Mayor rejects plan criticism

Mackenzie District Mayor John O'Neill has hit back at claims his council does not have the financial clout to protect the environment.

The Environmental Defence Society, which got the High Court to overturn land-use consents for proposed factory dairy farms in the Mackenzie Country, said the Mackenzie and Waitaki district councils had "failed to develop coherent and effective district plans".

O'Neill said the "reasonably robust" Mackenzie plan had defended the district well and there had been no need for national policies.

"I don't think that's an irresponsible attitude to make," he said. "Farming in the area needs to be viable, but it certainly hasn't been viable at the expense of the environment."

The "greening" of the Mackenzie has been the subject of national debate, particularly over factory dairy farming.

The Press revealed in April there were tenure review plans to transfer 31,000 hectares of Crown land into private ownership on five high-country stations overlooking Lake Pukaki.

There are also irrigation plans in the Upper Waitaki catchment, which green groups fear will raise nutrient levels and cause algal blooms.

Waitaki District Mayor Alex Familton said his council's plan was coherent, and "cohesive" with the Mackenzie council's plan.

"It's quite ridiculous to say otherwise."

He said that Canterbury Water Management Strategy zone committees would have broad community representation and "those committees will resolve issues".

Forest & Bird Canterbury-West Coast field officer Jen Miller said the Waitaki and Mackenzie councils had not protected the Mackenzie environment.

"There's been large-scale loss," she said. "There's been little in the way of monitoring and certainly little in the way of ensuring compliance."

She said a Government strategy was needed.

- © Fairfax NZ News