A newsletter from the
M A R C H /A P R I L 2 0 1 6
MESSAGE
FROM THE CE
The recent release of the
first Five Year Report by the
Authority to river iwi and
the Crown was an important
milestone. The report noted
the effort and initiatives
of the Authority since its
establishment late in 2010.
The amount of interest
generated in this report tells
us that the task of restoring
and protecting the health
and wellbeing of the Waikato
and Waipa rivers continues
to be hugely important. This
undertaking is not expected
to become easier in the
foreseeable future, but the
community expectation
that we must succeed has
continually grown. Our
message from day one has
been that we can only get
there by all stakeholders
working together, and that
message will hold true
throughout this important
journey.
The Waikato River Authority received
high praise from the Minster for the
Environment, the Hon Dr Nick Smith,
during the launch of the first Five Year
Report by the Authority to the Crown
and Waikato River iwi at the end of
March.
Dr Smith said freshwater issues in New
Zealand are very challenging and he
congratulated the Authority on its work.
“Tremendous progress has been
made and I say take a bow Waikato
River Authority,” said the Minister. Dr
Smith said from a relationship point
of view with stakeholders there was
nervousness when the Authority
started five year ago but there had
been great progress and this is no
longer the case.
The Five Year Report was presented to
the Crown and river iwi by Authority
co-chairs Hon John Luxton and
Tukoroirangi Morgan including the
first ever whole of catchment Report
Card for the Waikato and Waipa rivers.
The Report Card was produced by
NIWA, Diffuse Sources Ltd and the
Waikato Raupatu River Trust on behalf
of the Authority.
The whole of catchment Report
Card grade is a C+ and scores across
eight different indicators; Water
Quality, Water Security, Economy,
Kai, Ecological Integrity, Experience,
Effort and Sites of Significance.
The Report Card score is not a pass
with a C grade regarded as a low
rating, meaning overall the standard
of river catchment falls short of
the expectations of the vision and
strategy for a healthy Waikato River.
Co-chairs of the Waikato River
Authority, Tukoroirangi Morgan and
Hon John Luxton say the Report Card
is the first comprehensive assessment
of the catchment that produces
a summarised score and sets the
benchmark for future improvement.
“We’ve always known there is a big
task ahead to clean-up the rivers and
Minister praises Authority
at Five Year Report and
Report Card launch
(L to R) Co-chair Tukoroirangi Morgan, CE Bob Penter, Minister for the Environment Hon Dr Nick
Smith, Co-Chair Hon John Luxton at the launch of the Authority’s first Five Year Report.
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