The rural irrigation community stakes its claim for a more friendly and long term approach to water use and distribution. The campaigning political parties are generally receptive, except those that prioritise the natural environment

Besides the economy, for many farmers one of the big issues, at least for those who irrigate and also those concerned about the environment, is freshwater policy. The latest “IrrigationNZ News” has laid out what they believe the incoming Government needs to consider, plus what the main five parties have said their positions are.

IrrigationNZ along with almost every other sector is calling for change. This is lead by a call for a cross-agency water group to design a long-term strategy for fresh water led by a Minister for Water.

They have laid out eight changes ensure both a healthy status for fresh water and allow it to be utilised by society and business alike.

• Integrate all aspects of freshwater management into one holistic plan.
• Enable climate adaptation by ensuring infrastructure for water capture and distribution is correctly prioritised.
• Ensure resilience by facilitating water capture and storage opportunities with a regionally significant water storage projects that provide multiple benefits for the community.
• Support Investment by creating a fund for feasibility studies and providing bridging loans.
• Demonstrate flexibility by reviewing regulations and policies and work at local levels to strike correct balance between environmental protection, social and cultural objectives along with the use of water for producing food and fibre.
• Reduce uncertainty by providing long term consents for water storage projects.
• Promote innovation by driving for the efficiency of all water uses as part of catchment level outcomes.
• Share information and promote education by measuring and reporting on farmer and grower environmental improvements and behaviour change.

To the major parties, the following questions were put:

1. Is the capture and storage of water during rainy seasons for the use of growing food something you see as beneficial for New Zealanders?
2. Water stored in dams can be used for purposes other than growing food. I.e. hydroelectricity, supplying dry rivers in dry hot summers and providing back-up water supply to small rural towns. Would you support building dams for these purposes?
3. What else would you like to share regarding views on freshwater as it relates to the agricultural sector?

Here are the political parties responses (answers reduced and paraphrased) )

NZ First

Capturing, storing and managing water is essential to mitigating the effects of climate change, floods and droughts… The provision of water through enhanced storage and irrigation investment is regarded by NZ First as a matter of economic security. Upgrading technology and allowing the irrigation services industry to flourish is integral to our provincial wealth creation. NZ First supports a higher threshold for landowners to develop on farm storage dams. Saying such initiatives should be conducted under the supervision of a suitably qualified engineer. They see supporting the irrigation service industry as a critical building block to enable resilience.

Act New Zealand

Believe many aspects of the agricultural industry are held back by planning laws that are not fit for purpose. Significant infrastructure including water storage are held back by overly bureaucratic and restrictive planning laws. Their policy calls for a comprehensive replacement of New Zealand planning laws with a focus on property rights for private land with democratically accountable local groups being responsible for common areas. Farmers and other uses should be allowed to use water how they see fit so long as they remain within specified environmental limits. Act would allow building dams a permitted activity under the Environmental Protection Act for excess overland and rainwater, meaning specific council permission would not be required. Environmental limits would be set by local communities and regional councils. Act would allow the introduction of a market-based system which would allow the impacts of nutrient and other discharges on freshwater and groundwater to be traded within environmental limits.

National Party

Acknowledge the importance to agriculture and New Zealand. They believe the key is to ensure water is utilised efficiently by working with stake holders, property owners and iwi to develop a more efficient and equitable method for the allocation of water resources. They will empower local communities to define their catchment limits which will accommodate variations in soil types and water flows. They will repeal the current Natural and Built Environment legislation and replace it with new resource management legislation that will reduce red tape while protecting the environment. They say they are concerned about the lack of long-term consent options for water storage projects and would fast track the consent process for approved projects. National has also announced their “Local Water Done Well” as a counter to the governments Three Waters plan and focus more on a de-centralised policy that is still financially viable.

Green Party

They believe irrigation within New Zealand needs to rebuild its social license. Along with that ‘we’ need to reverse the trend of increasing nitrate levels in waterways. As such there needs to be a shift away from water intensive livestock systems to more plant-based systems. A move towards more water storage at the expense of rivers and lakes will lead to more conflict and litigation. To that end water storage needs to benefit bio-diversity which they believe paddock dams and ponds fail to do. More integration of practices and technologies that monitor measure and manage water can improve efficiency and resilience.

Labour Party

Believe water storage is critical to New Zealand’s future and will ensure agricultures productivity, enhance ecosystems, mitigate effects of climate change and foster sustainable development. Water storage and irrigation systems can promote sustainable water use if they are designed to optimise water application and reduce wastage and over extraction from natural water sources. However, they believe that irrigation schemes must be environmentally and economically viable on their account. But with vital infrastructure supported by government.

The bottom Line?

There are some obvious differences between parties with the Greens in particular standing well away from other parties around water use and storage. Other differences around regulations and ‘rights’ with Act as the party leaning towards ‘individual rights’ and perhaps leaning towards privatisation. NZ First, National and Labour have more in common than they would probably like to admit and look best able to meet what Irrigation NZ are asking for.

Given the importance water and its infrastructure has to New Zealand, having it recognised by its own ministry does not seem out of the question especially as water is arguably the source of New Zealand’s greatest competitive advantage especially for food and energy production.