Freshwater reform: Fresh Start for Fresh Water

This page outlines the main elements of the Government’s Fresh Start for Fresh Water 2011 reforms.

It provides details of the reforms and outlines their genesis as part of the New Start for Fresh Water work programme that began in 2009. The work programme has now been renamed Fresh Start for Fresh Water to align with the Land and Water Forum’s report of September 2010 [Land and Water Forum website, PDF 1. 07 MB].

The Government response to the Land and Water Forum’s report

In September 2011 the Government issued a response to the Land and Water Forum’s recommendations, and outlined an ongoing role for the Forum in New Zealand’s freshwater management reforms.


The Forum delivered a further report in April 2011, following a round of public consultation. Since then, the Government has:

  • gazetted a National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management to set a consistent, nationwide regulatory framework for setting water quality and quantity limits to govern the allocation and use of fresh water;
  • established an irrigation fund ($35 million over five years) to support irrigation infrastructure proposals to an ‘investment-ready’ prospectus stage, and signalled a possible $400m further investment for developing successful proposals;
  • reprioritised $15m over two years to set up a fresh water clean-up fund to assist councils with historic pollution problems; and
  • started a programme of further work that includes setting limits on water quality and quantity, and improvements to decision-making, water allocation, and land use management.

The Land and Water Forum has agreed to continue work on generating consensus between key groups on some of the major policy issues in the further work programme. The Government response does not rule anything in or out while the Forum continues to work with officials on the next stage of policy development.


In March 2012, the Forum will make recommendations on:

  • what is needed to put in place the limit-setting aspects of the NPS, including what central government needs to do versus what local government needs to do, the roles and responsibilities of water users, and the nature and scope of limit-setting tools; and
  • better processes for making decisions on limits, especially for involving iwi and other interest groups.

In September 2012, the Forum will develop recommendations on how to manage within limits, including:

  • what tools could be used to manage within limits, including managing the effects of land use on water
  • methods for allocating rights to discharge into water once limits are set
  • methods for the initial allocation of the right to take water once limits are set
  • transfer systems that allow these rights to take and discharge water to be moved to higher value uses
  • instruments that encourage efficient use of water in rural and urban areas
  • compliance and enforcement issues
  • transition issues

The Forum will also provide advice to Ministers on the need for and elements of a possible National Land and Water Strategy. It may also be asked to look at whether further advice is needed on:

  • the Forum’s recommendations on rural water infrastructure, and
  • urban water services management.

Officials will oversee, coordinate and manage the overall reform package, and advise Ministers. Once Cabinet has made policy decisions, officials will lead the design of instruments and consult with the Forum and others as necessary.

Key information

Fresh Start for Fresh Water reforms

On 9 May 2011, Environment Minister Nick Smith and Agriculture Minister David Carter announced a package of initiatives that recognises the strategic value of fresh water to New Zealand’s economy and way of life.

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, issued under the Resource Management Act 1991, recognises freshwater management as a nationally significant issue requiring central government direction. It sets a consistent national regulatory framework to ensure there are clear limits to govern the allocation of water and management of water quality.

The Fresh Start for Fresh Water Clean-up Fund provides $15m over two years (2011/12 and 2012/13) for major projects to restore waterways affected by historical pollution.

The Irrigation Acceleration Fund [Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry website] of $35m over five years aims to unlock the economic growth potential of our primary sectors by developing more effective and efficient water infrastructure, such as storage and distribution lines. This is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The Government will make further decisions on the direction of water reform as part of the broader Fresh Start for Fresh Water package. Its work programme is outlined in Cabinet paper: Fresh Start for Fresh Water – forward work programme (PDF 243 KB). There will be opportunities for more public input before further decisions are made in 2012 and beyond.

Key information

Background to the reforms

The Fresh Start for Fresh Water reforms 2011 followed on from the Government’s New Start for Fresh Water programme, which was part of Phase Two of the Government’s resource management reforms.

New Start for Fresh Water was started in June 2009 to address these critical issues:

  • sound water management is essential to provide for New Zealand’s economic development and growth, and to maintain social and cultural values
  • in some parts of New Zealand, water resource limits are being approached, which is seen in deteriorating water quality, water demand outstripping supply, and constrained economic opportunities
  • the right balance needs to be found between the different interests and values in water, as not all values and expectations can be met in all places at all times
  • some other contributing issues that need to be addressed are the interests of Māori in New Zealand’s fresh water
  • many New Zealanders don’t understand the limits of water resources – information about how much water we use is poor, and in some places there is limited institutional capacity and expertise needed for sound water management.

The New Start for Fresh Water strategy was the start of a long-term work programme to look at:

  • the need for stronger central government direction and leadership
  • setting limits for water quality and allocation
  • the place of water infrastructure in improving water use
  • how to address scientific, technical, information and capability gaps that hold back improved management
  • supplementary measures to address the impacts of land-use intensification on water quality, and manage urban and rural demand
  • maintaining Treaty-based engagement with Māori on water management options.

New Start for Fresh Water took a three-pronged approach:

  • government engaged with iwi through discussions with an Iwi Leaders Group
  • officials embarked on a comprehensive work programme that included further work on the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management
  • the Government requested an independent group of 58 diverse stakeholders with an interest in freshwater use and management, called the Land and Water Forum [Land and Water Forum website] (previously known as the Sustainable Land Use Forum), to run a stakeholder-led collaborative process to build a consensus view on shared outcomes, goals and long term strategies for fresh water.

In September 2010 the Land and Water Forum reported back to Ministers. Its report [Land and Water Forum website, PDF 1. 07 MB] contained 53 recommendations. The Forum then held regional public meetings to discuss the report and recommendations.

 

Last updated: 16 September 2011