Source: Tom Kay, Choose Clean Water
The Government’s attempt to justify last-minute changes to the Resource Management Act appear to contradict New Zealand’s commitments under our Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, say freshwater campaign group Choose Clean Water.
On Tuesday, the Government issued a press release stating that its last-minute changes to the Resource Management Act, which would allow agricultural and industrial pollution of waterways to continue where it’s causing “significant adverse effects on aquatic life”, are “Urgent economic action to protect exports”.
The Government is aiming to change a long-standing and fundamental part of New Zealand’s environmental law designed to protect fresh waterways from severe damage (ie, the loss of fish and other wildlife).
“What this means is that ongoing, severe pollution is being made legal at the stroke of a pen and that appears to directly contradict our obligations under our EU Free Trade Agreement,” says Tom Kay, Choose Clean Water spokesperson.
“A recent court decision on the Southland Land and Water Plan concluded that farming that was causing serious harm to rivers and other waterways could not simply be allowed as a permitted activity without a resource consent. This meant other councils who had similar permissions in their plans, like Waikato, are likely also allowing farming where it is causing significant degradation too.”
“But rather than do something to address this severe pollution, the Government is trying to cover it up by calling it “routine on-farm activities”, and trying to make the problem disappear by weakening the law and stating this is to “protect exports”.
“There are clauses in our Free Trade Agreement with the EU about not weakening environmental protection in order to encourage trade.”
Our European Union Free Trade Agreement states,
“Each Party shall strive to ensure that its relevant law and policies provide for, and encourage, high levels of environmental and labour protection, and shall strive to improve such levels, law and policies.”
“A Party shall not weaken or reduce the levels of protection afforded in its environmental or labour law in order to encourage trade or investment.”
“A Party shall not, through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, fail to effectively enforce its environmental or labour law in a manner affecting trade or investment.”
“A basic reading of the Free Trade Agreement would suggest that the Government’s last-minute changes to the RMA, as well as its other efforts to weaken environmental law, directly contradict the clauses relating to environmental protection.”
The Ministers’ press release says they are making the changes because “The Waikato region generates 20% of the nation’s primary exports,” and “If we don’t act, the economic heart of New Zealand’s primary sector could grind to a halt.”
However, Kay says, the Government has not mentioned the potentially irreversible and intergenerational damage that could be done to waterways—such as groundwater underneath Canterbury that many rely on for drinking water—by allowing this pollution to be swept under the rug.
Given the consequences of these changes on people’s health and well-being, the places we live, and our international trade obligations, Ministers Bishop, McClay and Hoggard must issue a vastly more detailed explanation on the impacts of their changes to environmental protections for the state of our water and our trade agreement.
“There have been other instances where MFAT has advised we may breach these environmental obligations. How much can the Government weaken environmental law before there are international consequences?”
“If so-called “routine on-farm activities” in New Zealand lead to the severe pollution of our freshwater, then our agricultural industry lobby groups aren’t the international leaders they say they are.”
“The Government must drive and support more widespread improvement of farming activities, council enforcement, and accountability. They can not just magic away the problem by taking away environmental protection that safeguards all New Zealanders, the places we live in, and the water we all rely on.”
