KAPAI'S CORNER: Column

Pollution vs profit someone needs to pay
For most of us, the connection between the names Andrew Ferrier and John Masters would mean about as much as chalk does to cheese.
Yet there is a certain irony to them both appearing in the same newspaper recently - one with a smile and the other sad.
The cheese factor is Ferrier, namely Andrew Ferrier, the chief executive of Fonterra, who was awarded a $5 million salary, the largest in the land of milk and honey. So why wouldn't he say cheese when he smiles?
The chalk component and sad face belongs to an almost unknown soldier.
Lieutenant Colonel John Masters was named as New Zealand's inaugural Anzac of the year - an award recognising comradeship, courage and commitment. Colonel Masters was awarded the Military Cross for his actions in Borneo when he carried an injured comrade through thick jungle for 54 hours and saved his life.
The irony was they both stand at exact opposite ends of the environmental argument when it comes to risk and reward, yet they are both perceived as heroes.
Masters the war hero sadly passed away last week after a brave battle fighting cancer, a cancer he believed was caused from being exposed to the defoliant known as Agent Orange, a poisonous spray that he and many of his mates were exposed to during the Vietnam War.
While Ferrier the corporate hero is the big boss of Fonterra, the company which has applied for a 22-year extension to carry on polluting the Manawatu River (recently voted as one of the five most polluted rivers on the planet) with no regard for the people who have to live with the fallout.
The tragedy about John's battle is his legacy should have been a lesson for us all to learn from and headlines should have been equal to any Ferrier commanded for his cheesy $5 million salary. But sadly we haven't awoken to our environmental heroes and they don't rate for reasons we should all be asking ourselves, especially here in the Spray of Plenty.
Thankfully here in Tauranga Moana, especially Te Puna, we are finally waking up to the potential health risks of agri-chemical oversprays and we are actively engaged in promoting safer practices. But the challenge will always be why do we wait when we could be acting now on behalf of future generations? Yes we have made great inroads into notification and compliance regarding chemical sprays and their application, but when do we start actively seeking alternative solutions?
The 40 registered complaints into the EBOP pollution hotline this year is almost a 100-fold increase and a clear indication that the public and the key stakeholders of the kiwifruit industry are starting to sing from the same song sheet. If we are serious about the wellbeing of papatuanuku as we continually promote, then we cannot afford to rest on our laurels and let the local land suffer in the same way as the Manawatu River.
The balance between risk and reward must be achieved at all costs before we reach a backlash that could damage the gooseberry that lays the golden egg and for my two bobs' worth of working together there is more than enough goodwill to achieve that balance.
Key stakeholders in the local horticulture industry, supported by regional councils, urgently need to find alternatives to poisonous chemical sprays like HiCane, who many believe are directly attributable to cancer . Where are the serious research and development budgets put back into seeking solutions by those who benefit from the bottom line of high yield and high risk horticulture?
If Fonterra and other Kiwi companies value their 100 per cent pure, clean green brand then they need to start walking the talk before the talk turns toxic. The river people of the Manawatu are planning to move their protest offshore and, when this happens, the true colour of the Fonterra footprint will be exposed to their overseas markets, resulting in a cost many millions more than it will take to clean up the river they have polluted.
The irony of the chalk and cheese headlines is they both paint a powerful picture, before and after pollutants are allowed to be poured into the environment. In both cases, there is the time factor and like the cheese ad says -"these things take time".
The question is how much time do we have left before it all turns toxic?
broblack@xtra.co.nz