Considering the other water associated ills currently affecting New Zealand; Over-extraction by irrigating dairy farms, dirty dairying, the “swimmable rivers’ debacle, the last thing we need is our precious water being practically given away to overseas corporations. Read and weep people.A Chinese company wants to buy a Bay of Plenty water bottling plant and dramatically increase its water take, and it will get the water virtually for free.
Otakiri Springs currently pays only $2003 in compliance costs each year, allowing it to take 700,000 litres a day. The consent doesn’t expire until 2026.
Now prospective owner Nongfu Spring Natural Mineral Water wants to increase the water take to 5 million litres a day. It’s the same aquifer where New Zealand company Oravida takes 400,000 litres a day.
Whakatane District Councillor Mike van der Boom says companies are taking a precious resource from his area and not paying a cent for it.
“We’re subsidising them to make a profit,” he says.
“We just want our water preserved, a sustainable take – what is a sustainable take? Do they know what that is? I have a lot of questions and not many answers.”
Environment Minister Nick Smith maintains his stance that charging companies to take water is ridiculous
“If parties opposite want to start imposing new taxes on the use of water, where are they going to stop? Will air be charged for next?”
But Parliament’s opposition parties are united – get water, pay a royalty.
“We do believe that commercial businesses that are taking water out of the ground for free and then making a profit out of it should pay for the use of that resource,” Greens co-leader James Shaw says.
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters also says there should be a royalty paid.
“They will pay to export it offshore, and the money will go back to the local community from where the water was extracted in the first place.”
The Overseas Investment Office is currently assessing the sale of Otakiri Springs to Nongfu Spring.
Otakiri Springs has been contacted for comment about its plans.
Newshub.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/03/should-companies-pay-royalties-to-export-water.html
THIS IS WHAT NZ GOVERNMENT CALLS A “SWIMMABLE RIVER”:
Story hitting the international mainstream news, as this Guardian article demonstrates:
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/new-zealand-anger-as-pristine-lakes-tapped-for-bottled-water-market/ar-BByQ5qh?li=BBqdk7Q&ocid=SK2MDHP
From “Jack” via Email:
Over the past few weeks the New Zealand mass media has been harping on and on about how there are now 74 (largely foreign-owned) bottling plants across the country with permits to take New Zealand’s most pure freshwater FOR FREE to bottle and sell for billions overseas.The government or country is not receiving one cent in royalties from this resource whatsoever. While the best water is being exported overseas, big cities like Auckland, for example, are being supplied with a blend of highly contaminated water, some of it taken from the Waikato River. The whole situation is outrageous. Accordingly, 15,000 people have signed this petition calling on the government to place a moratorium on the freshwater exports, and put a stop to this giving away of our pristine water natural resources for free.
Now I congratulate all these people for being genuinely concerned and being prepared to stand up and be counted in an otherwise almost totally apathetic country. But unfortunately, this is all incredibly clever propaganda by big business and international banking pirates to try and get support for recommendations in the current Freshwater Reform Plans (currently calling for submissions). The aim of this is to ultimately fix a price on New Zealand’s freshwater resources so the tyrannical big foreign multinational banks, and the multinational corporations that they control, can swoop in, buy up and sell us all back our own water at extortionate prices, especially to farmers. All agriculturists and farmers will have to be licensed, and will be required to get a permit and pay for all water they are deemed to have used, including wastewater.
This has already happened in many countries, including our nearest neighbours in Australia. If you really want to understand how bad it can get, talk to a few South Australian farmers!
Now who is behind this global privatisation and corporatization of the world’s water supply, including what’s coming here in New Zealand very soon? Well, to keep things very simple, it is the British Sovereign, who heads the Worshipful Lord Mayor of the City of London Corporation, which in turn controls all the major banks and corporations throughout the world, including the private water corporations. Soon just ONE MAN (the heir of the current British Sovereign) will own the entire assets of the world, including all the freshwater thrown into the bargain.
So by now you all think I’m only kidding or going a little mad. Well I am not.
PRIVATIZATION OF WORLD’S WATER SUPPLY
There are two main global organizations now coordinating this privatisation and corporatization process throughout the world. The first is the INTERNATIONAL WATER ASSOCIATION, founded in 1999 and based in London. Originally it was called the International Water Supply Association established in 1947.
The other is the WORLD WATER COUNCIL which was founded in 1996 and now has its headquarters in Marseille, France. Currently it has 341 powerful members, including the INTERNATIONAL WATER ASSOCIATION itself, the United Nations agencies UNDP and UNESCO, and lest we forget, that great international piracy agency controlled by British bankers, the WORLD BANK headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Although the world’s privatisation process was started and coordinated at N.M. Rothschild & Sons International Privatisation Unit in London. Now their proxy, the WORLD BANK, in Washington D.C., does most of their international dirty work and coordinates the CORPORATIZATION OF PUBLIC WATER UTILITIES WORLD WIDE!!
Don’t believe me?????? Well here is their actual website coordinating the entire global program: https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/ppp-sector/water-sanitation/water-agreements/corporatization-public-water-utilities/corporatization
They are cheeky devils aren’t they? … and, as we have seen from this short article – cunning as sewer rats!
So the moral of the story is, if you’re a farmer or anyone who uses a lot of water – ya better watch out cause these greedy water pirates are a comin’ fo all ya water an’ then sell it back to ya at extortionate prices! Yeah, that’s right, you, Mr Farmer!
And never, ever, under any circumstances, believe what the government or mainstream media tells you because usually they are telling big porkies!
Jack.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/few-local-objections-to-shipping-water-overseas-mayor/ar-BByi7JL?li=BBqdmGR&ocid=SK2MDHP
Come on, Kiwis, WAKE THE FUCK UP!
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/326929/millions-of-litres-of-artesian-otago-water-for-sale
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/smith-stands-firm-on-bottled-water-exports/ar-BBybhZh?li=BBqdmGR&ocid=SK2MDHP