5. Freshwater Management—Commercial Water User ChargeJAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green) to the Minister for the EnvironmentFreshwater Management—Commercial Water User ChargeJames Shaw: Before I begin I would like to wish the Minister a very happy World Water Day.5. JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green) to the Minister for the Environment: Does he agree with the OECD that there are significant management issues in relation to the availability demand and distribution of freshwater resources" in parts of New Zealand?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): The same best wishes to the member. Yes and that is why our Government has introduced national metering requirements; the first in New Zealand national policy statement on fresh water; requirements on councils to set minimum flows in our rivers and limit nitrates phosphorus ammonia and algae; and it is also why this Government has increased by sixfold the funding for clean-ups now over $450 million. Our latest steps are to require regional councils to improve the swimmability of New Zealand waterways by 1000 kilometres each year to achieve 90 percent of lakes and rivers by 2040.James Shaw: Why is he delaying a decision until after the election on pricing the commercial use of water when the OECD said yesterday that water limits have already been surpassed in some regions of New Zealand?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Because the pricing of water is a complex issue. For instance the level that is proposed of 10c a litre would impose a cost of $600 billion on the agriculture industry which would wipe it out. That is why we say this needs to be done in a considered way and that is why we have referred it to the technical advisory group.James Shaw: Does he agree with the simple principle that if a business profits from the extraction of water it should pay for that water?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I remind the member that New Zealand extracts only 2 percent of its total water resource and so any pricing regime actually needs to be developed quite carefully or we have the capacity to do significant economic damage to key sectors like agriculture that earn this country a great deal of its export earnings.Scott Simpson: How does this 2017 OECD environmental review compare with the review made back in 2007 on the issue of fresh water?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The 2007 review was very critical of New Zealand's freshwater management saying at the time there was no national policy statement there were no national environment standards and that only two out of our 16 regional councils had water management plans. The latest report states that the national policy statement is a welcome step towards addressing water quality and quantity challenges and fills a longstanding gap. The report also highlights the success of the cap-and-trade project on Lake Taupō describing it as world leading. It also notes that all but one of our regional councils now have a water plan.James Shaw: Can he explain how 100-year-old pristine deep-aquifer water is any different from other resources that the Government already charges companies to extract like oil gas sand or even gravel?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: The substantive difference is that resources like coal ironsand and gravel are limited resources. Actually New Zealand has 500 trillion litres of water—new water—every single year. We use only 2 percent of that. If you take an area like water consents only a very small portion of that which is consented is actually used.James Shaw: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I was asking about pristine 100-year-old deep-aquifer water not the amount of water that falls out of the sky.Mr SPEAKER: I know the member mentioned that in the question but the essence of the question is why treat water differently from oil sand or gravel. The Minister addressed that very definitely.James Shaw: Is he concerned about the potential for a gold rush of consents for freshwater extraction while he delays making a decision about the possibility of introducing a commercial water user charge?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: No I am not concerned with a gold rush. I note that last year the actual amount of bottled water exports dropped by 10 percent. I also note that the Green Party made a big deal at the weekend of a consent granted on the West Coast for water bottling. The consent was granted in 1991. It has not been taken up in 25 years suggesting that this "immediate crisis" is not quite what the Green Party presents."