All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Editorial: DoC has lost its objective voice on dam

By Mark Story
Hawkes Bay Today·
18 Sep, 2013 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Conservation Minister Nick Smith. Photo / File
Conservation Minister Nick Smith. Photo / File

Conservation Minister Nick Smith. Photo / File

The worst form of censorship is self-censorship.

Conservation Minister Nick Smith illustrated that by eliciting a sanitised version of a DoC draft report which in an earlier guise contained serious misgivings about the Ruataniwha Dam proposal.

The minister denied interference, yet paradoxically said he would have been "negligent" not to discuss statutory aspects of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council proposal with senior DoC staff.

He maintained it wasn't a straight-forward matter as he was the man who would eventually make a ruling on the Board of Inquiry's recommendation on the proposal. Due diligence is an all too handy crutch.

Obliquely, or directly, he sparked the paraphrasing of a 32-page submission into two paragraphs.

All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Dr Smith urged caution in DoC "strongly advocating" its stance, suggesting this could compromise his position.

Isn't that a primary tenet of this department? Somehow the freedom to advocate for the environment is now perceived as prejudicial.

This is a department with a (once) strong voice and a clear mandate to guide and protect. Now it speaks through a muzzle and leaves the teeth-baring duties to small-fry surrogates, like Forest & Bird, or Fish & Game.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Suppression" (as the Green Party labelled it) and a "neutral" submission (surely an oxymoron) has rendered the department effete.

It's also robbed this region of an objective steer on a project of huge significance.

Given the accusations of prioritising development over environmental stewardship, it's hardly surprising the department's rewrite has conspiracists rattling their sabres.

Discover more

New Zealand

DoC report raises concerns about dam

17 Sep 03:26 AM

Bay economy took big hit in drought

17 Sep 04:50 AM

Target beaten as 35% of water 'pegged'

17 Sep 07:23 PM

Dam report 'suppressed'

17 Sep 10:00 PM
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

One month of new $824m highway: No crashes, no potholes, no complaints

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

Two CHB wins on finals weekend at McLean Park

Hawkes Bay Today

Club rugby stars announced in Magpies NPC squad


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

'Huge relief': Owner successfully appeals Dolly's 'dangerous dog' classification
Rotorua Daily Post

'Huge relief': Owner successfully appeals Dolly's 'dangerous dog' classification

One month of new $824m highway: No crashes, no potholes, no complaints
Hawkes Bay Today

One month of new $824m highway: No crashes, no potholes, no complaints

French PM proposes cutting national holidays to cut debt
World

French PM proposes cutting national holidays to cut debt

Motorcyclist dies after crash with car in Hamilton
Waikato Herald

Motorcyclist dies after crash with car in Hamilton

Trump denies urging Ukraine to target Moscow, opposes missile supply
World

Trump denies urging Ukraine to target Moscow, opposes missile supply

John Torode sacked from MasterChef over upheld racism complaint
Entertainment

John Torode sacked from MasterChef over upheld racism complaint



Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

One month of new $824m highway: No crashes, no potholes, no complaints
Hawkes Bay Today

One month of new $824m highway: No crashes, no potholes, no complaints

'The new highway has changed every aspect of our lives.'

15 Jul 08:54 PM
Premium
Premium
Two CHB wins on finals weekend at McLean Park
Hawkes Bay Today

Two CHB wins on finals weekend at McLean Park

15 Jul 06:00 PM
Club rugby stars announced in Magpies NPC squad
Hawkes Bay Today

Club rugby stars announced in Magpies NPC squad

15 Jul 06:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search