THE Matawai dam near Kaikohe. Photo supplied
An announcement from the National Party on water storage is exactly what farmers have been crying out for, Federated Farmers freshwater spokesperson Colin Hurst says.
“We’re giving the policy the big tick of approval,” he said.
‘The reality is that New Zealand is getting less water when we need it, and more when we don’t.
‘It makes a lot of sense to support more water capture and storage to help even out those peaks and troughs. There are so many benefits to this kind of infrastructure,’ he said.
‘We’ve got no shortage of water in this country. New Zealand isn’t running out of water, water is simply running out of New Zealand.’
Water storage had a critical role to play when it came to climate change resilience in rural communities, but there would be other benefits like supporting land use change and increased production.
“That’s why Federated Farmers made ‘Unlocking the potential for water storage’ one of our 12 policy priorities for this year’s general election,” Colin said.
‘This presents a huge opportunity for New Zealand to increase the value, volume, and variety of our primary sector exports and supercharge our economy – and it’s arriving just as New Zealand needs it the most.’
Under current regulations, it was near impossible to get any new water storage off the ground, he said.
The system is completely broken. To offer some examples, a water storage scheme in Wakamoekau was recently abandoned because of endless red tape.
Meanwhile, the Matawii Dam near Kaikohe has recently been completed and is beginning to fill with water.
‘The difference between these two schemes? The Matawii project was granted a Ministerial fast track.
Federated Farmers are strongly of the view that if a water storage scheme relies on Ministerial backing to get off the ground, then the system clearly isn’t working.
‘Farmers should be able to access the water they need to grow their businesses, and the New Zealand economy, provided they are meeting their environmental obligations,’ Colin said.
National policy is to:
• Establish a fund within the National Infrastructure Bank with $600 million to develop a long-term plan for water storage.
• Develop a National Policy Statement on Water Storage to provide certainty around the strategic use of water, streamline consenting and set minimum environmental standards for newly irrigated land.
• Guarantee common ownership of water for all New Zealanders.
• Treat water as a prime strategic resource, recognising the importance of water storage for resilience, urban water supply, enhanced environmental outcomes, and better land use options in rural communities.
“Currently less than 2 per cent of the water that flows over New Zealand is captured. About half of this is used in our towns and cities and the other half for irrigation.
“Our country has water, we’re just not using it,” National environment spokesman Scott Simpson said.
“It also improves water flows and recharges aquifers, bolsters municipal water supplies and provides vital food security by ensuring crops don’t wither up and stock are well fed and watered.”
The policy is also supported by Irrigation NZ.
“Investment in critical water storage has been stymied by complex consenting arrangements in New Zealand,” Vanessa Winning, chief executive of IrrigationNZ said.
“The National Party policy for primary sector growth will encourage investment in on-farm water storage while still protecting important environmental assets, will insist on quicker consenting decisions for off-farm water storage, and will lengthen consent durations to 30 years. All of this will create certainty and encourage investment in this very necessary infrastructure to ensure resilience for New Zealand as climate change disrupts weather patterns.
“This is good progress and a step toward developing a country-wide strategic approach to water resilience.
“We have asked successive governments and all parties to support investment in water storage in order to supplement reliable water supply for food production and ultimately reduce reliance on rivers.
“Supporting investment in water storage through enabling policy is also a great way to signal to farmers and growers that investing for climate adaptation and land use change is the right move.”
