8. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader—Green) Link to this
to the Minister of Agriculture
Why did the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry make a submission to Horizons Regional Council opposing a draft standard requiring all rivers and streams in the Manawatū-Wanganui region to be safe for swimming?
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Minister of Agriculture) Link to this
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry did no such thing. Its submission to the proposed plan of Horizons Regional Council was very supportive of the restoration of waterways. The section the member is concerned about starts by stating: “MAF supports the sustainable water programme of action outcome to improve the quality and efficiency of fresh water by building and enhancing partnerships.” Further on, the submission did state opposition to one clause in schedule D of the proposal, because of a concern that the ambition was unrealistic. These were technical measures that the ministry was commenting on. The submission was withdrawn some months ago, when this issue first came up. It was withdrawn because it was clear that this one clause was being misinterpreted as opposition to a general ambition—an ambition supported by the ministry—to make all waterways clean.
Can the Minister confirm that the ministry’s submission was withdrawn only after pressure from the Green Party; and can he also confirm that its submission was identical in purpose to the Federated Farmers submission, both of them aiming to knock out exactly the same clause of the draft plan—that is, the clause that aimed to make rivers and streams safe for swimming?
No, I cannot confirm that—in fact, I can confirm otherwise. The ministry’s submission was withdrawn after senior officials of the ministry determined that that particular clause was not being interpreted properly. I have here the full submission by the ministry. If there is any relationship between this submission and the Federated Farmers submission, I would be very surprised.
Has he received any advice that not only were the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Federated Farmers both singing from the same song sheet but also Landcorp, the Government’s own company, made a submission also trying to knock out this exact clause—the clause that is aimed at making our rivers safe for children to swim in?
I have received no such advice, and if the member is going to be here for a little longer, he will discover that it would be surprising to any member of this House, and equally to the ministry and Federated Farmers, to know that we are both singing from the same song sheet.
Has he received any advice that the Landcorp submission stated “The values, management objectives, and methods used to determine water quality standards do not appear to have been formulated on the basis of robust analysis.”, which seems remarkably similar to the submission from the former Federated Farmers president, Charlie Pederson, which states: “The values, management objectives, and methods used to determine water quality standards do not appear to have been formulated on the basis of robust analysis.”; and has the Minister sought any advice as to why Federated Farmers and a State-owned enterprise are using exactly the same words in their submissions against clean rivers?
It may come as a surprise to the member, but I have no ministerial responsibility for Landcorp, nor do I have any ministerial responsibility for Federated Farmers.
In light of this evidence of cooperation between Federated Farmers, Landcorp, and possibly even the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, does the Minister stand by his statement of 31 January: “Claims by the Green Party that the Government has been ‘hijacked’ by Federated Farmers over water policy are simply ridiculous”; and does he agree that if something looks like a hijack, smells like a hijack, and reads like a hijack, then maybe it really is a hijack?
It would come as a complete surprise to Federated Farmers that the ministry has been hijacked by them, or they have been hijacked by us. I suggest to the member that he takes a little bit of quiet time after getting into Parliament, and breathes through his nose for a while and stops making cheap political points.
Madam SPEAKER