Early this morning, we travelled to the proposed site of the Ruataniwha irrigation dam in Hawke’s Bay. With a small crane we uplifted the construction site office, put it on the back of a truck and drove it 100kms to Napier.  There we left it at the door of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC).

There is huge opposition to the Ruataniwha dam because it would drive industrial dairying and further pollute Hawke’s Bay’s freshwater.  It would also need to be subsidised with millions of tax and ratepayer dollars.  Read more >

Over 40,000 people have already signed the petition to stop Government-funded river pollution, and 8,500 have sent a direct message to the HBRC – it’s clear as day that this is an issue that deeply resonates with New Zealanders.

If the Ruataniwha dam goes ahead, it will have r...

The proposed Ruataniwha Dam is the poster child of Big Irrigation.  

It stands as a symbol of the Government's agenda to prop up industrial dairying despite the fact that it’s poisoning our waterways and indebting farmers.

Because of this we can be assured that, blinded by ideology and greed the Government and those with vested interests will stop at nothing to get the dam thing built.

So even though the Court of Appeal has ruled that the dam company cannot kill the 22-hectare piece of forest protected by the Conservation Act that is getting in the way of their dam we cannot celebrate the demise of the dam just yet.

When it comes to that precious piece of conservation land here is what could happen next:

They could try, using the Public Works Act to forcibly take this forest from the h...

Give yourself a massive pat on the back! 

After constant pressure from cat, tuna and ocean lovers alike, calling on global food giant Mars, and its brand Whiskas, to face up to human rights abuses in the supply chain of seafood supplier Thai Union, they’ve taken the first step: Committing to a Plan of Action to protect the workers of the seafood industry - the people who catch the fish to feed cats, who all too often suffer in the process. 

WOOHOO! 

Along with some of the world’s most famous cats, thousands of you demanded answers from Mars, and now they’ve provided us with exactly that - a step in the right direction.

This is a big win for people power and for Mars, which sources seafood from some of the biggest fishing companies in the world. 

In May, after you forced them to confe...

In the last two weeks, one third of people in Havelock North have fallen ill with a gastro illness that originated in the town’s water supply.

The source? Most likely contamination from cows, sheep or deer.

By all accounts the last couple of weeks have been hell for the people of Havelock North. This isn’t what’s supposed to happen in a “clean, green” first world country.

Unfortunately, the chances of it happening again are about to increase, with a series of industrial irrigation schemes planned around New Zealand.

These schemes will mean more intensive agriculture, and therefore more water pollution. We should be cleaning up and protecting our waterways, not building giant irrigation dams that drive more agricultural intensification and compound the problem.

This map shows where big irrigatio... Read more >

It’s been a tough few weeks for think-big irrigation and industrial agriculture.

As a bit of background for those not familiar with plans for even more industrial dairying around New Zealand - the Government is throwing over half a billion dollars of public money at large-scale irrigation schemes (including the Ruataniwha Dam). These schemes will enable the expansion of industrial style dairy farming, causing huge pollution in our waterways.

But the plan’s hit several snags in recent weeks.

In what is the worst water-borne disease outbreak in New Zealand history, over 5,000 people fell ill in Havelock North due to drinking water from their taps. The cause was likely a ruminant farm animal. 

Last night hundreds of people turned out to a public meeting over the crisis - venting their ange...