I wonder if the person who called me a tofu-eating, sandal-wearing, treehugger yesterday will have a bit of a re-think when they see what I’ve got to say about Environment Canterbury declaring a nitrate emergency.  

I’m with Federated Farmers, which is saying it’s nothing more than a political stunt. But it’s not just that, it’s a very naive political stunt. Because show me one of these so-called “emergency” declarations that have done any good.  

What about the Christchurch City Council’s climate emergency? Is that still a thing? Or have they quietly pulled the plug on that one?  

The other thing that makes ECan’s stunt particularly naive is that it’s the outfit still dishing out consents for more dairy farming in Canterbury. There are about 950,000 dairy cows in Canterbury and ECan is currently considering applications for another 10,000.   

I’ll come back to Federated Farmers because they’re not the only ones who aren’t happy about this emergency declaration – some ECan councillors themselves are brassed off, as well.  

So what happened yesterday is one of ECan’s outgoing councillors put forward the motion to declare the emergency and for ECan to “take a leadership role to urgently address the issue of groundwater pollution impacting drinking water sources and supplies”. 

Vicky Southworth is the councillor who put forward the motion at what was her very last ECan meeting. It was her last meeting, and it was the council’s last meeting before next month’s elections.  

The vote was close —9 in favour, 7 against— and some of the councillors who voted against it were pretty angry at yesterday’s meeting.  

Nick Ward is one of them. He said it was “grandstanding”. Another councillor, John Sunckell, said he’s spent 15 years trying to reduce nitrates, and “I just feel really pissed off with this little political stunt”.  

They both said nitrates levels are expected to decline over time and that rural communities had worked hard and collaboratively over decades to lower nitrates, and that “emergency” was the wrong word to use.  

Federated Farmers agrees. It’s slamming the move, with its vice-president Colin Hurst describing it as a “shameless political stunt that won’t help anyone”.    

If Councillor Southworth was so concerned about the nitrates, she wouldn’t be leaving. She’d be putting herself forward for re-election, just like outgoing chairperson Craig Pauling. He voted in favour of the nitrate emergency, but he’s moving on as well. Again, if he’s so worried about it, then he’d be trying to get elected again too.  

Instead, they can walk away feeling all virtuous, thinking they’ve done something positive and have made a difference. Do me a favour.