18.11.08

Hi there,

Right now its the Four Ms!  Mokihinui, Murchison, Matiri and Matakitaki!

The Mokihinui Hearing has finished and we wait the result with baited breath particularly as DOC , the BDC and the WRC all opposed the scheme.  

The Matiri hearing has been postponed twice and is now in February.  The proposers still need to change the Buller Water conservation Order and subsequent to that there is a DOC tribunal at which the general public gets its last chance to defend Lake Matiri from a private family hydro scheme!

The Matakitaki is under threat from an as yet unknown number of schemes from Network Tasman a local line company that wants to be one of the big boys and get into generation, regardless of the damage it will do to one of the best trout fishing rivers in New Zealand and  one of the network that has made Murchison one of the top ten White Water Destinations in the world.

What can you do to help stop this mindless destruction of New Zealand's last free running rivers?

1.Make sure you make a submission to DOC about not having a private Family Hydro Scheme on a public amenity in the the entrance to the Kahurangi National Park!

2.Support the NZRCA by joining a club or joining directly.

3. Write letter to the Editor, hassle your Council and MPs.  Write to the PM.  He is the Minister of Tourism.   Hard to imagine Tourism without rivers!

4.Get involve.  Make submissions on local schemes.

5. Paddle the Matakitaki every chance you get.  Save it by using it!

Cheers

Mick