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Dunedin public meeting

Tuesday 31 October

Waste policy

Education and information

  • Guidance is needed on how to deal with effluent disposal in alpine environments.

Recycling, reuse and community

  • There is too much packaging and we have no control over it as it is controlled by overseas producers.
  • Exporting recycling waste to China is not right.
  • Green waste from the University goes to the landfill.

General comments

  • Energy strategies and waste strategies need to join up together as they are interlinked.  There needs to be national co-ordination of environment issues.
  • The Otago region needs to co-ordinate its waste interests.
  • Lack of data on waste is a major problem
  • Conduct an environmental audit of New Zealand.

National Environmental Standards

Water

  • Improved water quality must be a collective goal.
  • A national standard for water quality is essential for both humans and the environment.
  • The quality of our rivers is a major issue being affected by a number of cumulative impacts including sewage, farm run off, and septic tanks.
  • There should be subsidy for farmers if they meet certain on-farm environmental standards.
  • There is concern about the impacts of intensification on water quality, which is evidenced when fishing.  Water quality is not improving despite monitoring.
  • Care needs to be taken not to blame obvious polluters such as industry, because cumulative impacts from many different sources all add up and need to be addressed

Septic tanks

  • More research should be done on composting toilets and developing onsite sewage disposal.
  • Taieri Catchment was given as a good example of integrated catchment managements where all parties are working together and there is a growing understanding of responsibility.

Air quality

  • Congratulations for getting air standards through in such a short time-frame.  However, in the rush, there was not enough emphasis on implementation.
  • Is there going to be a process for review of the air quality standard?  Reviews are very important to assess how the standard is being implemented by local government.
  • People do not really understand the impacts of home wood burners.  There needs to be more awareness of alternatives for home heating.
  • It is expensive to change heating sources so subsidies are needed.  Consideration needs to be given to students, the elderly and others who are unable to afford electricity.  Economics is a big motivator for behaviour.

General comments

  • Do not walk away from standards once they are in place.
  • When developing environmental standards, it is important that local government is given flexibility to encourage innovative solutions driven by communities.
  • MfE needs to consider how National Environmental Standards will impact on people both economically and socially.  Flexibility needs to be provided to allow for local solutions.
  • The government needs to provide greater financial support for grass roots monitoring.  Monitoring in the Dunedin harbour could not be continued because it was too expensive.
  • Costs deter people from taking responsibility for the environment (i.e. septic tanks) and so subsidies are needed.  The current Ministry of Health criteria for subsidies is insufficient.

Water

Flood risk management and catchment management

  • The importance of taking a whole catchment approach was emphasised, including taking into account the impact of farming and land use in the upper catchments on the fisheries in the lower path of the catchment, including estuaries.
  • Do not tell people not to settle on the flood plains.  This is an academic response that has no basis in reality.
  • Ensuring communities are resilient is very important when dealing with floods.  Warning systems are an essential component of this.
  • Good information is essential for people to understand and make decisions affecting water quality and land use.
  • There is a need for a far more coordinated approach to flood management at a local and district region level.
  • User groups are a good catchment management tool to develop and manage their own catchment area.  There is some support for a prescriptive approach from central or regional government.
  • People need to be educated on flood risk and responsibilities at the community level.  Be aware of the risks of building on flood plains.  What is an acceptable level of risk?  Is the Building Act adequate in terms of flood risk?  Allow regions the flexibility to deal with changing river patterns.
  • Central government assistance is needed to develop national mapping and regional hazard maps.  More guidance is need on water allocation.

Land use

  • There is a disconnect between district and regional planning, particularly relating to land use.
  • The tenure review is putting pressure on farmers to make money from less productive land.  Is this a sensible government driver in water short areas?
  • Land use and water use planning should be integrated.  Councils need to work closer together.

General comments

  • There is concern about the flushing flow set in the Waitaki.  How does the environment flow system work?
  • Provide incentives to store water.  Dam safety regulations serve to negate water storage options.  Dunedin city only has 20 days storage capacity and it is a huge cost
  • Councils seem to spend on “glitzy” schemes to attract people at the expense of basic infrastructure.  There is also an issue around the costs of litigation around resource consents.  Council hearings are costly.   Millions of dollars is needlessly spent and a lot of time is wasted

