Energy firm urges tradeable water rights

SYDNEY - Meridian Energy is calling for New Zealand to introduce tradeable water rights in a move that could unlock some of its vast hydro stores for other uses, including irrigation.

Meridian spokesman Alan Seay said a tradeable water rights system like that emerging in Australia had some application in New Zealand.

Meridian had already had some informal discussions with the Government on the matter.

Under the Australian system, farmers were able to sell their water rights to one another, either regionally or interstate. Water was priced according to demand and could be sold on an annual or permanent basis.

"We would be an environment that's driven by commercial imperatives rather than the [regulatory] environment we've got now, which is a blunt instrument," Seay said yesterday.

The issue of water use in New Zealand was an emerging conflict that needed to be solved.


- NZPA