Farmers are engaged in cleaning up regional waterways such as the Ohinemuri River.
The announcement by the recently formed Labour-Greens alliance that it is going to put a focus on the water quality of 10 of New Zealand's major rivers is surely a case of political grandstanding.
Regional councils and the communities they represent have been charged by the Government to
implement programmes to "maintain and improve our regional waterways".
This has been going on for some time now. To the best of my knowledge, every regional council in the country will have, or is considering, the necessary plans to fulfil this responsibility.
Waikato River is one of the 10 in the sights of the Labour-Greens alliance. But this river and what is being considered necessary to maintain and improve it have been under the microscope for the past three years.
A 25-member Collaborative Stakeholders Group was established three years ago, representing all sections of the community that have an interest in the river, including iwi, farming, industry, recreation, conservation and forestry.
