A "gigantic waste of taxpayers' money", which will not benefit Otago, is how Otago Regional Councillor Duncan Butcher described the Land and Water Forum report on long-term strategies for managing freshwater in New Zealand.
At a recent policy and submissions committee meeting he was not alone in his criticisms of the report, developed by 56 representatives of organisations involved in water management.
The committee decided to take its concerns to Environment Minister Nick Smith and Agriculture Minister David Carter, as well as consult Otago members of Parliament.
Cr Gretchen Robertson said she struggled with a lot of the concepts in the report, given what Otago had managed to achieve with community-led water projects.
"Quite a few aspects of this are hard for us to swallow in Otago. If we can't trust ourselves [our communities] to manage our water, who can we trust?"
Cr Louise Croot said suggestions such as government appointments would send the council "down the road" of health boards and the timetables were "far too tight for reality".
Cr Butcher heatedly described the report's recommendations as turning back the clock 40 years and not needed in Otago, where the regional council had a working water plan.
"It's not perfect but we're working on it. The frustration is in having an organisation I believe has addressed issues, is still addressing the issues ... potentially having this thing dumped on top of them."
Cr Trevor Kempton said he agreed with the concerns but believed the report would "die", as it was too complex for bureaucrats to implement.\
