Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey and Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb clashed on Politics Friday over Environment Canterbury’s decision to declare a nitrate emergency.
Doocy said the move was “purely political theatre” and accused the regional council of running out of ideas.
“Another gimmick from ECan. It wasn’t that long ago they were relaunching another look at the railway. Now they’re going back to the well of nitrates. This is well traversed space, very cynical, probably one of their last meetings before they go out on the campaign trail,” he said.
The National MP went further, claiming the council had failed in its duties.
“Look, ECan’s days are numbered. Let’s be very clear. I personally think it’s inevitable. What really have they done in the last term? They’re grappling to look as though they’ve done things. You’ve got a chair who is leaving and openly talking about standing for Labour or the Greens at the next general election. He’s going to leave a few political land mines along the way,” Doocey said.
He also questioned the legitimacy of the decision, pointing out “the two votes that got this over the line were the representatives from Ngāi Tahu, who weren’t even democratically elected on the board. People have lost all faith in ECan.”
Webb fired back, accusing Doocey of undermining democracy and ignoring the risks nitrates pose to public health.
“It’s outrageous what Matt just said. Cabinet ministers don’t have personal views, they represent the government, and Matt Doocey just said that ECan’s days are numbered. The last time the National government suspended democracy in Christchurch was when ECan was trying to protect our groundwater then, and here we go again,” Webb said.
“The evidence is there. There are increasing nitrate levels in our water, and we need to do something about it. As nitrates seep down, they get greater and greater. This becomes a 50-year problem with a 50-year fix. To say ‘don’t worry about it’ is putting your head in the sand,” he said.
Webb also criticised the government’s direction on freshwater standards.
“We can’t simply sit there, and as this government is doing, get rid of freshwater standards, get rid of basic bottom lines saying nitrates cannot exceed this level, and just say, ‘oh no, don’t worry about it, put a few more cows out on the Waimakariri Plains.’ Once nitrates are in drinking water, they are very hard to get out,” he said.
Doocy argued that farmers were already paying the cost of change and were leading the effort to reduce nitrate use.
“Farmers are already paying because it’s a huge cost to them to ensure they’re bringing these new tools and technologies on farm to address nitrate levels. There’s never been the visibility of nitrate levels that we have today on farm,” he said.
“We should support the reduction of nitrogen levels they are achieving on farm, not some gimmicky townies sitting around a table looking for a slogan for a media headline,” Doocey said.
Webb rejected the claim that ECan’s move was empty sloganeering.
“It’s a statement of intent. It’s a statement of priority. Of all the things we need to do, this is right at the top of the list. The statement itself doesn’t reduce nitrates in the groundwater, of course, but what it does is send a signal both around the council table and to staff that this is an issue we need to address,” Webb said.
The debate also touched on public health, with studies linking nitrate levels in drinking water to cancer and pre-term births.
Doocy acknowledged it was a serious issue but pointed back to farmers’ progress and technology as the solution.
“It very much is an issue that we are dealing with in Canterbury. This has been a long time in the making, and it will take time for nitrate levels to work through. But the work on farm by our Canterbury farmers has been significant, at great cost to them,” he said.
“We can actually go one further. We’ve got the gene tech bill before Parliament as well. That will be revolutionary in bringing down the use of nitrogen on our farms too. So we are giving our farmers the tools. They are committed to it, but just going out there and calling it an emergency is just another gimmick from ECan.”
The exchange underscored sharp divisions between National and Labour over nitrate contamination, with Doocey dismissing ECan’s declaration as “political theatre” and Webb defending it as a necessary signal to protect Canterbury’s drinking water.
