“From the smallest towns to the biggest cities, people care deeply about freshwater. If Christopher Luxon and his Government think that they can get away with this direct attack on the country’s already seriously polluted rivers, lakes and drinking water, they’ve got another thing coming.”
Meanwhile, the centre-right Taxpayers’ Union had hoped the Government would go further, executive director Jordan Williams said.
“These changes are a step in the right direction in terms of removing ideological and unworkable red tape, but they don’t go far enough.”
And Federated Farmers praised the Bill as the Government ending the “war on farming”.
“These impractical rules have been a complete nightmare since the day they were introduced and farmers will be pleased to see the back of them,” freshwater spokesperson Colin Hurst said.
“They were rushed through before the 2020 election by overzealous regulators with a complete disregard for those who would actually need to implement them behind the farm gate.”