From the Chief Executive

real time this security of production has never been more important.

The challenge for our primary sector is to continue to grow value while acknowledging the ecological limitations of the status quo. With a combination of increasingly precise irrigation systems, enhanced environmental monitoring capability and tighter regulations we now have the capacity to mitigate negative environmental impacts. It is time to have more mature discussions about water storage. In short, if we are smart we can have our cake and eat it too.

New Zealand First are proud that the Provincial Growth Fund has enabled funding of $85 million for various phases of 30 water storage or aquifer recharge projects during this term of government. With a mandate to continue we will prioritise water storage as a key driver of regional economic development. The long term pay back and flow on to the wider community is beyond dispute and an opportunity New Zealand can ill afford to ignore.

JAMES SHAW

Green Party Co‑leader

The Green Party is proud of the work it has done to improve the health of New Zealand’s rivers, aquifers and lakes. In Government we have strengthened the freshwater rules in the National Policy Statement Freshwater Management for towns and cities as well as rural areas, and secured significant funding to help farmers fence and plant waterways to reduce sediment and nutrient pollution through the $1.3 billion Jobs for Nature package.

We also secured an end to government subsidies for large scale irrigation schemes, since such schemes are a recipe for picking winners by giving some farmers an unfair advantage while waterways lose out due to large scale agricultural intensification.

The Green Party instead supports sensible solutions that improve water storage while looking after the environment. That includes improving soil health, protecting elite soils, restoring wetlands, and enhancing catchments health with more native plantings.

The climate crisis is likely to mean longer droughts and more intense storm events, as such retaining more water in the soil and reducing runoff matters more than ever. That’s at the heart of our plan.

Irrigation technology has come a long way in improving water use efficiency and we want to see further innovation.

The Green Party will invest in and retain public ownership of three waters infrastructure, so everyone has access to clean drinking water and we improve the quality or urban stormwater and wastewater discharges.

We will also prioritise sustainable solutions for water.

The Green Party will invest in local infrastructure for rainwater storage, and encourage household water conservation in cities and towns. We will require new buildings to include greywater recycling as part of changing to a climate-friendly Building Code.

We will support farmers to plan for climate resilient farming, and ensure Farm Environment Plans address on-farm water conservation, irrigation efficiency, and rainwater capture and storage.

MARTIN TAYLOR

Fish & Game Chief Executive

New Zealand’s natural freshwater resources: • are finite, • are a public resource, • underpin the Kiwi outdoor lifestyle and our ‘clean green brand, and • are being polluted. fication are well understood and are unambiguously evident in the increasing deterioration of water quality and quantity in an increasing number of waterways.

The reality is that big irrigation schemes have contributed significantly to the water quality crisis the country is now facing.

For example, irrigation has allowed intensive dairy farming to establish itself in unsuitable areas like Canterbury. The scale of the problem is shown by the fact that Canterbury is now using two-thirds of all New Zealand’s irrigation take and its water has become increasingly full of nitrates.

Fish & Game does support small scale water storage for the dry summer periods. However, both the direct and indirect freshwater environmental effects must be benign.

This means it must be at no further harm to the natural environment, which has already suffered too much damage.

We know from polling that New Zealanders remain very concerned about water pollution and how careful political parties need to be in addressing this concern.

Three quarters – 76 percent – of those surveyed said they were extremely or very concerned about the pollution of lakes and rivers. Only five perent said they were not that concerned.

The only issue people were more worried about was the cost of living, with 80 percent saying they were extremely or very concerned.

This shows there is a depth of feeling Kiwis have about the loss of what they consider their birthright. All political parties are on notice that in this year’s election, Kiwis will expect to be able to swim, fish and gather food from their rivers, lakes and streams.

The Maori Party were invited to share their thoughts, however did not respond.

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