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Hamilton public meeting

Friday 10 November

Waste policy

Education and information

Information about the environment is often not in lay person’s terms. Messages need to be eye catching, simple and free of jargon. Interactive teaching is necessary.
Sustainability should be embedded in training for all agricultural industries.
A travelling bus similar to Life Education Trust but focussed on environmental issues would be a great initiative for the public and communities. There should be interactive education in schools.
MfE needs to be the centre point of environmental information
Better resources are needed for waste advisory services.
We need to keep educating people about what they need to do. Don’t just do it once and forget about it.
A surprisingly low number of students know what to recycle. Give them facilities to help make recycling a habit.
A review of the environment curriculum is wanted.

Recycling, reuse and community

There should be recycling stations in public spaces.
There is huge scope for greater use of recycled materials. The use of recycled materials is still very limited and more research is needed in this area to find uses and create a market for recycled materials.
Having recycling at big New Zealand events is vital (and should be done internationally).
More consistency is needed across New Zealand on what is recycled.
We need to do more to recycle in New Zealand.
The data on waste going to landfills is still pretty poor – more detailed information is needed (e.g. data on types of wood waste). We need to think about how information might be of use to recycling.
More of an emphasis is needed on design and production.
A central database is needed on the best products to buy.
Can we make plastic biodegradable? Though degradable plastic is more complex.
Prevention is best. We need to get to waste before it is in the stream or the landfill.

General comments

Do not forget rural areas. MfE needs to get a better feel for rural waste and related issues.
Government should be focussing on big waste issues (not plastics). It is on a far greater scale than what we are discussing.
The best place for CCA treated wood waste is landfills.
More product controls are needed, including controls on imported products.
The Maori Trust Office have seen Govt3 activity at Te Puni Kokiri and is interested in having Govt3 rolled out to Maori Trust Offices and other TPK regional offices.
Government should make sustainability compulsory in agricultural practices in New Zealand. There needs to be a stronger stick with regard to sustainable practice.
People should be taxed at the source i.e. pay for packaging at the source or have container deposits. Do not charge people for waste disposal.
There could be labelling for companies involved in the Packaging Accord so they can label their products to flag to the public they are part of a positive initiative to reduce packaging.

National Environmental Standards

Electricity transmission

Set back distances are important because of electrical hazard.
There should be something setting a minimum distances trees can be planted from transmission lines so trees do not to be trimmed.
Regulations about building distances and trees are not sufficient.
There is a safety hazard associated with overhead lines, especially if climate change will lead to more storms and more power lines coming down. Power lines should be underground in future. This would also result in savings in maintenance.
Local lines should be included in the NES as well as the transmission network.

Air quality

Will the air quality standards be reviewed?
Some in industry thought the air quality NES was too lenient.

Energy

There should be more national direction for energy efficiency/conservation (e.g. house insulation).
Education is important to encourage lifestyle changes.
The government should provide an incentive for regions that achieve the best environmental management outcomes e.g. create an “environmental challenge shield” to encourage competition between regions (competition award – not tax incentive).

General comments

Guidelines may be more appropriate than standards in some situations.
Are standards on telecommunications and electricity really “environmental standards?”
Is it really a standard/bottom line if a regional council can make it more stringent?
Perception has a role in relation to standards, e.g. fear/outrage in relation to transmission lines.
Do MfE, regional councils and territorial authorities talk to immigration authorities when making environmental decisions? Immigration policy should be integrated into environmental policy.
Local population size should be limited to what the environment can accommodate. Immigration should be diverted away from areas that can not cope with more growth.
Do not focus on economic development at the expense of the environment.
There should be an environmental bottom line when considering future growth. If an individual area cannot accommodate the growth, the growth should be targeted to another location once assimilative capacity is exceeded for a local area.
New Zealand is exporting coal to China while attempting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This double standard is not acceptable.
There is concern that standards (e.g. drinking water National Environmental Standard) do not apply retrospectively, resulting in inequality between past and future applicants.
Existing consent holders may continue polluting. How effective can an NES be when it is not affecting existing pollution?
Are we focussing on the right things? By the time an NES has been developed, the issue may have passed.
Some issues are quite short term (e.g. telecommunications infrastructure). We need to focus on the big issues.

Water

Education and information

A science base is needed to support water management. Funding should be prioritised for this. Science should be coordinated to back up management.
The development of a toolbox to help manage water more effectively was suggested.
Soils are an important part of water quality. There is a big scientific gap in this area.

Land use

Government should lead by example e.g. Landcorp dairy conversion. Walk the talk and investigate innovative land use.
How can we boost the market for timber so that it has a higher value than dairying?
Provide more incentives to plant trees.
Enforcement is a real issue for subdivision. Tighter controls are needed on earthworks.
We need more hard and fast rules about land-use and what land is fit for different uses. People want to know what they can and cannot do.
Provide guidelines based on science to back up council decisions.
The planning process is too slow to cope with changing land-use

Flood risk management and catchment management

Flood plain uses vary. Look at managing the use of flood plains and recovery after events. We should not just take an engineering approach.
Coastal management needs to be built into flood risk management.
We need to look at a variety of flood risk mitigation techniques.
Dune care and protection and managing growth should be prioritised rather than hard engineering.
Central government policy should address coastal flooding, storm surges and tsunami/large waves.
More controls and guidance is needed on building on flood plains and in coastal hazard zones. Performance needs to be audited.
Mechanisms such as retention dams could be used as irrigation measures.
How can integrated catchment management be achieved? Regional councils should set environmental bottom lines e.g. how much land use, how much water should be taken and use of water.
How can the planning framework keep up? Perverse outcomes could result from regulation.
Set a minimum standard first then have voluntary codes.
A balance of some free-market tools and a regulatory framework is needed.
Scientific information about environment is needed to justify and support decisions.
Central government has a role in information dissemination and science.
There should be investment in case studies on integrated catchment management and the effects of potential regulation or market tools.
Overall science is central government’s responsibility, but there should be support for science at the regional level as well.
Bottom-up approaches are needed.
The RMA does not address cumulative effects well.
How could we reduce the number of plans? Planning cycles do not coincide.
Should we look at planning frameworks?
We need to incorporate local expertise and knowledge.
There is a need for more consistency between district and regional plans.
There is a need to look at the structure of local government.
Flood risk management on government owned land should be managed and funded by central government.
The Whangaroa Harbour care group should be applauded. Government can help out with initial funding and incentives.
Catchment management should be a priority.

