996 to 2002 phosphorus and nitrogen levels
in streams in farming areas had increased because of more intensive land use, in particular dairying. The report was
published in the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research.
“The responsibility for this pollution lies fairly and squarely with Government agencies such as Ministry for the
Environment and Regional Councils. New Zealand is very lucky to have the Resource Management Act which gives us the
legal ability to protect the environment while allowing reasonable economic development. But poor implementation of the
key provisions of the Act by Central and Local Government has meant our lowland waterways have continued to be degraded
by the enormous growth in land use intensification,” says Mr Johnson.
“There is no problem with the range of tools within the Resource Management Act, the problem is inadequate
implementation by Central and Local Government,” says Mr Johnson.
“Sadly, this report makes a nonsense of Tourism New Zealand’s ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ campaign. While Tourism New
Zealand tries to argue that the slogan ‘markets the unique experiences New Zealand offer’ the far more probable reality
is 100% Pure means to most people 100% pure clean and green, which is the image we use to sell our primary produce.
Tourism New Zealand loves to promote overseas the image of people fly-fishing in the waters of wilderness rivers and our
‘pristine environment’. Well, the reality is quite different – tourism is being undermined by agriculture.”
“All the political enthusiasm to review the Resource Management Act is really a smokescreen to hide the failure of
Central and Local Government agencies to forthrightly implement the available, but unused, provisions of the Act. “
“Those responsible for maintaining the state of New Zealand’s natural environment ought to be made far more accountable
for their inadequate performance. Environmental protection in New Zealand would take a huge step forward if the Ministry
for the Environment was given the explicit duty to formally review and require the performance of Regional Councils and
Unitary Authorities against the ‘Purpose and Principles’ of the Resource Management Act, and report regularly on the
state of the environment. It is a disgrace that the last comprehensive State of the New Zealand Environment Report was
in 1997.”
ENDS