As many parts of the country cry out for rain, more questions are being asked about why water storage is so poor in New Zealand. The Government has spent only $8 million of the $400 million set aside for commercial investment in water storage and irrigation schemes. Finance Minister Bill English is a bit flummoxed by the inaction and is planning a tour of schemes that have been mooted but have yet to get the commercial support they need to qualify for Government financing.
WATCH OUT FOR THE BULLDOZER
While many businesspeople are cheering on National's plan for wide-ranging Resource Management Act reform, others are urging caution. Environment Minister Nick Smith wants the power to set national regulations which would override consent conditions, and he wants to be able to do it quickly, with minimal consultation. In support of this goal, he cited the desire to ban dairy cows from streams and rivers by July 2017. Smith says it is ridiculous that a national requirement to fence in dairy stock couldn't be implemented until each farmer's resource consent came up for renewal. This may be a wise move, but the business sector (and in particular the resources sector) might want to think about what, say, a future Green Environment Minister might be able to do, given the power to impose regulations over existing consents.
CHILL FACTOR
As if delivering a pitch to potential investors wasn't stressful enough, a gathering of entrepreneurs next month will add a whole new level of discomfort. At the Polar Bear Pitching Event on February 25, businesspeople will have to sell their bright ideas while standing in a hole cut in the ice covering a Finnish lake. For the second year, the city of Oulu (average February temperature minus 9C) is hosting the event, which calls itself "the coolest stage on the globe for start-ups."