Russel Norman

Wellington, Feb 22 NZPA - Green Party co-leader Russel Norman has attacked the review of water management in Canterbury, saying it is pandering to the self-interest of dairy farmers

A review team recommended last week commissioners be appointed urgently to replace the Environment Canterbury council and turn around its poor performance administering water management responsibilities and resource consent processes.

Prime Minister John Key has said Canterbury needs better irrigation and it will have to be delivered through water storage.

Today in Parliament, Dr Norman said it was wrong the review was headed by former deputy prime minister Wyatt Creech, because of his links to a polluting dairy company.

Dr Norman said Mr Creech was the director of Open Country Cheese, a dairy company with 12 convictions for breaching the Resource Management Act in the past three years.

The Government would "always put short-term private interests ahead of long-term public good" when considering environmental issues.

Mr Key said he had confidence in Mr Creech who had put aside personal interests in this matter as he had in the past.

"What I can say is that having read the report about Environment Canterbury the level of dysfunctionality currently operating in that organisation was very alarming to me," Mr Key said.

Any benefit that came to the dairy industry from better irrigation would have to balanced.

"It is a statement of fact-that is, if Canterbury and the areas around Canterbury and Otago were to have greater irrigation, it would lend itself to greater economic output and therefore it will of course be in their interest. But any increase in production in dairying would have to be matched by care and concern for the environment".

There was pressure on the aquifers in the Canterbury region.

"The way to resolve that is potentially to build greater water storage, so that less pressure is on those aquifers, and less of the water that currently pours out to sea continues to do so."