$93.5m more goes to cleaning up rivers and lakes
Schemes to clean up waterways and improve water quality have received a $93.5 million boost.
However, critics say there is still not enough money going into improving the environment.
Environment Minister Nick Smith said the money would be spent in the next five years, and was a significant increase on the $16.5m which went into the area between 2004 and 2008.
The central North Island would be targeted, with initiatives around Lake Taupo and the Rotorua Lakes.
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said the Government needed to deal with agricultural intensification. Drinking water was being polluted, rivers were being dammed and drained for irrigation, and there was still no charge for using water for private profit.
The funding for water quality initiatives would see a new $2.7m fund this year for reducing nitrogen levels entering Lake Taupo, a $7m cleanup fund for the Waikato River, and $10.3m for improving water quality in the Rotorua Lakes, up from $6.6m.
Dr Norman criticised the Budget for deepening the country’s environmental deficit, partly by continuing to subsidise agricultural polluters.
Dr Smith said the Environment Ministry would receive a budget increase of $13m, and have an operating spend of $59m. That increase was largely because of a $16.8m fund that would go towards the new Environmental Protection Authority.
The Government announced the agency last year, although Dr Smith said its exact “form” had not yet been determined.
Budget documents show uncertainty remains over the impact of the Emissions Trading Scheme – which begins on July 1.
Greenpeace political adviser Geoff Keey said the Government should have bolstered the ETS. “It’s hypocritical for the Government to say the ETS would be too hard on households, and then raise GST.”
Dr Smith said the Government was not facing an “ugly Kyoto debt” partly because of forest owners, and they needed to be paid for that.
The Government was estimating two-thirds of the 12,000 forestry investors would opt into the scheme this year. They would receive carbon credits worth about $1.6b if they did, and the scheme could cost taxpayers $700m.
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/budget-2010/3722080/93-5m-more-goes-to-cleaning-up-rivers-and-lakes
