Giving credit where it’s due - Editorial

The Ministry for the Environment and the Department of Statistics have issued a 130 page report that states the bad and obvious – such as the effects of intensive farming and in particular what problems dairy is causing to water quality and soil condition. It does not shy away from noting the problems nitrogen is causing to waterways or that intensive agriculture is causing by compacting soils. And it also notes the tremendous efforts of farmers to do their best for the environment.

The new MfE chief executive, Vicky Robertson, is a breath of fresh air in the environment sphere. She is full of praise for what the farming community is doing to improve water and soil quality and is positive in her encouragement to get all farmers to do what most are already doing in environmental improvements to their farms. She also makes the point, quite correctly, that not all the problems in our waterways result from poor farming practices. It's a report that the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) should take time out to read and so get a sense of the word 'perspective'.

One interesting insight relates to the data used to compile the report: in short, the data leaves much to be desired. The extent and quality of available environmental data are limited, requiring that Stats and MfE get busy with information providers to ensure better quality data in future. In particular the report notes a bias towards scrutinising places known to suffer poor environmental health, thus at times leading to an inaccurately negative picture of the state of the NZ environment. There's music to the ears of farmers and a kick in the pants for the grizzling anti-dairy lobby flourishing on a diet of selective misinformation.

Having MfE and the Department of Statistics responsible for such a report is brilliant. It leaves out the PCE who is an advocate for the environment.

The report is well produced, easy to read and comes with an excellent poster which explains everything well on one page.

This report is not saying farmers have got it right yet, and it points to areas where improvement is required. But unlike most previous reports on the state of the environment, this one openly gives credit to farmers for the efforts they are making.