Consent for water take in Refreshment Place
I have been working with Greater Wellington Regional Councillor Paul Swain to learn more about what is happening with the resource consent in Refreshment Place and as a result I am backing his call for a review of the consent that was granted to the water bottling business there.
Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) administers resource consents for extracting water from the aquifer in the region and from those that have engaged with me so far, our community clearly has no appetite for consents being granted where copious amounts of water are extracted for export.
Apart from the serious environmental concerns, its just not right that there is a consent to extract nearly 180,000,000 litres a year from the aquifer and pay as little as a $349 annual consent fee.
Today, I have found out that the consent was granted in 2013 and after consulting iwi, one of whom said that they wanted the process to be publicly notified, GWRC felt differently. There seems to be anomalies regarding environmental effects in other parts of the decision that I am yet to get my head around so when I have answers I will update this post.
I believe GWRC should review all of the resource consents granted to extract water from Upper Hutt’s groundwater. This review should check whether allocation is too much, given the impact on water quality, recreation values, environmental impacts and any economic benefits to Upper Hutt.
Unfortunately we are hamstrung as a community because there is no avenue for us to manage the consent or charge, for example, a royalty per litre extracted and exported. Christchurch City Council are seeking support from the Government which, I believe, is necessary.
It’s time for a change and I am looking forward to a review, support from the Government and more protections for our water and communities.
I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please do comment below or contact me.
HAPAI CLUB WATER LEAK
I pass the hapai club regularly & wonder when the water leak from the toby will be fixed. It has been leaking for at least two months. Hundreds of litres running across the side walk & down the drain.
Chicken nuggets recall
A popular Pam's frozen food has been recalled.
What you need to know:
- Pams brand Tempura Coated Chicken Nuggets (1kg) have been recalled by Foodstuffs.
- The product may contain foreign matter (blue rubber).
- This product is sold at Four Square, Gilmours, New World, Pak’nSave and Social Supermarket stores throughout New Zealand.
- The affected batch has the marking of Best Before: 16 Oct 2025
- The issue was raised following a customer complaint.
- Customers should return the product to their retailer for a full refund.
For other recent food/product recalls, check our list here.
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