GUEST BLOG: David Parker – Flammable rivers – Smith’s swimmable river con ignites outrage
National’s announcement last week on water quality was con job which will not clean up our polluted rivers.
The most important river to most people is the one they live closest to and use. If your local river and my local river are clean enough to swim in, then all our rivers will be clean. This is not too much to ask.
There are many layers of crap in Nick Smith’s announcement, which is why water scientists are outraged. I swim and fish in our beautiful rivers, and I’m outraged too.
For 8 years National have overseen increasing pollution of many rivers and lakes, adopting the pathetic “wadeable” standard while allowing pollution to get worse in many parts of the country. We now live in a country where some aquifers have such high nitrate levels that water from bores cannot be safely drunk by babies. Dogs running along rivers can die ingesting water with poisonous algae.
National’s latest attempt to classify dirty rivers as swimmable should be scorned. They say a river which can sometimes have a 5% risk of illness because of E.coli levels can still be classified as “good” for swimming. This is wrong. We deserve a higher level of confidence that you won’t get crook if you put your head under.
It gets worse. Pages 11 and 39 of National’s document say the new swimmable definition applies where the river “meets the guidelines 80% of the time”. The 80% figure means that for up to 20% of the year the standard does not have to be met.
What a fraud. A river can exceed National’s E.coli limit up to 20 per cent of the time and still be graded as swimmable. 20% is 2.4 months a year. This really irks me. From Christmas until the end of February is less than 20% of the year! River quality generally gets worse in summer when flows are lower and water temperatures are higher. Summertime is also when most people swim in our rivers. It is especially important that our rivers be swimmable then. Any standard which ignores that reality is rubbish. Other rules show this is deliberate.
Take the rule relating to Periphyton – a.k.a slime. Run off from fertiliser and animal excrement causes slime growth. Again this is worst in summer, when flows are low and water temperatures high. National’s proposed rules allow “periodic short-duration nuisance blooms reflecting moderate nutrient enrichment and/or alteration of the natural flow …”. This is deliberately phrased to allow rivers sucked low by irrigation in summer to continue to be used as farm drains growing slime.
Dissolved oxygen levels are also set at levels to enable the farm practice ruining our rivers to be largely unaffected. National’s bottom line on nitrates is also set to protect farming rather than ecosystem health – the bottom line is so low fish-growth is hindered.
After coming into government National spiked the National Policy Statement recommended by former head Environment Court Judge Sheppard after the full RMA process. The core provision of the Sheppard NPS was that increases in farming intensity (more livestock, irrigation or fertiliser per hectare) would no longer be a permitted activity. National hated this core provision, and so ignored it. Their weak substitute NPS has allowed many rivers to degrade further. Their pathetic wadeable standard was rightly ridiculed, as is averaging within catchments.
National caved into their farming backers. For 8 years they have overseen increasing pollution. Poor farm practice has been allowed to get worse. Worse still, they enabled some regional councils to legitimise forms of intensive land use causing pollution that used to be illegal. Diffuse pollution on land polluting waterways has always been illegal unless authorised by an RMA plan rule or resource consent. There is no common law right to pollute. There is no existing use right to pollute under the RMA.
Some farm practices which National has enabled are truly disgusting. It started with dairying, but some of the worst current examples are now atrocious beef feedlots. Beef is booming, like dairying before. Hundreds of cattle in small paddocks are pugging soils, with cattle in mud up to their knees and not a blade of grass in sight. Nutrients are leaching into acquifers below, and tonnes of soil and effluent are getting into rivers and estuaries.
Other poor practices include “spray and pray” in hill country – steep country pasture is killed by aerial spraying, and oversown with brassicas. These steep hills are then heavily grazed over winter, with erosion and effluent clogging our rivers and estuaries. As well, thousands of kilometres of rivers still don’t have fences set-back from the river or lake edge.
If elected, Labour will reissue an NPS on fresh water quality without the trickery. Labour will return to the principles of the Sheppard NPS. This will immediately stop more farm intensification making things worse. It will also require all rivers to be cleaned up to a swimmable standard – measured in summer when people swim.
Labour will reverse the damage wrought under National. Unlike National, we will not subsidise this clean up through taxes paid by others. Just because polluters were allowed to pollute last year does not mean they should get away with it next year.
