One Plan: Legal action upsets mayor

Tararua District mayor Roly Ellis.

Tararua District mayor Roly Ellis says he's extremely disappointed Fish and Game and the Environmental Defence Society have decided to take legal action against the Horizons Regional Council, with legal costs another drain on our economy.

"Tararua District Council has worked extremely hard with Horizons during the last six years to constructively make sure nitrogen and phosphorous readings have been brought down in our rivers," he said.

"This has been a dual approach with dairy farmers and TDC's desludging of our wastewater ponds, lining them and putting in further upgraded filtration systems. Ratepayers have contributed major money towards this implementation."

Mr Ellis said as a farmer in England who went through the process in the 1970s and 80s, he knows it takes time to correct these problems.

"Dairy farmers in this region have put in a vast number of kilometres of fencing and better effluent ponds, which entails major capital spending," he said.

"The solutions to the problem require a pragmatic approach and it takes time to see the full effect of these system changes.

"With further legal action, a very large sum of money will go to lawyers, when millions of dollars have already been spent on the One Plan to date. This money should be put into further upgrading the environment.

"A major factor is that the dairy industry has recently been affected by the downturn in the returns for commodity products, which has hit rural New Zealand towns very hard.

The economic impact on our towns of further legal action will only put further major stress on the industry and our local businesses.

"We believe Tararua dairy farmers and the district council have worked extremely hard to rectify the past and any further action will negate so much goodwill from a large cross section of the community. Our farmers need certainty in these hard times.

"On a personal note, as a fisherman myself, I am grateful, along with many other local fishermen for what the farmers have done, as the trout are more plentiful and in better condition than have been for many years."