Delahunty Catherine: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDelahunty Catherine: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 09 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9518. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.CATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green) to the Minister for the Environment: Has he received any advice that New Zealanders would prefer to wade rather than swim in our lakes and rivers?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): No and it is Government policy for as many water bodies as practically possible to be swimmable. When we came into Government in 2008 there was no national freshwater policy or standards and we have been systematically strengthening those. These requirements do not stipulate that every water body be swimmable all the time but they do require councils to maintain and improve water quality and to identify those rivers and lakes that should be swimmable.Catherine Delahunty: Given that answer will the Minister commit to the goal of making New Zealand lakes and rivers swimmable with exceptions for issues that he has previously stated including during high rainfall events areas where birds colonise rivers tainted by volcanic ash and other natural phenomena that may prevent swimming?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: We are doing a consultation at the moment which I started last night about improvements in the national policy statement. I am open-minded about strengthening the provisions around swimmability but it is my view that we need to ensure that they are practical and that in that process of setting the standards we do take into mind the issue of costs. I give the member a practical example in Auckland: Lucas Creek would cost $150 million to bring it up to a swimmable standard—a cost that would translate to about $10000 per household for a stream that nobody has ever wanted or tried to swim in. So yes we want more water bodies to be swimmable but we also want to make sure that the provisions are practical.Catherine Delahunty: Given that Landcorp can cut the proposed Wairākei dairy conversions by 50 percent to protect the environment will he include in his Next Steps for Fresh Water document a moratorium on dairy conversions in sensitive catchments?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Indeed that has taken place. So for instance in an area like Canterbury where there were no limits on expansion of dairying the commissioners have done a very good job of actually creating red zones and of setting limits on nutrients and that is happening right throughout the country. What I would welcome from the Green Party is support for that national policy statement and the requirement to set limits. I would remind the member that prior to this Government coming to office there were no limits anywhere in New Zealand on nutrients.Catherine Delahunty: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was specifically on whether the Minister would include in the Next Steps for Fresh Water a moratorium on dairy conversions.Mr SPEAKER: I invite the member to go back and rehear the answer. The Minister said they were achieving it in another way and addressed the question for the benefit of the member.Catherine Delahunty: What rivers has the Minister waded in recently and did he enjoy it as much as actually putting his head under the water?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I regularly swim—only at the weekend I was swimming with my family in the Maitai River. But I would point out to the member that actually contrary to the Green Party view that this is all farmers’ problems if you take the Maitai River the key swimmability challenge there is actually the standard of our town sewerage scheme in Nelson. Like in many urban areas of New Zealand some of those pipes are old and need upgrading and there is a significant cost for ratepayers in upgrading those systems and that needs to be taken into account.