The Court of Appeal challenge by Aotearoa Water Action (AWA), against water bottling consents granted by Canterbury Regional Council to Cloud Ocean Water Limited and Rapaki Natural Resources Limited, has been successful. The judgement concluded that the consents were not lawfully granted and the High Court decision, along with the Council’s decisions granting consents, should be set aside. This means that Cloud Ocean Water Limited and Rapaki Natural Resources Limited no longer have the consents to carry on their bottling operation.
AWA spokesperson Peter Richardson says the decision is testament to the relentless support of the public and AWA would like to thank them. He says it has been a long wait for the public who have strongly backed the group’s legal challenge and donated funds to help the court case proceed. March to Save Our Water, held in March 2019, saw thousands of people march through Christchurch reflecting the huge public concern. The court action has also been assisted by a $50,000 grant from Christchurch City Council.
AWA is considering how this decision may affect other situations and consents involving the taking and use of groundwater, particularly in Canterbury. Richardson says that the court case is extremely important for the future of water security in Aotearoa.
“Parts of New Zealand are already experiencing water shortages. We need to make sure we are protecting our water for future generations.”
Well done AWA….great work…
Great work! Water should be first used for the community and then the country it is in – and not wasted with individual profiteering.
Water bottles themselves are very polluting for the environment not to mention selling water for virtually nothing to companies, while those who live in NZ pay a fortune for CEO’s and endless self serving bureaucracy on $680k per year like Water Care in Auckland.
3 Waters is just gearing NZ water up for privatisation while adding more cost to the structure with another layer of management on top of the endless lower managers and structures already in place. 3 Waters is already costing millions in consultants and PR – raising the cost of water in NZ.
It should be in the building code that everyone has to collect drinking water off their roof and collect grey water for gardening. Easy fix to help Maori and everyone else get free water.
Non permeable surface ratios are a joke as the maximum areas are generally exceeded by developers. There are big environmental costs of diesel and dog pooh in the wastewater and massive mansions being built.
There are loads of simple problems with water that could easily and cheaply be solved just by simple practices. But that does not feed the neoliberal machine it just helps stop pollution and water insecurity for all in NZ.
Your comment rocks but particularly paragraph 4…such a no-brainer 🙂
Good job and kudos to you all in Christchurch AWA!