Toothless Water Rules Will Not Save Waituna

-

Although expected, the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management, or clean water rules, that were released yesterday are a real disappointment. They are entirely toothless.

The Government is providing more money to assist with the cleaning of polluted water but surely dealing to the cause of the damage is the most effective strategy. Regional Councils will have no effective way to reduce or manage overstocking that is the main contributor to water degradation.

Those of us who have been desperate to save the Waituna Lagoon from flipping were looking to these rules as the last real possibility of ensuring substantial action. What was released instead was an irrigation  handout, that will further intensify stock numbers, and a removal of the requirement to gain a resource consent for land use intensification. As Ali Timms, chair of the Environment Southland Council, has previously claimed, 100% compliance under the previous regulations will not save the lagoon and these new rules will not make a jot of a difference.

What we are lacking in this government is an understanding of what real governance means. They need to maintain a balanced perspective and find a sustainable pathway between economic interests and environmental sustainability. Instead they welcome the lobbyists for farming and business interests and allow them to dominate their thinking.

John Key's embarrassing interview in the UK just emphasized what a joke our 100% pure and clean and green brand is becoming. With a high number of our native birds on the world's endangered list and 90% of our low land rivers polluted, we have little to be proud of. Key's assertion that we are 100% pure compared to some other countries was justifiably laughed at. National's main maxim appears to be "as long as we are not the worst we are doing well". This government has almost non existent environmental aspirations and continues to behave like a colony of rats living in a bag of grain, eventually they will mix their source of survival with their own waste until it becomes toxic. No environment, no economy!

Comments

Crank said…
The downside of phentermine too needs to be discussed to give a balanced view of the subject. Phentermine has been associated with temporary side effects such as dizziness, dry mouth, sleeplessness, irritability, difficulty in urinating etc. It is also known to addict the user. Such addiction may make the temporary side effects permanent. I took my pill about ten thirty this morning. I ate very little today in comparison to what I used to eat before starting on phentermine. I had a rather large portion of steamed broccoli and some reduced fat triscuits earlier today, as well as a taste or two of things as I cooked them for the rest of the family. Around two in the afternoon I started feeling funny. My pulse seemed to be faster than normal and unusually strong. My head felt odd too, sort of like the headache I experienced when I had a spinal tap years ago. I went to lay down for a few hours. Upon awakening around six I started cooking dinner. I got very hot, breaking a sweat while the rest of the family huddled under blankets and in sweaters. I might add that it is snowing heavily outside today too, a freak storm on the first day of spring in Oklahoma. I ate one bite of macaroni and cheese, as I normally do when I am cooking, to test it for flavor. I also ate one bite of smoked turkey breast, also for the same reason. After finishing my cooking duties I sat back down and reclined. My heart still feels a little funny, as if I am having high blood pressure right now for some reason. I plan to continue taking it easy the rest of the evening and taking deep breaths. Tomorrow is Sunday, so I will be taking a break from my pills on that day, as I did last week. 1. Hereditary factors
November 12, 2012 at 7:43 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The US is actually unique for not valuing life!

-
Image
"...that’s what sets America apart from every other country; we value life. That is what makes us unique.” - Sarah Sanders There is a high level of delusion operating in the White House. The stream of mistruths that come out of President Trump and Sarah Sanders' mouths are clearly blatant lies but millions of US citizens believe them. With daily diets of Fox News and living in a very insular culture , there is little that challenges these false perceptions of US "greatness".  When comparing the United States of America with most other developed nations it becomes clear that it probably places less value on life than most and doesn't compare well with many developing countries too: If the US really valued life then it would abolish the death penalty, it is the only Western Country that executes people under law ( 23 people were executed in 2018 ).  If the US really valued life then it would have an equitable and universal health care system. The cur
Read more

NZ, the Unethical Investor

-
Image
New Zealand is not wealthy in a global sense and our Government's investments would barely rate against many international corporates but our Crown Financial Institutions, like our $19 billion Superannuation Fund, do have a global impact. It is important that our money has a positive influence on the world and that we use reasonable diligence to ensure our investments are well vetted. Norway has a similar population to New Zealand yet it has taken a far more responsible approach to how it has invested its oil riches. Norway uses a Council of Ethics to closely evaluate its state pension fund investments against strict ethical guidelines. The guidelines are based on two premises. The first being that future generations will benefit from current oil wealth and that the return from invested funds are contingent on sustainable development in an economic, environmental and social sense. The second is a commitment that the fund should not allow a risk of investment that could contribu
Read more

ANZAC DAY REFLECTIONS

-
Image
I find ANZAC Day creates a dilemma for me, consequently I rarely attend dawn parades. I fully support people recognising the human cost of wars and remembering family members who lost their lives on battlefields. A grandfather of mine fought in WW1 and was gassed in the French trenches, which compromised his health for the rest of his life. His wife (my grandmother) lost her young brother in WW2. The sacrifices and human costs of war should never be minimalised. However, while speeches at ANZAC parades are full of statements promoting peace and the futility of war, those who campaign hardest for peace, promote nonviolence and call for weapons reductions are often treated like criminals. Anyone who dares to mention our own war crimes or that of our allies are generally shut down or demonised. It has become a sort of cultural heresy to question the reputation and glorification of the ANZACs.  I would love to see greater balance in how we talk about war and properly recognise those who ha
Read more