Message*
Dear Minister,
This Government was elected to get the country moving again, cut waste, and strike out undemocratic 'co-governance'. The revelations about plans for freshwater in Otago show that it is still not happening.
In a secretive process which has shut out the wider community, Otago Regional Council is seeking to implement a regional plan to incorporate the last government's "Te Mana o te Wai" - the mana of the water - framework that just won't work.
Costs are expected to run into the billions, with recently leaked information revealing that local ratepayers in at least two small Otago towns being on the hook for around $50,000 per residential ratepayer.
These costs aren’t because the water is unsafe or at environmental risk, but because the councils are being expected to protect Te Mana o te Wai at quite literally any cost.
The legal need to protect the spiritual lifeforce of water is being placed ahead of the health needs of New Zealanders and their real, tangible need to be able to put food on the table.
Putting the mana of the water above everything else simply doesn’t work. Although it’s Otago ratepayers being punished now, other councils are working on similar plans as we speak. It won’t be long before the same is happening in regions across New Zealand.
Minister, we can’t go on like this.
Councils need to be free to put residents’ real needs first. That cannot happen when they are legally prohibited from doing so.
Your Government has already signalled that the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management will be replaced eventually, but Otago Regional Council shows you need to take action now.
I am calling on you to scrap these Te Mana o te Wai requirements by revoking the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management.
Thank you for your time,
Dear Minister,
This Government was elected to get the country moving again, cut waste, and strike out undemocratic 'co-governance'. The revelations about plans for freshwater in Otago show that it is still not happening.
In a secretive process which has shut out the wider community, Otago Regional Council is seeking to implement a regional plan to incorporate the last government's "Te Mana o te Wai" - the mana of the water - framework that just won't work.
Costs are expected to run into the billions, with recently leaked information revealing that local ratepayers in at least two small Otago towns being on the hook for around $50,000 per residential ratepayer.
These costs aren’t because the water is unsafe or at environmental risk, but because the councils are being expected to protect Te Mana o te Wai at quite literally any cost.
The legal need to protect the spiritual lifeforce of water is being placed ahead of the health needs of New Zealanders and their real, tangible need to be able to put food on the table.
Putting the mana of the water above everything else simply doesn’t work. Although it’s Otago ratepayers being punished now, other councils are working on similar plans as we speak. It won’t be long before the same is happening in regions across New Zealand.
Minister, we can’t go on like this.
Councils need to be free to put residents’ real needs first. That cannot happen when they are legally prohibited from doing so.
Your Government has already signalled that the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management will be replaced eventually, but Otago Regional Council shows you need to take action now.
I am calling on you to scrap these Te Mana o te Wai requirements by revoking the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management.
Thank you for your time,
