BNZ chief executive Anthony Healy has thrown his weight behind efforts to clean up New Zealand's polluted waterways in his first speech since taking the bank's helm five months ago.
Addressing a Trans-Tasman Business Circle function in Auckland this afternoon, Healy cited a recent report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment that found 62 per cent of this country's lowland waterways were officially classified as being unsuitable for swimming.
He said the environmental impact of farming was not just a "farmer's issue".
"The problem is collectively owned by anyone who has eaten anything produced on a farm," Healy said. "Which pretty well covers all of us, including a banking sector with deep and abiding ties with agriculture in New Zealand."
He said the Parliamentary Commissioner's report should be of interest to everyone.