By Federated Farmers
Copyright farmersweekly
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Environment Canterbury’s decision to declare a ‘nitrate emergency’ is a shameless political stunt that won’t help anyone, Federated Farmers says.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to see Environment Canterbury (ECan) playing these kinds of petty political games,” Federated Farmers vice president Colin Hurst says.
“Declaring a nitrate emergency isn’t helpful or constructive. All it does is create unnecessary panic and drive a wedge between our urban and rural communities.
“I think most reasonable Cantabrians will see the declaration for what it is: a cynical and alarmist stunt from a group of councillors trying to score points during the local body elections.”
Hurst says ECan’s decision on September 17 risks undermining the good work done by farmers, councils, iwi and the wider community over the last few decades.
“The nitrate issue in Canterbury is a longstanding challenge our community has been aware of, and working on, for some time now.
“To suddenly come out and call it an emergency is just political theatre.”
He says the situation hasn’t been helped by extreme anti-farming activist groups like Greenpeace spreading harmful misinformation about nitrates.
“Greenpeace have made a lot of false claims trying to link nitrates in drinking water to colon cancer.
“It’s outright scaremongering and simply doesn’t line up with what the credible experts are saying on this issue.”
Federated Farmers says New Zealanders should take their health advice from medical professionals, not environmental activists with an anti-farming agenda.
“The nitrate situation in Canterbury is incredibly complex, hasn’t arisen overnight, and won’t be solved overnight either,” Hurst says.
“Despite a huge amount of work already done to improve the situation, it takes a long time for nitrate-rich water to work its way through the groundwater system.
“Farmers are stepping up and showing real leadership on this issue. It’s just a shame we aren’t seeing the same kind of leadership from our elected councillors.”
Hurst says the political stunt comes on top of significant problems with ECan’s impracticality on consents and river management.
“We’ll be welcoming the conversation on future model of governance for Canterbury after the elections.”
Federated Farmers, New Zealand’s leading independent rural advocacy organisation, has established a news and insights partnership with AgriHQ, the country’s leading rural publisher, to give the farmers of New Zealand a more informed, united and stronger voice. Federated Farmers news and commentary appears each week in its own section of the Farmers Weekly print edition and online. Views shared does not represent that of Farmers Weekly.
