Community must have say in water bottling from Otakiri Springs

The Green Party is calling on Bay of Plenty Regional Council to notify Cresswell NZ Ltd and Nongfu Spring’s application to take up to 580 million litres of water annually from Otakiri Springs, so that the community can have a say.

“Bottling companies have consents to take up 23 billion litres of water a year in New Zealand and aren’t paying anything for it," said Green Party environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage.

“Water is a community asset and the public must be involved in the council's decision making.

“The strong public interest in overseas companies taking our purest water for export and potentially depleting local springs means the council should notify the application under the ‘special circumstances’ provision in the Resource Management Act.

“It shouldn’t require the ‘special circumstances’ of substantial public interest in water bottling and export for councils to notify resource consent applications so communities can have a say.

“Nick Smith’s changes to the Resource Management Act have slashed public participation rights. The changes have made it much less likely that councils involve the public, even where resource consent applications affect their neighbourhood and resources they care about like local spring water.

“The revenue would be collected by central government and distributed to regional councils and iwi, which would be used to protect freshwater. We would reinstate funding for programmes that help small communities and marae upgrade their drinking water systems.

“40 percent of New Zealanders depend on aquifers as the source of their drinking water. The Green Party would make protecting the quality and quantity of water in our aquifers a matter of national importance under the RMA,” Ms. Sage said.

Action

Oppose New Zealand First’s Member’s Bill!

Support Trans Rights | Oppose the Gender Definition Bill

Action

Reject the Defining Gender Bill

Reject the Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill introduced by New Zealand First.

Action

Disability Support System - Submission Guide

Uphold disability rights so disabled people and their whānau can thrive. Oppose the Disability Support Services Bill

Action

Oppose the 2026 budget

Sign our petition to show you oppose the Government's 2026 budget

Action

Leave our homes alone!

The Green Party is calling on the Government to stop its attack on people living in public housing - join our call today!

Action

Drug Overdose (Assistance Protection) Legislation Bill Submission Guide

Support Green MP Kahurangi Carter’s Bill to protect overdose emergency callers from legal risks!

Action

Keep Fees Free

Join our call to keep Fees Free for tertiary education!

Action

Protect Conservation Land

Sign out petition to oppose the Conservation Amendment Bill and protect conservation land!

Action

Stop the Fisheries Amendment Bill

Sign today to protect our moana.

Action

Electrify everything

Show your support for a National Electrification Plan!

Action

A home for everybody

A home for everybody - sign and share the open letter today!

Action

Tell us your stories about our special places

Share with us your stories about the places threatened by being fast tracked for mining permits.

Action

Protect our tamariki - Sign the open letter

Every child in Aotearoa deserves to grow up with safety and stability, wrapped in aroha. Sign our open letter today and help make that a reality!

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Environment Announcements

Story

$30m for school drinking water safety is a start but pollution keeps flowing

The Green Party is welcoming Government investment of $30m into school drinking water following their questions on the issue, but warns rural commu...

“End of an era” as Government law change disestablishes Ministry for the Environment

The Green Party is condemning the Government’s disestablishment of the Ministry for the Environment, following the law change required to scrap the...

NZ democracy at risk of corporate corruption - Green Party backs urgent inquiry

Allegations that the Prime Minister’s office withheld information about backroom lobbying by major climate polluters - ahead of legislating to prev...

Action needed on widespread drinking water problems

The Green Party says while it is relieved the cause of the recent 'boil water' notice in Auckland was easily addressed, more action is needed to de...

9,000 students faced unsafe drinking water at school last year

The Green Party has released data showing 9000 students across more than 70 schools and pre-schools faced unsafe drinking water in 2025, with water...

Fast-track Decision Looms on Destructive Waitaha Hydro Scheme

The Green Party says the Fast Track expert panel should turn down the previously declined ‘Waitaha Hydro’ project, which if approved will destroy a...

Story

Greenpeace nitrates research proves need for strong freshwater regulation

The Green Party is welcoming the release of an interactive map which enables people to monitor nitrate levels in their drinking water.

Three waters rebrand insufficient

Today the Government adopted a long held Green Party position to increase the number of water entities to ensure a closer connection with communiti...

Freshwater crisis needs stronger government action

New Zealand’s rivers, lakes and freshwater are in crisis and there needs to be a more ambitious Government plan to clean them up and protect agains...

Changes needed to three waters plans

Greater local oversight and control, seven instead of four entities, stormwater staying with councils, and stronger safeguards against privatisatio...

National reckless on rivers

The opposition’s dangerous plan to scrap rules to improve the health of rivers and lakes around Aotearoa highlights the importance of having a stro...

Clean Water

From the maunga to moana, water is a taonga which must be protected, but too many rivers, lakes, and wetlands have been polluted over the years, an...

Story

Bill would protect public conservation land this Government wants to mine

Green Party Member Lan Pham's Bill to prohibit mining on conservation land has been drawn from the ballot today.

Luxon’s Government guts conservation protections

The Green Party says the Government is bringing in the bulldozers to rip up New Zealand’s precious landscapes by making it easier to privatise publ...

Government sacrifices nature to the bulldozer

Christopher Luxon’s Government continues to show its true colours on environmental protection, today rejecting most of the advice of expert panels ...

Wildlife law change a deep betrayal of public trust

The Green Party is appalled by the Government’s use of urgency to rewrite the Wildlife Act–without consultation, without an impact statement, and i...

Govt funding for biodiversity an embarrassment

The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for c...

Labour must deliver on No New Mines

The Green Party is disappointed tonight that the Government has voted down Eugenie Sage’s members’ bill to stop new mining on conservation land. Th...