Dear *****,
I received an email from ***** the other day, asking that I contact you and
explain how the CPW scheme affects me personally. Iβm sorry itβs taken a
couple of days, but my keyboard went on the fritz and Iβve only just got
another one!
As you know, Minister For The Environment, David Bondage-Pope βrubber stampedβ
CPWβs application for Acquiring Authority to TAKE land for their irrigation
scheme. At the beginning of this month there was an Environment Court Hearing
held where the Malvern Hills Protection Society, of which I am a member,
contested the validity of this Acquiring Authority. The week before the
hearing, Gary Moore had a very timely article in the press, βMoore queries
motives of Malvern groupβ, where he tried to cast doubt on the society and
suspicion about the integrity of itβs members. He had βsuspicionsβ we may have
a vested interest in stopping the scheme. I say the article was timely as it
seemed to work in Mooreβs favour, when the judge summed up the hearing by
saying we were βfrivolous and vexatiousβ.
I donβt know what planet Moore is from when tells people that the scheme is
public and heβs going to keep it that way. Central Plains Water Ltd, as far as
I can see is a private company with 350 paid up shareholders. There are
approximately 346,000 shares, of which Christchurch City Council has one (1)
and Selwyn District Council have one (1). I canβt for the life of me, see how
he can think this makes it a public scheme and that he may have any control of
it! As Gary Moore is so into transparency, maybe he could enlighten us on
that.
And while he is being transparent, maybe he could tell us how CPW, who are
borrowing money to cover their shortfall in financing the resource consent
process, are going to finance what many now believe to be a billion dollar
scheme. Another thing he could be transparent about; what has been put up for
security for this loan from dairy corporation tycoon Hubbard, the resource
consents perhaps?
However, I was asked to write to you and tell you how the scheme affects us
personally, so read on. Iβll let you be the judge as to whether or not I am
βfrivolous and vexatiousβ and see if you can spot what my βvested interestβ may
be!
My wife Annette and I have a 300 acre farm in the Sheffield/Waianiwaniwa
Valley. About 1/3rd of our property is designated for the CPW scheme. All of
our flat land that hosts the engine room of the farm, i.e. deer shed and yards,
implement sheds, sheep yards, cattle yards, hay storage area, grain silo and
lambing paddocks will go under water. Although the house will be above the
water by about 30 metres, it will have to be destroyed/moved because of
slippage that will be caused by the water. The public access road for the
valley will go under water and according to CPWβs maps, will be relocated to
run right through the middle of the land we are left with; about 300 metres
above the house. With the loss of our flat land and a public road through the
guts of whatβs left, our farm will become inoperable.
Not once since this scheme was mooted, has any CPW representative communicated
with us about the scheme or where we stand. We have no idea whether we get
compensated for the whole property and move on, or if we just get compensated
for what we lose and have to make do with whatβs left. Pat Morrison (the same
Pat Morrison that went absolutely ballistic when he thought he was going to
lose three acres of land as a transfer station for the mega dump) seems to
think we will all quite happily take our compensation and cheer as this grand
scheme, for the good of all, goes ahead.
From what I understand, according to the βWorks Actβ, land taken for a public
scheme will be compensated for at market value plus 10%. There is no way to
establish market value for the land up here as none has traded for several
years and as long as the threat of the scheme is hanging over us, it never
will. If we got compensated on our G.V., our 300 acres here wouldnβt buy us 50
acres out on the flats. Thatβs if it was a public scheme β¦ CPW is a private
scheme with no money, so I surmise it will be a battle to get even a half fair
deal from these arrogant sods!
Last winter we decided that weβd had enough and looked at a farm that was for
sale at Russellβs Flat. We then brought the land agent home to assess our
place. After driving him around he said that if we wanted to get out we would
have to put our place on the market for HALF of what we thought it was worth.
At that price someone might take the gamble with the scheme.
We bought this farm in 1992, initially with the idea of developing it and on
selling it to realize my dream of getting back into the high country.
Unfortunately New Zealand high country became flavour of the month for foreign
celebrities and prices rapidly increased into la la land, no longer viable or
even possible for mere peasants such as ourselves to contemplate. For me to
achieve my ultimate ambition, to go back home to Cecil Peak at Queenstown, I
would need, at a guess, 40 million dollars!
We leased the property out for a couple of years, then in 1995 we left Mount
Cook where weβd lived for ten years while I flew ski planes, shifted out here
and got stuck in. Over the next five years I worked five week rotations in
Algeria and then eight week rotations in China, flying oil rig support for
Swiss based ZIMEX Aviation, then later drove a deer transport truck for Central
Deer Freighters; all to help fund development of our farm. Development
consisted of: bull dozing fence lines/fire breaks, burning gorse, deer fencing
several blocks on the hills, spraying gorse by hand and helicopter, top
dressing, sowing grass seed, built an implement shed and deer shed. We trebled
the stock carrying capacity of the property. Then it all came to an end.
We are not GOING to lose our farm to CPW, regardless of how this turns out,
whether the scheme goes ahead or not, we ALREADY lost our farm to CPW in 2000
when we first heard about the scheme. With the threat of having our property
taken off us in this state sanctioned land grab, there is very little sense in
pouring money into development that wont be compensated for. All other
development plans I had for the place went on hold and for the last six years
and more to come, I am just a caretaker on my own land for CPW. I am so gutted
and disheartened by this whole deal, Iβve gone back to flying ski planes four
days a week at Mount Cook for the summer seasons. During the winter I can
barely pluck up the will to go out the door in the mornings to feed the animals
and do the required maintenance work.
A while ago I said to a shareholder cocky, βWhereβs our bloody democracy when a
group of farmers can take land off another group of farmers for their own
financial benefit?β
He replied, βI hear where youβre coming from Marty, but if everyone thought
that way, weβd still be driving round with a horse and cart.β
What this cocky and most other people donβt seem to understand is the political
ramifications of this land theft. The precedent is now set where any private
group can spin a bit of yarn to the government about βfor the public goodβ and
βAcquireβ anyoneβs land or private property. The βPublic Accessβ row that went
on a couple of years ago pales in comparison to this erosion of private
property rights.
Another point I try get through is this. Environmentalists in New Zealand go
ballistic if someone chops down a native tree, builds a shed on the skyline,
paints a house the wrong colour, etc. Look at what happened over the Manapouri
project β¦ bumper stickers β¦. protest marches. CPW are proposing, apart from
flooding 4000 acres of perfectly good farm land, a 30 metre wide, open canal
all the way from the Rakaia River to the Waimak River. They are going to put
475 kilometres of 16 to 26 metre wide, open canals all over the Central Plains.
Looking down from 10,000 feet, the Central Plains will look like a string
singlet with these canals all over the place. I look around in vain, wondering
where all the marchers are protesting the prospect of this gross disfigurement
of the Canterbury Plains.
I know there are going to be numerous detrimental consequences associated with
this scheme, such as river health, habitats, polluted aquifers, Canterbury
becoming the biggest factory farm in the Southern Hemisphere, but β¦β¦.
In my opinion those two points; the erosion of property rights and the eyesore
of the canals, those two points alone, if people thought about them, should
stop the scheme dead in itβs tracks.
Well thatβs me ****, I hope I havenβt bored you to death and this is not too
much of a muddle.
Cheers
Marty Lucas