Water allocation and usage

It is good to see water allocation limits and priority uses. It is also important to build restriction mechanisms into the plan.
The scale of irrigation is enormous and concerning.
We need consistent environmental bottom lines to be set.
Government should give more priority to energy rather than irrigation in dry areas.
Environmental costs need to be internalised into the market e.g. polluters pay.
There is a need for guidance on managing over-allocated catchments.
More information is needed on environmental economics. The cost to the environment should be included in decisions. There is a lack of capacity in this area nationwide.
More guidance and rules for stormwater discharges should be considered in urban environments.
There are concerns about the availability of water.
Investment in water use technology is important.
Resource pricing may have a role, but must provide for communities.
Economic viability is important for the system.
The true cost and implications of actions need to be acknowledged.
Demand for electricity is growing with population growth.
We need to value water through pricing and reinvest the money into environmental quality.
Education about the value of water is needed.

General comments

Pick up the findings of PCE reports and translate these into policy.
Carbon credits should be available to individuals for carbon sinks in trees and soils.
Farmers have changed their behaviour based on science. They want to be sustainable.
Provide incentives such as rates rebates and tax relief for good management.
Good information is needed about how to do things. This should not be just awareness raising but practical, applied things to assist with decision making.
Provide independent advice via information lines like the 0800 RMA INFO line but on other topics.
Get the market functioning properly so water goes to the most valued uses.
Government should lead work on developing innovative solutions instead of, or as well, as regulation. Look at how to harvest nutrients from lakes.
The lower Waikato lakes are in a disastrous state due to nutrient rich algae blooms. Because the water quality in the lakes is already, they are not prioritised.
There is a role for central government to manage effects on lakes. Estuary environments are also at risk and need more constant monitoring.
Dairy conversions are a real issue. They are damaging our waterways. The level of compliance is a real issue.
Public education helps. Government has a role in providing this. More incentives are needed to reduce nutrient losses/run off. Aim for small wins first.
More regulation is needed on fertiliser use.

Environmental reporting

General comments

How are councils responding to the issues?
MfE should take a stand and make information available.
Reporting is not enough.
There needs to be accountability through reporting to central government so central government can take action.
There are no bottomline targets.

ENZ07

It is important to start with context setting.
Report on biodiversity in a stand alone chapter.
Central government should provide support for producing environmental statistics.
We need to look at natural capital and the money applied to the environment.
Maori and youth should be invited to the launch of the document.
Integrate and link chapters.
Target prime time television.

Climate change

Education and information

The public needs to be informed. Make sure the information is correct.
Educating younger generations could play an important role in changing attitudes.
Government needs to communicate in simple language so the public can understand.
The media plays an important role and government needs to work with them.
The climate change message needs to be made positive.
A national message is needed.

Adaptation and mitigation

It is important to get the science and monitoring side right so we ensure that what we are doing is the right thing.
There is no economic incentive for farmers to plant trees.
Public transport in New Zealand is appalling. Road seals using road chip as opposed to hot seal result in 10% extra fuel consumption as well as increased wear and tear. Transport links should be better planned in urban areas.
Climate change solutions are linked to a lot of issues.
With respect to irrigation in places like Canterbury, measures such as flood storage (snow melt) should be looked into with investment from central government.
Money taken needs to be put back into environmental matters.
It is important that infrastructure is developed to last for close to 100 years.
Energy demands need to be sorted out.
Government needs to be realistic about how New Zealand responds to growing energy demands.
If the goal is to be “sustainable”, what types of exemptions could be made under the RMA?
Perhaps government needs to consider nuclear power.
The problem is not a lack of power but how people use it.
Incentives can play an important role in promoting positive behaviour.
The problem of development on the coast needs to be addressed.
Government needs to focus on sectors that contribute to our overall CO₂ emissions.
What about utilising our railway system?
The agriculture sector needs to be addressed.
A national energy policy statement is needed to provide some consistency.

General interest

Water

The water national policy statement needs to be delivered in 2-3 years.
Leave local people and councils to deliver on the ground.
Keep national policy simple.
Central government needs to monitor delivery at a local level and audit/enforce plan development and implementation.

Governance

There is a need for integration and inter agency cooperation between layers of government.
There are a high number of agencies/ministries.
Local governments with small rating bases face a lack of ability to deliver.
National leadership is needed.
What does national leadership mean?
A framework should be provided to set the context for what is acceptable.
Better monitoring of the implementation of government policy (e.g. NPS) and council performance is needed.

Biodiversity

There is a lack of national leadership.
There is limited support for councils that are struggling.
There is a need for guidance and integration between councils.

Environmental reporting

Up-to-date national data layers are needed.
On-going dedicated research funding is needed for monitoring.
CRI research should be coordinated.
The 2007 report needs to reflect/link and build on the 1997 report.
There is a need for stronger protection of rural productive land from urban encroachment.
Central government should not over ride the RMA process with the potential “Stadiums” Act.

Last updated: 27 February 2008