Climate change

Adaptation and mitigation

  • We need to think about environmental refugees.  MfE should be leading, particularly in the Pacific.
  • Business looks for opportunities rather than considering the negative effects, e.g. what opportunities will sea level rise create.
  • Adaptation can lead to adaptive mitigation
  • Minimum standards for building above sea level would be helpful.  Waitakere District Council has done this
  • Planning horizons are important.  What level of risk are you prepared to accept and over what time frame?
  • Irrigation and agriculture in Otago, the Sustainable Water Programme of Action, climate change and removal of mining privileges and minimum flows all reduce security of supply.  A couple of pamphlets will not help farmers adapt. Central and local government investment is needed.  More education and awareness is also needed.
  • Electricity to feed irrigation is important.  We need to alter a lot of practices.
  • MfE should meet farmers and explain future H2O deficits to them and help them to see what they need to do in terms of a farm investment.
  • Modelling will be needed to help the agricultural community adapt.  We need to provide tools for farmers.  Advice on the regional impacts of climate change needs to be better communicated to farmers.
  • Rainwater collection needs to be considered more widely.
  • We need to adapt by looking at alternative electricity sources.  Solar polar should be invested in.
  • Loss of electricity during transmission is a big problem that needs to be solved.
  • Many mitigation and adaptation solutions are not affordable for the majority of people.
  • People know the impacts.  The real issue is what people can do about it.  What can the building industry do?  They do not know about sustainable building options.  Adaptation needs to be mainstreamed into all organisations so they can alter what they do.
  • Standards are needed for insulation in buildings and this bar needs to be moved constantly to improve it
  • Adaptation and mitigation all comes down to the wallet.
  • More minimum flow standards, combined with mining rights and climate change will necessitate a great need for adaptation.
  • Incentives should be provided for renewable energy.
  • What is the time frame for peak oil?
  • How do we stop conflicting interests or address them?
  • We need to deal with the root of the problem not just adapt.
  • There is concern that national decision making does not take climate change into account, given the significant investment occurring in significant infrastructure (e.g. roads, stadiums at sea level).
  • Peak oil is telling us what we have to do and climate change is telling us how to do it.  We have four years to make decisions.  Do not invest in coal energy.
  • Selling coal overseas cheaply is a concern.  We are subsidising it for someone else to burn or stockpile for future use.
  • Climate change has implications for biodiversity.
  • There is a complication in relation to promoting renewables.  Competing national versus local issues could be addressed by promoting clear guidance on what is important.  There is a need for overall planning and coordination.
  • The current focus is on the free market on providing energy supply; there is no attention to demand side management.
  • The sad thing that the Stern report highlights is that it is an impasse on the economy which will get the message across about the need for action.
  • Wind farms have a fixed life.  What is their replacement technology?
  • “Energy outlook” puts undue emphasis on biodiesel.  Biodiesel is part but not all of solution.
  • Infrastructure needs to be put in place now to avoid later costs.
  • Otago has a number of local sustainable issues groups.  These groups need support.  Help from MfE would be desirable.
  • DCC has written their waste strategy dismissing the New Zealand Waste Strategy.
  • Public awareness has increased, but people get disillusioned with companies that do not lead by example.
  • Agriculture provides an opportunity to get out of trouble.  It should not be seen as a problem.
  • Predictions are telling us that we have four years until peak oil.  Peak oil will make us change our habits.

Education and information

  • Public education is extremely important.  More education is needed in order to push change from the bottom up
  • Information needs to get down to everyone.  Modelling tools are needed.

Environmental reporting

General comments

  • Reporting should be more frequent so that it is up-to-date.
  • Need to bring information together in one place for easy access.
  • Timeliness of the next report was discussed.
  • Highlight hot spots that are relevant to the community.
  • National maps should be used to show regional / local points of data sampling/ reporting.
  • Tables and maps need to be big enough so that they are clearly readable.
  • The web-based reporting format is liked as it is accessible and easily searchable.
  • Reporting should be regular and relevant to the audience rather than voluminous.
  • Expand community health indexes.
  • How should schools and the public be engaged with on topics such as energy conservation, water use, and water quality?  Simple equations should be used to illustrate water use (e.g. x litres of water = y litres of milk) and sustainability (e.g. life cycle study – x insulation = y degrees increase = save on environment).

General interest

General comments

  • More resources should be provided, including assistance and funding for communities to develop their own plans and programmes to live more sustainably.
  • All MfE staff should see the film “Power of Community” about how Cuba coped with peak oil (available from the Green party).
  • There should be more advice and less red tape to help individuals build housing in a more sustainable way e.g. solar water heating, smaller houses, less commuting, less 10ha blocks.
  • Regional and district councils should be encouraged to work more effectively together.
  • Regional councils should be encouraged to give more feedback on resource consents, both to consent holders and to the local community.
  • Local authorities should be encouraged to give more focus to sustainability in their long term community plans and other district plans.
  • A $1 charge should be imposed for every plastic bag that is dispensed with goods
  • There needs to be weight put on products that carry FSC certification.
  • Councils need more guidance/rules in terms of land use.

Water

  • There is concern about the shortage and what is being done.
  • The Sustainable Water Programme needs to be managed in the long term.
  • How are councils being audited and monitored in terms of their responsibilities for managing water issues?
  • Need to raise public awareness about water use e.g. how much water it takes to make an egg.
  • The existing water allocations resource is decreasing.  This needs to be addressed.
  • Livestock are contaminating water.  Councils need to be encouraged to give good crop advice.  Are we growing the right sort of animals?
  • There are too many lifestyle blocks.
  • Run-off from houses is a big issue for the city.  MfE needs to talk to councils about how to manage water.

Energy

  • Better planning is needed on a national level.  MfE should lead that.  Planning cannot be left up to the smaller individual organisations.
  • A better balance is needed in managing energy use from different methods of energy generation.
  • Overall management of power needs to go back to central government to manage.
  • There is no national strategy to look at the bigger picture.
  • MfE could support sustainable energy research by providing grants to support clever projects.
  • Sludge use needs to be considered as an energy source.
  • Encourage councils to rent out centimetres and offer discounts.
  • There need to be financial incentives to save electricity as there is no certainty your bill will reduce if you put in a solar water heater.

Education and information

  • There needs to be more education in terms of renewable activities at secondary school level. 
  • The NCEA does not take account of the environment. MfE needs to advocate more with the Ministry of Education.
  • Information to raise awareness about energy saving needs to be plain and simple.

Last updated: 27 February 2008