What's more outrageous: government doubling the amount of pollution allowed in our degraded lakes and rivers so they can be reclassified "swimmable", or the farming community continuing to moan about how hard it will be for them to conform?
I think the latter takes the biscuit. After all, National has pulled this hey presto party trick on behalf of its farming mates, so you'd think they'd be overjoyed at being able to not just continue but increase the amount of crap they flush into our waterways without being pulled up for it.
But no. Sure, Federated Farmers labelled the revisionist policy "sensible" but, along with Beef+Lamb NZ, grumbled about needing to recognise the "positive contribution" farming makes while "minimising the compliance burden" - weasel-speak for getting away with more, at taxpayer expense, if they can.
Dairy NZ, predictably, chanted its usual spin about having most waterways fenced and planted already - sub-text, so what's the problem? - when in reality its overblown "accord" only covers larger water bodies, not the "farm drain"-type watercourses that carry most of the effluent and leachate runoff into said larger bodies.
In short, grudging acceptance not of the problem, but of the Minister-you-have-when-you-don't-give-a-cowpat for the Environment Nick Smith's sleight of cack-hand giving farmers licence to pollute while leaving the rest of us unable to trust a dip in any waterhole for fear of getting sick.