The urgent need to action freshwater reform is being forgotten in the hullabaloo of election rhetoric says the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers.
Federation president Dr Peter Trolove said at the 2017 election freshwater reform was to the fore with Statistics NZ showing over 80 percent of people were concerned about the problem with the state of New Zealand’s rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands, and aquatic life.
“That public concern has not diminished but politicians and media have shoved the water crisis into the background,” he said.
Peter Trolove said the Resource Management Act clearly put responsibility onto government, both central and local.
“Section. 30 of the RMA 1991 proscibes the functions of regional councils regarding freshwater to maintain and enhance freshwater quality, quantity, ecosystems, and coastal water,” he said. “Sadly regional councils appear oblivious of their obligations, but central government is involved too.”
The inertia is likely due to a lack of sanctions for central and regional government. The problem seems less about the RMA and more about a lack of duty and action i.e. enforcement and compliance.
“Laws without enforcement are meaningless. When it all boils down, governments are above the law bound only by ‘democratic conventions’.
Two Fingers
Previous Prime Minister John Key gave that notion two fingers with the ECan Act 2010 passed under urgency, which sacked a democratically elected council to install state puppets.”
The Government’s “Ecan” failed its duty of care in managing land use to protect Canterbury’s freshwater. Instead a decade of state control destroyed the health of the region’s iconic braided rivers while accelerating the pollution of its aquifers in a single minded pursuit of increasing GDP through industrialised irrigated agriculture. The results are now becoming painfully evident.
The current government had made some token measures to freshwater reform but they lacked a sense of purpose and urgency added Peter Trolove.
Contact. Dr Peter Trolove 03 324 2779
029 779 0295
<c> Dr Peter Trolove
World Rivers Day is a global celebration of rivers that occurs annually on the fourth Sunday of September. That was 27 September 2020. Not a word did I hear from government, any political party (not even the Greens), Dept of Conservation, Ministry for Environment. Shows how little government and its departments care about rivers and water. It would’ve been a grand opportunity for government and its three parties. Sad.
Keep up the great work NZ Fed Freshwater Anglers.
Politicians tend to make corkscrews look straight. How many were fooled into voting NZ First with Peter’s promises. None of which he followed up on, and he and the rest of those slippery eels will be gone in a few short weeks thank God.
But how many promises can we expect the current crop of candidates to keep – or even have any intention of keeping? Damn few I expect.
Remember Jacinda’s “No New Taxes” – how’s that working out for you?
Maybe I’m jaded from battling these self-absorbed egotists, but seems to me voting this round might just be a waste of time – either way we’re screwed.
Personally I prefer foreplay before being f’d
C’mon Dave, buck up! Democracy is precious and you need to show you realise it so by voting.
Agree with your grizzle about NZ First. I remember Labour, Greens and NZ First all pledged to stop NZ farms going into foreign hands. But then we had the billion trees plan implemented by the Jones boy and numerous Wairarapa and East Coast sheep farms have been gobbled up by overseas forestry corporates.
There’s other options in minor parties. A wasted vote you might say? Not if enough care to get out and vote with boldness.
So shake your shackles of lethargy off and make sure you vote. A help for you, dear boy, have a look at New Conservative policies.
Dave, If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don’t bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the charlatan established political parties. They are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that thy will probably survive if enough are disgusted and bored and cynical and indifferent about voting. They want you to stay at home watching TV reality rubbish. By all means don’t vote if you want, but don’t bullshit yourself that you’re not voting. Really there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and doubling the chances of the establishment getting back in.
You owe it to our rivers and the environment to vote.
I can see why Dave Rhodes feels as he does, given that the current choices are generally pretty repugnant.
We have the extreme left-wing ideology of Labour and Jacinda, opposed by the “Lets sell off everything” and “give cash to our mates” policies of Collins and National.
ACT are just as bad, and let’s face it, none of them have performed well over this past term.
New Zealand First broke pretty much every promise they made, so thankfully polling at 2% and unlikely to win Northland despite the bombshell $100 million outlandish bribe just landed.
That only leaves the smaller parties. Excluding the usual bunch of nutters, there are few to choose from.
Outdoors Party has appeal to recreation, but is unlikely to do anything but split the vote – unless a miracle happens in Nelson (fingers crossed).
That only leaves New Conservative as having any remote possibility of making it into parliament with policies that would benefit the outdoorsman.
Yep, understand why Dave is so jaded, but unless you get off your arse and register your vote you have no right to criticise the next government – no matter who they are.