Delahunty Catherine: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDelahunty Catherine: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 02 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:2878. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]7.CATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green)to the Minister for State Owned Enterprises: Will he stop any further work on dairy conversions by Landcorp in light of the drop in the dairy price yesterday and concerns about the impact that those conversions will have on water quality; if not why not?Hon TODD McCLAY (Minister for State Owned Enterprises):The answer is no. Dairy is an important industry for New Zealand and the National Government believes there is further opportunity to expand the farming industry. We will continue to support the sector to grow which should not halt investment based on hysteria from the Greens.Catherine Delahunty: Can he confirm that by the end of the Landcorp conversions there will be up to 50000 additional cows in the Upper Waikato catchment area resulting in up to 1000 additional tonnes of nitrogen seeping into the river every day; if not how many additional cows will there be?Hon TODD McCLAY: No I cannot confirm that but what I can confirm is that Landcorp is aware of its obligations under the Resource Management Act and regional council requirements and takes all necessary steps to comply with the environmental rules. I have met with the board and I have expressed to it the view of the Government that in running its business well we expect it to be profitable to not be risky for the taxpayer and that it should also be considerate of the environment. I expect Landcorp to comply with all of its environmental obligations.Catherine Delahunty: Does he agree with Waikato farmers that the Government has a responsibility not to overload the Waikato River through the Landcorp conversions because of both the threat to the river and the threat to their farms as they are forced to bear the cost of over-intensification?Hon TODD McCLAY: Look as the Minister for Primary Industries said it is not for the Government to make those decisions. But I would say to the member that she should not misleadingly use statements made by Federated Farmers. It has not said that in the Waikato it has not asked for a moratorium on dairy conversions and Federated Farmers actually supports the dairy industry and the farming industry in New Zealand and she should too.Catherine Delahunty: Will he guarantee that there will be no additional limits on nutrient production imposed on existing dairy farmers in the Lower Waikato catchment area and that the river quality will not degrade further as a direct result of further dairy intensification caused by Landcorp’s additional cows?Hon TODD McCLAY: The member is asking the Government to go and tell the regional council in the Waikato what to do. We put in place rules they work very very well and she should support local government and give it the consideration that it deserves so that it can manage these issues well.Catherine Delahunty: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This question had nothing to do with the regional council—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The question if you think about it asked for a guarantee from the Minister which he was never going to give. The member is now wanting to design the answer to her question and she needs to refer to Speaker’s ruling 167/6 and I think that could help her with further supplementary questions.