Taking action in a year of challenges and changes

Ngā mihi o te tau hou, 2023 has started off with a hiss and roar –a new Prime Minister, massive flooding in Auckland, Cyclone Gabrielle causing massive destruction and loss of life in the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne areas, submissions on the Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Bills – and all of this in just the first two months of the year. I believe that the tone has been set for the year.

It is, after all, an election year, and the date has now been set – October 14th.

IrrigationNZ will soon begin preparation of its election manifesto. This may seem odd to many of our readers, but in an election year political parties are preparing policies on the big issues with the aim of swaying voters to put a tick in their box. Therefore election year is a chance for advocacy organisations such as ours to inform and influence all political parties on the issues that affect us. An election manifesto is one of the tools we use to do that.

The Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Bills are of significant interest to IrrigationNZ. How resources such as water are allocated and consent duration are canvased in the current drafting of the bills.

Vanessa and the IrrigationNZ team, with the support of Anderson Lloyd and input from members, have been drafting our submission on this massively important legislation. I am truly grateful for the assistance of Anderson Lloyd on this.

Something to keep an eye out for are the details of a study tour. Our last study tour to Nebraska in 2018 was a blast, with a huge amount learnt and fantastic connections made. Work has begun on the organisation of a 2023 study tour. These tours are an amazing opportunity to see what other countries are up to technology-wise, and to meet with their policymakers and regulators to discuss approaches to water-related issues that we share. So, watch this space for further information.

The recent catastrophic weather events highlight the fragility of being a country built upon fault lines and floodplains. The impacts of these events will be felt far and wide for a long time to come. Fruit and vegetable production has been lost, there is serious damage to critical infrastructure, communities are displaced, homes destroyed, and there has been a tragic loss of lives.

Our thoughts are with those affected, along with best wishes for the region’s recovery.

Ngā mihi, Keri

Vanessa Winning Chief Executive IrrigationNZ