Press release - August 31, 2016
In response to the Court of Appeal’s ruling in favour of Forest and Bird over the DOC land swap for the Ruataniwha Dam (1) Greenpeace Agriculture Spokesperson Genevieve Toop said:
“The Court of Appeal’s decision is another huge blow for the Ruataniwha dam. First the gastro outbreak and resulting public anger of the state of our waterways, and now a major legal hurdle.
“The writing’s on the wall for a scheme that should never have been put on the table in the first place.
“The dam will mean an expansion of industrial dairy farming in Hawke’s Bay and further pollution of the region’s waterways. The Hawke’s Bay Regional Council should scrap the whole thing. It needs to put people’s health before industrial dairying.”
Over the last week, six and a half thousand people from around the country have emailed Hawke’s Bay regional councillors calling on them to halt the scheme, in order to prevent more pressure on New Zealand’s waterways.
“Just over a month out from local elections, and with significant hurdles to overcome, the current council does not have a mandate to allow the Ruataniwha dam to proceed,
(1) The Court of Appeal has found that the Director-General of Conversation was not entitled to revoke the special conservation status of Ruahine Forest Park land to make way for the dam.