Nick Smith, David Carter22
September, 2010
A comprehensive report by the Land and Water
Forum on the management of freshwater in
New Zealand has been welcomed today by Environment
Minister Nick Smith and Agriculture Minister
David Carter.
"The Land and Water
Forum has achieved a first in New Zealand
- consensus on a way forward for managing
freshwater," Dr Smith said.
"The Government
initiated this collaborative process because
the long term success of future water policies
relies on broad agreement at a national
level. Improving water management is one
of the Government's top environmental and
economic priorities. Finding durable solutions
to issues of water quality, allocation and
storage are essential to a healthy environment
and our long-term economic progress.
"All 58 groups
associated with the Land and Water Forum,
led by its Chair Alastair Bisley, are to
be congratulated for the report. Water is
such a complex and polarising issue and
to reach agreement is a major achievement."
The Land and Water Forum
will soon engage with the public on its
report through a series of workshops around
the country. The Government will then consider
the Land and Water Forum report and feedback
from the engagement process, along with
advice from iwi leaders and officials, before
making long-term policy decisions around
freshwater management.
Mr Carter said there
was a lot of detailed work that needed to
be done before any Government announcements
on freshwater policy.
"Addressing freshwater
management for the long term benefit of
all New Zealanders is a task we need to
get right," Mr Carter said. "We
should not underestimate how complex and
challenging water issues are. The Land and
Water Forum is telling us we need a big
change in the way our freshwater is managed.
We need to do it properly and this will
take time."
Note: The Land and Water
Forum report is available at www.landandwater.org.nz
Attached: Questions
& Answers
1. Where did the idea
of a collaborative governance approach to
resolving freshwater issues come from?
National proposed the
approach in its 2006 ‘Bluegreen Vision of
New Zealand'. This work was heavily influenced
by the research work of Ecologic funded
by the Foundation of Research, Science and
Technology on the Nordic countries alternative
approach to resolution of difficult environmental
issues. These ideas were translated into
National's 2008 Election policies, initiated
on the formation of the Government, and
announced in June 2009.
2. How much has the
Government funded the Land and Water Forum?
$1.3 million of public
money has been provided to the Land and
Water Forum which has assisted in meeting
its costs. It is estimated that approximately
twice this has been donated in time by the
respective 58 participating organisations.
3. What has happened
to the ‘Water Plan of Action' launched by
the previous Government in 2003?
This programme did not
meet any of the timelines and was subsequently
dropped and replaced by the Land and Water
Forum process. Between 2003 and 2008, $9.4
million was spent on it. The major difficulty
was that little agreement could be reached
on the way forward for water policy.
4. What is the Government
going to do now it has the Land and Water
Forum report?
The Government has asked
the Land and Water Forum to lead public
engagement on the report. We want the public
to have a say on the report and its recommendations
and this information will feed into our
policy decisions.
5. Will the Government
now implement the National Policy Statement
on Freshwater?
We're mindful that the
Land and Water Forum has singled out the
National Policy Statement on Freshwater
as something it would like addressed quickly.
But it has also asked the Government to
consider some changes to the current draft
and to consider a set of issues which need
further work and which should be dealt with
through collaborative processes. Officials
are working on the Government's options
now. We also made an undertaking to seek
the views of the Iwi Leaders Group as well
as the Land And Water Forum.
6. Some of these recommendations
are very high level, are you satisfied the
Land and Water Forum has addressed the issues?
The Land and Water Forum
was never expected to develop a fully formed
blueprint for water reform. Its role was
to develop a shared understanding of outcomes,
goals and long-term strategies, and some
options for achieving those. We're very
pleased with the level of detail in the
recommendations and the success of the collaborative
process.
7. You mention there
are three streams of work underway: the
Land and Water Forum, the Iwi Leaders Group,
and work by Government officials. When will
there be some action taken by the Government
on fresh water?
The Government wants
to hear from the public before it makes
decisions on what to do next. We're likely
to be in a position to start making some
policy decisions from early next year.
8. What happens to the
Land and Water Forum now?
The Land and Water Forum
is an independent body. We have asked the
Forum to engage with the public on its report
and recommendations. Any future role for
the Land and Water Forum is yet to be determined.
9. Has the Government
made any decisions on the Forum's recommendations?
No. The Government has
only received the final report this week
and Ministers have not had the opportunity
to consider or discuss its contents. The
Government is not ruling anything in or
out.
We have three important
further steps to take before making decisions.
First, we have asked the Land and Water
Forum to lead a public engagement on the
report to enable the community to be informed
and to comment on its content. Secondly,
the Government is committed to a dialogue
with iwi on freshwater policy and we want
to hear their perspective before making
decisions. Thirdly, the Government wants
to test policy proposals with its officials.
