10. Dairy Farming—Effluent Compliance RatesEUGENIE SAGE (Green) to the Minister for the EnvironmentDairy Farming—Effluent Compliance Rates10. EUGENIE SAGE (Green) to the Minister for the Environment: Does he agree with the Waikato Regional Council that dairy farm effluent compliance rates are heading in the right direction" when less than a quarter of dairy farms it monitors comply with their resource consent conditions?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): National levels of compliance by dairy farms have consistently improved every year since 2010. Non-compliance has dropped from 16 percent to 5 percent so yes things are headed in the right direction. The Ministry for the Environment and regional councils agree that the key measure is significant non-compliance covering issues like inadequate effluent storage mechanical failure or inadequately trained staff. In the Waikato significant non-compliance was 9 percent and was improved over the past year. The member misrepresents the situation in the Waikato by including minor non-compliance issues like some records not being adequate or failure to send sufficient samples.Eugenie Sage: Does he agree with the Environmental Defence Society that "MfE has been lax in providing appropriate oversight and leadership for [compliance monitoring and enforcement] under the RMA."; and if not why not?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No I do not. The first thing is our Government increased the fines for those who have been non-compliant. Secondly the fact that we have seen substantial improvement around the significant issues that relate to water quality is a real credit to the programme that the Ministry for the Environment has led.Stuart Smith: What new limits has this Government introduced to improve New Zealand's water quality?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There were no national standards on water quality when National came into Government. The new national policy statement which has been gazetted with extra additions last week now includes standards for phosphorus nitrogen ammonia E. coli ecological health dissolved oxygen and algae. Furthermore councils are progressively setting limits catchment by catchment. We now have 20 percent of catchments where there are limits on nitrates up from zero when we became Government. We have over 80 percent of catchments now with minimum flow set up from 20 percent when we became Government. The next step we are finalising is national regulations on stock exclusion.Eugenie Sage: How much confidence should New Zealanders have in those charged with protecting the environment from pollution when large regional councils like Waikato failed to ensure that the majority of dairy farmers comply with basic consent conditions?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Basic consent requirements are being met. In fact 91 percent of compliance issues in the Waikato in the last year—and overall nationally the level of compliance has improved every year in the last 5 years. But no we are not going to be a Government that is going to be overwhelmed by a minor issue in respect of paperwork or other issues that do not relate directly to water quality which this Government is so keen to improve.Eugenie Sage: How can the public have confidence in the safety of the water they want to swim in and the safety of the water they drink when he considers that compliance by less than a quarter of farms is progress?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I again draw attention to the difference between a significant non-compliance that relates to the quality of water where that level is now down to just 5 percent—it was 15 percent when we came into Government a substantial improvement—and issues of minor non-compliance. Furthermore I would draw the member's attention to the new Environmental Reporting Act and the new national policy statement that for the very first time in New Zealand sets clear expectations and the measurements to back them up to improve water quality."