EW should keep its eye on the real issue of stock effluent
Released 12 Jan 2010
Federated Farmers is questioning the motivation behind Environment Waikato's (EW) plan to improve the image of stock truck transportation in the eyes of visitors.
"Surely the primary aim of EW's Regional Stock Truck Effluent Strategy, now out for public consultation, should be to reduce the discharge of stock effluent from trucks onto the region's roads," says Stew Wadey, Waikato Federated Farmers President.
"Yet there is too much focus on how visitors to the region perceive stock trucks. Creating an arbitrary priority like this is misguided, not to mention unmeasurable, unachievable and unnecessary.
"The Federation strongly urges EW to review this section of the strategy and focus on the primary goal of actually decreasing the stock effluent discharged onto our roads.
"That's a far more practical and logical approach, considering most stock truck companies are privately owned and their image is not something the council should control.
"With that in mind, EW's objective ‘to improve the image of stock truck transportation in the eyes of visitors, travellers and tourists' should be deleted from the strategy.
"We also suggest EW change the strategy's ‘vision' back to the originally agreed upon goal of achieving ‘minimal discharge of stock effluent from trucks onto Waikato roads'.
"In December, regional councillors changed this ‘vision' by replacing the word ‘minimal' with ‘zero' - a goal many in the agricultural sector believe to be unrealistic.
"The likely result of this change is that the strategy will almost certainly fail and end in more regulation for everyone involved in transporting stock by truck.
"EW should instead look to ‘reduce' the discharge of stock effluent from trucks by ensuring all parties take reasonable steps to minimise effluent discharge on roads," Mr Wadey concluded.
For further comment:
Federated Farmers Waikato President, Stew Wadey, 07 888 1808, 027 277 9996
