Greens oppose farm

Green Party co-leader Russell Norman has given his support to Curio Bay residents opposed to a dairy conversion near Haldane.

South Coast Dairy Ltd has bought land on the Haldane-Curio Bay Rd and is proposing to convert it from a sheep and beef farm to a dairy operation, milking 400 cows with the intention to buy additional land and increase the herd to 750 cows.

The farm is about 1.5km from Porpoise Bay and the company has applied for resource consents to extract gravel, discharge effluent to land, take water via an underground bore, and to build dairy sheds/houses.

The area's surfing fraternity has already spoken out against the conversion going ahead.

Mr Norman, who visited the area on Wednesday, said Curio Bay was one of the few places left in Southland that did not have industrial dairying.

Curio Bay was also one of the few areas with clean water and this would be compromised by dairy effluent, he said.

"It's a tourist hot spot, with Hector's dolphins and yellow-eyed penguins around the corner.

"We've had dairy conversions everywhere else, why do we need one there?"

The Green Party urged locals to make submissions opposing the resource consent application.

South Coast Dairy director Nick Stratford said he had confidence in the consent process.

"People need to be informed about what is really happening instead of listening to a lot of rumour and speculation," he said.

Submissions on the proposal close on February 9.

- © Fairfax NZ News