Government Shuns World Rivers Day

The government has been taken to task by a trout and salmon fishing and rivers advocacy group for failing to celebrate World Rivers Day on September 26. 

David Haynes, secretary of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers, said in view of the state of many lowland rivers, it would be fitting in New Zealand to call it “Rivers Shame Day.”

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The Council of Outdoor Recreation Assocations (CORANZ) was also critical with chairman Andi Cockroft terming government’s failure to observe the day as  "deeply disappointing”.

He pointed to information released on World Rivers Day by the Land Air Water Aotearoa project – a collaboration between central and local government, NIWA and the Cawthron Institute – showing that impaired ecological health is evident at almost two-thirds of monitored river sites in New Zealand.

Andi Cockroft said government had used a promotional branding image of New Zealand being clean, green and 100% pure.

“But the reality is New Zealand's clean and green image is a dirty truth – its freshwater rivers are among the most polluted in the developed world,” he said. “But then that’s nothing new.” 

Last year, a government report found nearly 60% of the country's rivers carry pollution above acceptable levels, with 95 to 99% of rivers in pastoral, urban and non-native forested areas contaminated.

David Haynes said politicians, regional councils, so-called expert witnesses, independent hearing commissioners and courts, past and present, have all colluded to prioritise industrial scale abstraction and pollution of the public's freshwater resources, over protection and restoration.

The current Labour government’s 2017 manifesto committed it to “Take the first steps to clean up rivers and lakes.”

"Well, none of that has happened and it is business as usual with large scale irrigation schemes, such as the Mayfield-Hinds-Valette scheme, being given renewed consents, despite the evidence that they have being spewing nitrates into our rivers and groundwater for a decade."

Public opinion surveys in recent years have shown some 80% of Kiwis are concerned at the degraded state of rivers.

Andi Cockroft commented that the previous National government’s sacking of the democratically elected Environment Canterbury (ECan), and installing “puppet” state commissioners was a state takeover to facilitate expansion and intensifying of dairying into low rainfall areas.

“It resulted in disastrous impacts on rivers and drinking water,” Andi said. 

Studies by the NZ Federation of Freshwater Anglers had revealed high nitrate levels in Canterbury rivers with probable human bowel cancer links while nitrate levels are well above toxicity levels for trout, salmon and native fish.

Photo: Greg Morton

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