POLLUTION CONTROL Minister Rejects “Neat Solution”

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32304, 23 May 1970, Page 1

POLLUTION CONTROL Minister Rejects “Neat Solution”

(New Zealand Press Association!

WELLINGTON, May 22. Although most people agreed that pollution must be stopped, when it came to the-cost of stopping it this inescapable fact turned a lot of fine resolutions to hot air, the Minister of Lands (Mr Maclntyre) said today, in addressing the Physical Environment Conference.

The Minister told the conference that industrial wastes and sewage could be disposed of usefully, or treated to leave a harmless residue.

“But is is much cheaper in the short term, and certainly a lot quicker and easier, just to pour them into the nearest river or bay. This was a simple, neat and economical pioneer solution, he said. “But we no longer live in a pioneer country. We don’t have enough rivers, lakes or bays to take this; sort of treatment.” Three things were needed to stop this form of pollution. Mr Maclntyre said—education. enforcement and money. “And the greatest of these is money. We must establish priorities and stick to them. If we don’t, we will just go on talking while the sewer rises around us.” The Minister posed the fol-

lowing questions to the conference:— Is present legislation dealing, with national parks, domains. reserves and State I forests adequate? Is there the right balance between central and local government in dealing with environmental problems? Ils the Town and Country, j Planning Act effective? i Should industrial pollution; problems be tackled by financial incentives as well as by coercion? Have we gone far enough in modifying farming prac-| tices to prevent soil erosion? ' Are our soil conservation, and river control laws) J and organisations ade-l I quate? Are we doing enough to educate the public, particu-; larly youth, in conserva-! | tion in its truest sense? . Do we have adequate and effective machinery to resolve conflicts between development and protection? ' Discussing pollution generally. Mr Maclntyre said: “All is not unalloyed gloom. “A great deal is being said about our mistakes, shortsightedness and lack of care of our environment. Much of this is quite true, and needs saying. “And 1 repeat that there! are large areas of New Zealand we should give back to God and apologise for the mess we have made. “But there is a tendency to) overlook giving deserved! credit to those land adminis-l trators of the last century who set aside vast areas of na- 1 tional parks, reserves and per-; manent State forest.” They had given New Zea-' land probably a larger pro-: portion of forest, park land, and reserve than any other country in the world. It was only in the last 20 to 30 years that New Zealanders had started to do significant harm to the environment, Mr Maclntyre said. “And it is only during the

I last decade that we have become aware of some of the problems and begun to de-i velop a national conscience' about our responsibilities to) our environment. “This awakening and in-i creasingly informed public, interest is the most exciting) change in our thinking in this century.”