- Friday 10 September 2010
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Greens leader joins irrigation fight
Greens co-leader Russel Norman has lent his clout to a desperate, last-ditch effort by a consortium pushing an alternative irrigation scheme for Masterton's looming wastewater plant upgrade.
Mr Norman on Wednesday sat in on a brainstorm with several backers of the proposed Homebush Irrigation Consortium scheme, among them main proponents David Holmes and Stuart Forbes, and Kahungunu ki Wairarapa chairman Nelson Rangi.
Their preferred scheme _ a centre-pivot irrigation operation the consortium claims could last forever _ was not picked by Masterton District Council as its potential alternative to its already consented $23 million border strip operation.
The council instead selected to investigate two centre-pivot options, proposed by Sustainable Wairarapa, which consultants AWT will put to neighbours living around the Homebush site next week.
Consortium backers believe that scheme is unsustainable and are now planning to hold a public forum in Masterton to promote their favoured system.
Mr Norman, invited to Wednesday's meeting by Mr Holmes, supported the group's push and has agreed to use his party's influence in the Greater Wellington Regional Council to aid the cause.
''I think what these people are proposing _ creating a resource from the wastewater by using it for irrigation elsewhere _ is a win-win for everyone,'' Mr Norman said.
The consortium has almost found enough farms to allocate treated wastewater to.
But given there is now just over a month before councillors decide what direction to go in _ and the fact that the consortium's scheme is not even on the table _ Mr Holmes acknowledged the push would be a last-ditch fight.
''The decision made has to be the best one. ''It's as simple as that. We just can't afford to make any mistakes.
''We've done the research and it's very evident that border dykes are antiquated and unsustainable. Without a doubt, application by centre pivots are the way to go.''
