“We have recently had a big win in the fight against the Marsden B coal-fired power station proposal , with the High Court proclaiming that we can now use climate change in our argument on the Appeal, as far as impacts on renewable energy is concerned.”

“But in the meantime, the Department of Conservation has announced that it intends to allow Mighty River Power to build a coal “conveyor” from the Whangarei Port to Marsden B, right through the Ruakaka Conservation Area. The “conveyor” will, according to Mighty River, look like a series of containers, end on end. ”

“It would be used to transport millions of tonnes of coal from the port to the power station. ”

“Mighty River Powers’ application has some glaring omissions in its application which DOC appears to have overlooked. These include no consideration of what will happen to the surrounding area if there is a fire on the conveyor from the coal dust, nor the impact of the coal dust on the local environment - or how that would be dealt with. ”

“DOC’s consent is open for public submission until 21 November. ”
—————

Now for a question -
Does RMA really stand for “Resource Munting Act”?

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We provide this site as a single window to allow the people of NZ access to information and services freely and with ease; as we champion the cause of those whom have been exposed to misadventure by no choice of their own.

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In some cases it is seen as a “get rich quick enterpriseâ€? for the individuals (and for our “balance of paymentsâ€?) but potentially at the expense of the future.

That “Fonterra” article was about the affects of new breed of farmers/farming on the aluvial plains of Canterbury, where the current bylaws etc have not yet caught up with the current play.

Artesian water and hydro electricity (from the Grid) are being used to make the formerly dry land (traditionally “marginal” for pasture or low grade cropping) into lush green pasture for heavily stocked dairy farms (despite the searing drying of our famous Nor’West winds).

The problems are the traditional rules about extracting the (absolutely pure) water from the aquifers below AND the disposal of waste products into the porus land has meant that some of these precious aquifers (which have “always” stored the “100% pure” rainfall on the eastern side of the Southern Alps) are in danger of being polluted and/or seriously depleted /endangered by the influx of these newcomers to the area.

It will be hard to stop because they have been allowed to spend huge sums setting up these dairy units under the currrent inadequate rules.

It is a whole “get rich quick enterprise” for the individuals (and for our “balance of payments”) at the expense of the future.

There was an article on the news very recently about dairy farmers polluting through inappropriate drainage techniques (wasn’t really listening, so I apologise for the roughness of data), and there was a suggestion that Fonterra should not purchase milk off non-compliant farmers. The man from Fonterra made noises like “this is a very last resort”, ie it wont happen.

Ultimately, NZ currently makes money of farming, and if anyone tries to break farming then they are going to be held accountable by us for that, so its very difficult to get in the way of this juggernaught. Public health and pollution are just two examples of collateral damage on the way.

It s not right, but its the way it is. I have no idea how to change it, short of NZ being not reliant on farming, then there is no stranglehold to break.

“this isn’t a witch-hunt.. it’s called accountability…”

I totally agree!

Also, I stand by “we are all guilty of not doing enough to change that.” … in the sense that repetitive nagging, especially from a large number of people, does get results (from some/most? politicians). It may even give an individual MP the support he/she needs to stand up to the Collective in ways that would lead to change.

My father (now deceased) made a point of writing a letter to his local MP and/or appropriate Cabinet Minister(s) every week telling them what needed to be done, and giving positive feedback when they did things well. When he died, a whole bunch of them (past and present) turned up to his memorial gathering. He had become well known and well respected in that circle.

as this is why there needs to be some form of full-blown inquiry…

i think we all would like to see the names of those who ’signed off’ on this…

we need to follow the paper trails…

we want to know when they knew….

and for them to tell us why they allowed this situation to continue…for yeara..and years..and years..

this isn’t a witch-hunt..

it’s called accountability…

phil(whoar.co.nz)

even a year ago i would have agreed with you…

but we are in the middle of the rest of the world waking up to what we have been banging on about for quite some time now…

so..even if some in national have cynical motives..and see this as just a marketing exercise..

events are about to overtake them….so their motives are irrelevant…

they won’t be able to turn back the clock..

and i’m sorry..i don’t accept your contention that “..we are all guilty..”

it’s their job….that’s what we pay them to do…

part of their job is to protect us from b*stards who want to poison us..(in their search for the dollar…)

and they failed..they failed when there were feckin’ neon signs pointing at their failures/shortcomings…..

( i cannot believe a politically aware animal such as cleark was not aware on the ongoing dialogue/concerns about dioxin…)

they (labour and national) could not possibly have not known these poisons were banned in america because of the cancer-causing dioxin..

yet they did…nothing..

phil(whoar.co.nz)

You and I were busy writing at the same time …

Yes, unfortunately politics is usually about expediency (especially for the major parties /older politicians who still tend to see things in FPP terms).
I share your OUTRAGE about the coverup and non-action taken … but we are all guilty of not doing enough to change that.

Those older politicians are well aware that (by definition) half the population has an intelligence level that is average or below… and that is a major reason why things are presented as black or white. (Shades of grey are too subtle for the average politician’s canvas.)

However, of the two major Parties I still prefer Helen Clark and Labour (unadmitted, but most likely learnt-from, mistakes and all) to the alternative of Brash/ Keys and National.

MMP and its possibilities to do things differently will gradually bring change I hope. However, those changes will depend on the Electorate at large becoming more “mature” in its thinking, and (much) better informed.

… Meanwhile we have the Greens and the few allies they have formed in other parts of the House and the community at large. (The “GreenLabour”
branches of the Labour Party are an interesting development … now we have the National Party trying its hand. I’m cynical about their motives, but … )

… plus politicians/political parties who wouldn’t/couldn’t admit that they had been wrong.

I guess those that are still alive remain in denial to this day.