Fences with decent set-backs to filter sediments and nutrient run-off will be required beside all rivers close to intensive agriculture (low intensity farming without irrigation or other intensive practices in the high country is not the problem). Sustainable nutrient levels (to a swimmable standard) will be required for all catchments.
It is a New Zealand birth-right to be able to swim in our rivers. A dip in your local river on a hot day is a Kiwi tradition. Is it too much to ask that our kids can put their heads under the water without getting sick? What do people come to New Zealand for? Do farmers have the right to undermine our tourism industry?
National, including Bill English and Nick Smith, are patently out of touch. We need a change of government if you want clean rivers.
David Parker
Labour’s Water Spokesperson
The main culprit in river pollution is animal farming. Dairy farmers have copped the most flack, but they are not the only ones. Greater Wellington Council for example allowed a company producing pig flesh to build a factory farm in Carterton, with the effluent of 23, 000 pigs (as much poop as the city of Rotorua) to be pumped to land. The company was later fined a pathetic amount, such fine not being enough to pay for the cost of a prosecution, let alone a clean-up. A group of Wellington activists warned the council against allowing the resource consent – during Helen Clark’s tenure, but we were shouted down.
If the Labour Party (or any other party) is serious about cleaning up our waterways, they must do something about New Zealander’s lust for flesh. Kiwis consume more animals per person than any other country except Australia, Uruguay, US, Malaysia, South Africa and Belarus (FAO latest figures). Labour need to support initiatives such as stopping subsidies to animal producers, requiring labelling on meat products, getting the Ministry of Health guidelines changed to include non-animal products, NZQA-accredited vegan cooking courses, and abolishing factory farming for environmental and animal welfare reasons.
Thanks for your commentary David and for making this pledge.
I strongly hope that Labour listens to the Greens on this issue and works with them closely on this because Labour has a track record of not going for the Greens waterways bills in parliament on more than one occasion in the last 8 years.
Please don’t go back on your word on this.
Well said David you cornered the issue brilliantly.
There is a major issue of road traffic pollution runoff also that Nactional have cleverly deliberately ignored.
Trucks carry 30 odd tyres ( tyre pollution is now a serious polluter of waterways and cause cancer>
Tyre dust contains butadiene/styrene booth are a confirmed cancer causing and nervous system toxic components.
Under National trucks now carry 92% of our freight now, as they closed regional rail down, and aside from the stock effluent that we always see spraying off the back off them as we are trapped behind them, diesel and tyre pollution are now big emitters of water pollutants.
http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/road-rubber/
http://toxictiredust.com/
Characteristics of tyre dust in polluted air: Studies by single particle mass spectrometry (ATOFMS)
Best to let the free market sort out waterways.
ACT and its coalition partners over the years have transformed the NZ economy, letting the market decide on what is valuable and what is not.
The same applies to water. If water becomes a valuable resource, then it will surely become a trade-able commodity.
User pays. If people want better quality water, they need to pay the price. A party vote for ACT will ensure cleaner water.
Thank you so much. I never realised how easy it is for the market to slve problems.
I might even vote for ACT.
I have a question.
Where do I find the market?
we are already paying David it is because of the market the rivers are polluted in the first place. I suggest you open your ears and eyes so you can see more
David See-more, you’re taking the proverbial, right??
… clean water will be available if you are prepared to pay for it?
‘Do farmers have the right to undermine our tourism industry?’
Does the tourism industry have the right to undermine the future of every New Zealander? (the absolutely MASSIVE carbon footprint of tourists being utterly unmentionable, and the abrupt climate change that is underway also being utterly unmentionable by our bought-and-paid-for politicians, of course).
Daily CO2
February 26, 2017: 408.58 ppm
February 26, 2016: 403.58 ppm
And who was the minister for tourism?
Screwed the country and has run off overseas. Funnily enough, we were all warned Key would do this, screw the country and f off to Hawaii.
The worst thing is that nzers will eventually become used to dirty rivers and our clean green image will become a thing of the past, much like the American Wild West of yesteryear.
That is what haunts me.
