Nick Smith - Nelson MP, Minister National Government

First Step in New Direction For Freshwater

Last month as Environment Minister I, along with Agriculture Minister David Carter, received the comprehensive report, A Fresh Start for Freshwater, by the Land and Water Forum.

After 15 months of work, the Forum achieved a first in New Zealand – consensus on a way forward for managing freshwater. It was an extraordinary achievement with 58 very different stakeholder groups coming together and agreeing on a way forward. Groups such as Federated Farmers, Fonterra and Irrigation New Zealand were working alongside the Environmental Defense Society, Forest and Bird, and Fish and Game.

National proposed this collaborative approach in our 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.

When we became Government we initiated the 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 and finding durable solutions to issues of water quality, allocation and storage are essential to a healthy environment and our long-term economic progress.

The Land and Water Forum process replaced the previous Labour Government’s Water Plan of Action launched in 2003. This programme did not meet any of the timelines and in five years, $9.4 million was spent on it. The major difficulty was that little agreement could be reached on the way forward for water policy.

What the Land and Water Forum’s report provides is a robust framework for moving the pressing issue of water management forward. The 53 recommendations pose major challenges the Government will need to carefully consider. We have made no decisions on the recommendations.

The next step will involve three strands. We have agreed to fund the Forum to open up a public engagement on their report. Water is a public resource and any changes in the way it is managed needs widespread public support. Secondly, the Government recognises the importance Maori place on New Zealand's freshwater resources. We have agreed to a dialogue on the Forum's proposals.

We are also asking our officials to report and advise on the recommendations in the report.

There is a huge amount to digest from the Forum's year-long work and deliberations. We understand the importance, we are committed to timely progress, but we also believe the way forward is in building a broader consensus on water reform.

We are hugely encouraged by what has been achieved by the Land and Water Forum in its report. It represents a major breakthrough in the same way as the Forest Accord on the divisive issue over native forests in the 1980s.

A lot of work lies ahead. Our ambition is to build on the goodwill and translate this report into the sort of policies that will enable New Zealand to maximise the economic opportunities from our freshwater resource, while ensuring the protection of this resource for future generations of New Zealanders.

The Land and Water Forum report is available at www.landandwater.org.nz