Govt must look at causes of contamination country-wide in Havelock North inquiry

The Government must look at how different land uses contribute to the contamination of drinking water supplies in its inquiry into the Havelock North drinking water debacle, the Green Party said today.

Disease-causing E. coli and campylobacter bacteria have been reported in water supplies in other parts of the country in recent years, including Patea, Hanmer Springs and Christchurch.

“We want the Government to take this opportunity to assess how land use around the country affects drinking water supplies,” said Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty.

“The type of land use in a community, for example agriculture, industrial or urban, affects the cleanliness of water in underground aquifers and bores so we need the inquiry to take into account how these activities pollute water across the country.

“At present, 15 percent of New Zealanders get their drinking water from bores and other unregistered supplies, so saying that we could just chlorinate every registered supply will not protect those dependent on bores.

“The Government has an opportunity to take strong action on drinking water and protect the health of communities with this inquiry – let’s hope they don’t squander it,” said Ms Delahunty.

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing New Zealand.

Action

Save Auckland's Climate Budget

Sign the petition to stop Mayor Wayne Brown's proposal for dangerous cuts to climate and environmental programmes that protect us from extreme weat...

Action

No New Mines 2023

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Trains for Climate

Add your name to our open letter urging the Minister for Finance Grant Robertson to save our passenger trains between Wellington, the Wairarapa and...

Action

Healthy Oceans 2022

Join our Healthy Oceans Crew to help us keep the health and protection of our oceans high on the Labour Government’s political agenda.

Action

It's time: A Ministry for Rainbow Communities

Join our call asking the Prime Minister to establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities that can champion Rainbow issues.

Action

No new mines on conservation land

Sign the open letter asking Labour Ministers to stick to their promise of banning new mining projects on conservation land.

Action

Allow community ownership of our buses

Public transport is an essential service and helps to tackle the climate crisis by reducing our carbon emissions. But there are barriers to communi...

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

Forestry sector must compensate for slash damage

The Green Party welcomes today’s release of the report of the Ministerial Inquiry into slash and sediment, and are clear that the forestry industry...

Greens launch petition to protect conservation lands from mining by Mineralogy International Limited

The Green Party has today launched a petition calling for conservation land to be protected from mining by big overseas companies such as Mineralog...

National's drought of ideas won't help farmers facing climate change

Christopher Luxon and the National Party have once again presented another lazy, back-of-the-napkin policy to Aotearoa.

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...

Greens welcome waste strategy release and work

The Green Party is today welcoming the release of the Government’s waste strategy, but says it has a big gap without action on the container return...

NZ needs strong protection against water privatisation

New Zealanders deserve strong protection against the future privatisation of water assets, the Green Party says.

Story

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...

Strongest ever water reforms mean swimmable rivers within a generation

The Green Party says major freshwater reforms announced today provide the strongest ever protections of our waterways, to help ensure the next gene...