February 24, 2017
Water quality plan falls short of iwi standard
The Freshwater Iwi Leaders Group says water quality will always miss out if decision-makers are required to balance the economic and environmental considerations, and transformational change is needed to put water quality first.
Member Rahui Papa says the Government’s Clean Water policy released yesterday is an improvement of previous iterations but doesn’t go far enough.
The document has been criticised by environmental groups as shifting the goalposts.
Rahui Papa says its major weakness is the inclusion of economic issues in discussions of water quality.
Iwi leaders are pushing for the primary driver to be Te Mana o Te Wai, the idea that the first right to the water goes to the water itself in terms of sustainable flows and catchment health.
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