Delahunty Catherine: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDelahunty Catherine: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 31 May 2016. Volume:714;Page:11474. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.CATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green) to the Minister for the Environment: What advice if any has he received on the economic cultural health or environmental benefits of making rivers safe for swimming?Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): My advice is that leaving water quality decisions totally to regional councils without Government direction as was the case for 25 years was not working. That is why this Government developed New Zealand’s first national policy statement on fresh water which alongside the record investment of over $350 million in freshwater clean-ups is providing health and environmental benefits. Earlier this year I consulted the public on further refinement of these standards and a new compulsory requirement to fence stock out of rivers and lakes which will improve swimmability of our waterways.Catherine Delahunty: Will the environmental benefits that the Freshwater Improvement Fund announced in the Budget include making rivers safe for swimming or just meet the Government standard of wadeable rivers?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Absolutely. It will be committed to the issue of improving swimmability as well. The national policy statement introduced by this Government in 2011 is actually the first national direction from any Government in New Zealand about the importance of our water bodies being swimmable.Catherine Delahunty: Given the negative impact on water quality by intensive dairy farming and irrigation how will opening up the Freshwater Improvement Fund to irrigators make our rivers safe for swimming?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: My first point is that if we look at the swimmability of our waterways let us not just talk about intensive farming. The region that has the least number of water bodies available to swim in is Auckland where the principal pollutants are urban. So both urban and rural New Zealanders need to lift their game in respect of swimmability. On the issue of irrigation schemes I would draw the member’s attention to a scheme that my colleague Nathan Guy is working hard on in respect of the Waimea where actually an irrigation scheme that will involve converting dryland farming to apple orchards results in increased production increased exports and improvement in water quality. It is not synonymous to say that water storage and irrigation schemes reduce water quality because that is not true.Catherine Delahunty: What advice if any has he received on the amount of money that could be saved in river clean-up costs if we put a moratorium on dairy intensification?Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I know the Green Party would want to put moratoriums on every possible activity whether it be on bottled water whether it be on horticulture whether it be on water storage whether it be on the dairy industry. A blunt tool like a moratorium does nothing more than stop export growth stop jobs growth stop economic growth and that is where National and the Greens disagree.Catherine Delahunty: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question—Mr SPEAKER: Order! No if the member’s question is whether the question has been addressed it has certainly been addressed. [Interruption] Order! The question has been addressed.