Steve Hart: Clean up our act to keep the green appeal

COMMENT

I am starting to wonder whether we are on the verge of having our image as a holiday destination that's "clean, green and natural" tainted ever so slightly.

Tourists flock to our country every year, spending billions of dollars and keeping around 100,000 people employed in tourism-related jobs. Visitors come for the fresh air, beautiful beaches, mountains, lakes, peaceful retreats, treks and thrilling adventures.

Yet I look around and wonder if our biggest commodity is being abused, pushed beyond its natural limits - leaving some of our beaches and waterways polluted and unsafe. Some even have signs up advising against going in the water.

What would visitors say if they heard about some of the lakes around Rotorua, where, in some cases, nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilisers and stormwater runoff have polluted the water, fuelling algal growth.

Or about sewage pouring into the sea at popular beaches, such as some of those in Auckland when it rains too much?

In Dunedin, the council wants to build a longer outfall pipe so sewage is deposited further out to sea from St Kilda beach, rather than upgrade their treatment plant.

Then I read Herald colleague Simon Collins' report that three of every five of our popular river and lake swimming spots are infected by the stomach bug campylobacter.

According to one survey, we have the highest rate of campylobacter illness in the developed world. Last year there were 334 cases for every 100,000 people in New Zealand, compared with 78 for every 100,000 across the Ditch.



At the weekend machines started pumping air bubbles into Lake Opuha in the South Island, engineers hope it will restore its oxygen levels. The scheme may be able to help other lakes - but probably not Rotoiti as it's just too large. It's a start but there's no guarantee it will work.

Every week emails arrive from readers of the Herald's travel website. From around the world people write asking for advice on what to do when they arrive in New Zealand on holiday.

Their belief is that we have a clean and safe country. And in almost all respects the perception reflects reality. Most of our fantastic country is clean and safe. But there are pockets of concern that, unless checked and corrected quickly, could all too soon become the norm. Too much is at stake to just sit around and "tut" each time something untoward comes to light.

We may feel that we live at the end of the Earth, but we now live in a global society and our successes, blemishes and gaffes are just a mouse-click away.

We have to address all the issues that could affect our image by investing and fixing the problems properly - at the source. Stopping them before they even start to become a risk, in fact. And not just for visitors, but for those who live here and choose to holiday at home.

I want to use the beaches and lakes as much as the next person, and my children do, too. And I want their children to enjoy the best New Zealand has to offer, as well.

We have to look after our country. It's a unique asset that can't be replaced, and the longer we leave it the worse it will get.

So what would it take to put it all right? Some gutsy decisions, a fraction of the money generated from visiting tourists that ends up in the Government's pocket, and some tough legislation - not guidelines - but rules that are enforced.

And one more thing about our image on the world stage. Thanks to the Ahmed Zaoui refugee case New Zealand now features on Amnesty International's website (www.amnesty.org.nz). It' not a good look.

* The anniversary of the Bali bombing has passed. Just over a year ago, on October 12, terrorism got a little too close for comfort.

Bali and its people are still suffering. Overall, security there has improved since the bombing, but the Government is still warning people to "consider deferring non-essential travel" to Bali.

The Government has to tread a fine line, I understand that. But I have to wonder that if people made all their travel decisions based on government "advisories" no one would go anywhere.

For example, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website says of Britain: "there is a heightened general and non-specific terrorist threat". How does that help anyone? The sad fact is that no one can guarantee our safety at home or abroad.