One solution. In the advent of a Green-Labour government, put a Green MP into the Environment/Conservation portfolio and double DoC’s budget. We can fund it with a capital gains tax, financial transactions tax, and raising the top tax rate for anyone earning $150,000 to 40cents in the dollar. Anyone who doesn’t like it can go take a dive into a polluted river or lake.
David, it is a shame you are not the leader of Labour. You proved, especially during the deputy leader debate last election that you are intelligent and very well spoken, and left bill English looking an amateur.
If believe if you were the leader Labour would poll significantly higher… Not something I would be overly keen on, given that I prefer the policies of the smaller progressive political parties, but would be preferable over national being in govt
Unpolluted water is such a nationwide problem
https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/the-horowhenua-district-council-has-broken-its-agreement-with-foxtons-tangata-whenua-another-protest-to-come/
that one has to look not only at the cause and effect but deep into the hearts of those entrusted with our taxpayer funds to upgrade and maintain clean drinking water, streams, rivers and oceans which belong to all New Zealanders. For me those entrusted with this responsibility are the same ones who backed the secret signing of the TPPA. A clean sweep into the rubbish bin of many, if not all, officials and politicians throughout New Zealand seems inevitable if we are to survive in this polluted and poisoned land:
https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/tributaries-that-flow-into-the-blue-pools-lake-wanaka-have-been-poisoned-with-1080-no-signs-out-tourists-oblivious-to-swimming-risks-ingesting-the-water/
Maybe we the people can effect these changes and maybe just maybe any party – not named National with people not already bought and compromised- can make those changes officially happen.
Sadly, we have already allowed a deep foothold into this country by black hearted corporations and politicians are so easily threatened or bought. United as one people we cannot be defeated.
Polluted water is a nationwide problem
https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/the-horowhenua-district-council-has-broken-its-agreement-with-foxtons-tangata-whenua-another-protest-to-come/
that one has to look not only at the cause and effect but deep into the hearts of those entrusted with our taxpayer funds to upgrade and maintain clean drinking water, streams, rivers and oceans which belong to all New Zealanders. For me those entrusted with this responsibility are the same ones who backed the secret signing of the TPPA. A clean sweep into the rubbish bin of many, if not all, officials and politicians throughout New Zealand seems inevitable if we are to survive in this polluted and poisoned land:
https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpress.com/2017/02/26/tributaries-that-flow-into-the-blue-pools-lake-wanaka-have-been-poisoned-with-1080-no-signs-out-tourists-oblivious-to-swimming-risks-ingesting-the-water/
Maybe we the people can effect these changes and maybe just maybe any party – not named National with people not already bought and compromised- can make those changes officially happen.
Sadly, we have already allowed a deep foothold into this country by black hearted corporations and politicians are so easily threatened or bought. United as one people we cannot be defeated.
Finally the facts emerge on Nationals shameless manipulation of the legislative frameworks that make up the RMA. Thank you David for your crystal clear analysis of the causes and environmental costs that these liars are unleashing on our precious rivers and aquifers. This is not going to be a quick fix as nitrates in water are a chronic menace once established in aquifers. Ask the Netherlands population who have been dealing with the health effects for years. As someone who grew up on a farm with a grandmother and father who were passionate environmentalists with genuine love of the animals they farmed, this factory approach is not only unnecessary it is ethically repulsive. Farming can be done organically with tree planting, herbal lea pastures and kind animal husbandry. This cuts out the oil by products such as Urea DAP etc that sterilise soil life and make animals prone to sickness that then needs antibiotics. The
Oil Co. Corporates Have always hidden the role of chemical nitrates in polluting water beneath the falsehood that it is cow urine polluting river water. Take away forced nitrate pastures and adopt lower stocking rates and the problem is halved at once. Roll on the Election. We can be free of these corporate rapists.
CB – I too want what was stolen – back!
The small country town in which I grew up use to be a thriving community, always busy, with a ‘true’ Bank of New Zealand then, post office, shops of all kinds full of New Made products – clothes, shoes, produce. The school was booming, the surrounding farms, booming.
Now the town has mostly closed shops, the odd takeaway, lower population, a lot unemployed, smaller school role… You get the picture.
What happened? – stolen!
CB please make a documentary about what you have written – it NEEDS to get out there! Mr Parker you/ the Labour Party should fund it!