Safeguarding water is vital for long term public, environmental and economic health

“The concept of Te Mana o te Wai – putting the health of the water first – is not only vital for the long term welfare of people and the environment but also for the economy,”

Our CEO Gillian Blythe and head of regulatory, Nicci Wood said to Parliament’s Primary Production Committee that removing the prioritisation of water health in planning decisions poses significant long-term risks.

Gillian warned that the Government’s proposal to remove the current hierarchy of obligations that protects water in resource consent applications and decisions could have long term unintended consequences.

She told the committee that the health of water in Aotearoa New Zealand must be a priority and that our waterways are already under enormous pressure from pollution and over-allocation.

“The concept of Te Mana o te Wai – putting the health of the water first – is not only vital for the long term welfare of people and the environment but also for the economy,” she said.

“World Bank research shows that river pollution directly impacts GDP.

“When rivers become heavily polluted, regions downstream can see a two percent decline in GDP growth.

She also told the committee that there is no clearly defined problem that the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill is seeking to resolve.

“There is no evidence that the current hierarchy of prioritising the health and well-being of waterbodies and freshwater ecosystems is preventing high quality resource consent applications from being granted."