4. Dr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader—Green) Link to this
to the Minister for the Environment
Is he concerned that dirty dairying in New Zealand is now “gaining international notoriety”, as stated in Rural News on 29 August; if so, does he agree with comments in Rural News on 2 September that “the recently outlined National Policy Statement for freshwater management demonstrates an abject failure in leadership”?
Has the Minister read the Environment Waikato report, out yesterday, that says that water quality has deteriorated over the last decade—the years of this Government—and now more than 75 percent of waterways tested are unsafe even for stock to drink from, and how can a rapidly worsening water quality in the Waikato be anything other than an abject failure in leadership?
Has the Minister read the tourism industry election manifesto, also issued yesterday, that lists improving New Zealand’s environmental performance as one of the six Government priorities if we are to protect $8.3 billion of tourist income, and does he believe that the 70 percent of Waikato rivers that are unsafe for humans to swim in, due to faecal contamination, are actually 100 percent pure and tourists are going to flock to swim amongst the cow faeces and urine?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
To the first part of the question, only the summary, and to the second part of the question, if the member had read other media he would have seen that this Government has recently invested over $300 million in that very problem. We would have thought we would have praise for that, rather than running down the tourism industry the way that that member has.
Tim GroserIs the Minister aware of the long-term consequences for the New Zealand economy of undermining the New Zealand dairy industry, and is he also aware that the carbon footprint of the New Zealand dairy industry is considerably better than in any other major dairying country?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Link to this
Yes, and yes. But I might also say that some of the people who run the risk of undermining the dairy industry are a very, very small group of farmers—especially the CraFarm Group, one of our largest corporate dairy farm owners, which has four separate convictions for appalling environmental practice. There are maximum penalties under the Resource Management Act of fines up to $200,000 or up to 2 years’ imprisonment, and it is my view that it is time for the Crafar family, who owns now more than $35 million worth of farms, to be prosecuted as individuals, rather than hiding behind their company fronts.
Is the Minister concerned that the perception in the rural media is that “Fonterra must be sitting smugly on the back of its lobbying against the Government’s threatened hard line for the dairy sector”, as reported in Rural News; and is the paper not correct when it says that he is scared of Fonterra’s clout and his promise that rivers will be clean enough within a generation has now been sacrificed after the lobbying of big polluters?