Govt officials knew 2020 water policy would fail to protect health of water and ignored scientists’ advice

Govt officials knew 2020 water policy would fail to protect health of water and ignored scientists’ advice 

11:45am Monday 1st March 2021

For immediate release

Choose Clean Water

Reporting by Radio New Zealandtoday has revealed that government officials knew the 2020 freshwater policy would fail to protect the health of waterways and ignored scientists’ advice that the government should introduce a 1mg/L dissolved inorganic nitrogen bottom line.

Freshwater campaign group Choose Clean Water says that it is deeply troubling that officials from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) ignored the Government’s expert science advisory group on a bottom line for nitrogen and instead adopted policy being lobbied for by intensive dairy industry executives. 

Radio New Zealand revealed today that MPI, citing DairyNZ modelling, put pressure on the Ministry for the Environment to weaken water policy.

Fortunately, Choose Clean Water says, the Government made a promise in May 2020 to revisit the bottom line for nitrogen in 12 months. 

It now needs to implement what the scientists told it in the first place: putting the health of people and rivers first by introducing the 1mg/L bottom line for nitrogen pollution this year.

“By not protecting water properly, the Ministry for Primary industries is letting the health of our rivers and our people take hit after hit when it should be that polluting industries are required to change,” spokesperson for the group, Marnie Prickett, says.

Choose Clean Water says the Government’s water policy framework, Te Mana o Te Wai, says that regional councils must put the health of rivers and people before commercial interests. 

“Te Mana o Te Wai requires regional councils to put the health of rivers and people before private financial interests. Our national water policy clearly must do the same. This starts with strict rules on pollution.”

ENDS