Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

Most people – rural and urban – do not want New Zealand‟s remaining wild and scenic rivers
dammed, and nor does Labour. People enjoy the free-flowing nature of these rivers. There
are many other water storage (and electricity generation) options.
Labour will seek to protect the main stems of our major remaining free-flowing rivers
from being dammed.
Decision-making
Labour supports water storage and irrigation, but wants communities to decide which
schemes are appropriate via the processes of democratically-elected regional councils.
Each major water storage project must attract broad consensus from across the wider
community, even if the major beneficiaries (and financial contributors) are local farmers and
electricity generators. Regional councils should be empowered and required to hear major
water consent applications and land use consents concurrently.
Labour will empower communities to decide via regional council processes which
water storage and irrigation schemes are appropriate.
Labour will ensure that major water consent applications and land use consents can
be heard concurrently.
Access to stored water must be accompanied by strict environmental standards, rules and
penalties. The continuing quality of water must guide allocation decisions.
Funding
National would use taxpayers‟ money to fund storage and/or it will invite foreigners to do so.
New Zealanders risk losing control of the use and benefit of our water.
In 2011 National committed $35 million of taxpayers‟ money towards investigating new water
storage and irrigation schemes, and offered up to $400 million (unfunded) to help build such
schemes. Labour says rather than coming from, or being subsidised by, taxation, these
costs should be funded from a fair resource rental paid by farmers and other major users of
water (see „A resource rental mechanism‟ below).
Labour will fund new water storage and irrigation schemes from a resource rental
paid by farmers and other major users of water.
Mackenzie basin
There are some areas of New Zealand that should not be irrigated at all. “Greening” of lower
altitude tussock landscapes is occurring in parts of the Mackenzie basin, and increasing
dairying pressure is raising water extraction and quality issues. The drylands character of the
basin is changing.
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