Greater Wellington urges government to do more on water bottling

Following a submission on Freshwater Reforms, Greater Wellington Regional Council today made a submission on the Resource Management Act Bill 2019 urging them to do more about water taken for bottling purposes.

Greater Wellington Chair Daran Ponter says the Resource Management Act is limited and we need a national response to manage water take consents.

"The take and use of water for bottling purposes is posing challenges to regional councils across the country with many communities and iwi raising concerns about the use of water for this purpose.

"The RMA planning process is too slow in reflecting what is most important to our people. As we have seen this year, councils carrying out consenting for water bottling have been hamstrung by current legislation."

Cr Ponter says the speed of the RMA planning process needs to be able to adapt to the views of both the community and Greater Wellington's partners.

"These submissions give the government two chances to address the current imbalance either through the Select Committee process for the RMA Bill or through the extensive freshwater consultation process.

"Regional councils are asking for help and it is time for the government to listen to concerned communities and act," Cr Ponter says.