New rules to clean up waterways that could reduce the number of cows on some farms are 'an assault on the regions', National leader Simon Bridges says.
Minister of Economic Development David Parker. Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
Environment minister David Parker told Q+A over the weekend that the government was doing work on restricting the amount of nutrients being lost from a farm into a waterway.
While there would not be a direct cap on the number of cattle, such a system could result in fewer cows in some areas, he said.
National Party leader Simon Bridges said there needed to be analysis before limits were set on nutrient runoff into rivers.
"It seems to be a lack of any kind of comprehension that when the farmers sneeze we all catch a cold" - Simon Bridges
Farmers had done a lot already to improve river quality and the announcement was an assault on the regions, he said.
"To come out on television without a plan and say what he said about reducing the numbers [of cattle] is reckless," Mr Bridges said.
However, Massey University freshwater ecologist Mike Joy said improving water quality should not affect farmers' bottom lines.
People were already cracking down on nutrient run-off, he said.
"There's so many examples from all around the country: work done by Dairy New Zealand, by Lincoln, at Ruakura, where it can significantly reduce cow numbers, increase production per stock unit, and have way less impact on the environment."
Run-off limits had been set already in Taupō and Rotorua and that now needed to be applied to the rest of the country, Dr Joy said.
However, he said taxpayers were paying for those farms to be de-intensified and that should not be the case.
Federated Farmer's dairy chair Chris Lewis said a good green policy for farming is one that is good for the environment and farmers' wallets.
Mr Lewis said the government needs to come up with regulations that work and don't just bring additional farming expenses.
Mr Parker told Morning Report the issue of Māori rights and interests in water needed to be resolved at the same time.
"People who have already got capital investment in the land, they want to keep the rate of nutrient application that they've got," he said.
"Whereas people who've got undeveloped land - and they're disproportionately Māori - they want the right to develop their land, so you've got to try and achieve fairness to both," he said.