Bruce Bisset: The last bastion of conservation

Bruce Bisset.

Those concerned about political interference in our justice system gained some relief this week with two great results demonstrating our judiciary remains independent enough to stand up to the bully-boys of wealth and privilege and maintain good law on our collective behalf.

I refer, of course, to the success of Forest & Bird's appeal against the proposed loss of conservation land that would have enabled the Ruataniwha dam to progress; and upholding the right of local councils to regulate the use of genetically modified organisms in their districts.

Both decisions essentially favour "the people", under considerable pressure from the usual right-wing suspects, because both back the principle that the integrity and safety of our environment must be managed for the greater good, not carte blanche consumed by vested interests.

In the case of the F&B appeal, the Appeals Court held that land deemed conservation estate might only have that status revoked if it is proven to have lost the values that brought about said status; it cannot simply be "swapped" for other land - as was proposed - regardless of any accrued environmental benefits.

In short, conservation land is sacrosanct unless it's not worth conserving. Which makes perfect sense - but does raise the spectre of land being degraded in order to facilitate its disposal.

Not that anyone would do such a thing, would they?

The GMO case was an appeal by Federated Farmers - whose current president, William Rolleston, is a relentless enthusiast of GE - to the High Court against Whangarei district and Northland regional councils' ban on GMO crops, which mirrors that of Hastings District Council.

The judge held the provisions of the HSNO Act (which regulates the licensing of GMOs) did not preclude councils making rules in their district plans around the growing of such crops.

The importance of this victory for common sense and democratic rights cannot be overstated, given our region's drive to market itself as GE-Free and garner the premium value that label confers.

If Dr Rolleston's nose is out of joint it is only because he and his organisation are demonstrably out of step with the growing desire by consumers to eat natural healthy foods; the Feds' idea of swapping the industrial chemical farming model for the biotechnological chemical farming model would lead to us becoming a despoiled land churning out bulk monocultured commodities at lowest value. Much as now - but worse.

Meanwhile, without meaning to sound ghoulish, the Havelock North water contamination could not have come at a better time. For it has, finally, awakened and focused people's attention on the fragile state of our environment - just before local body elections.

Suddenly there is a groundswell of alarm that could manifest in wholesale change to the make-up of our councils, with the fact the Ruataniwha scheme cannot now be signed off beforehand, adding a frisson of spice to the regional council race.

I can hardly wait.

For Hawke's Bay, as most of provincial and indeed metropolitan New Zealand, has wandered along under the patronisingly quasi-benevolent rule of most of two centuries of inherited wealth and position.

And since money and name-recognition are the major keys to electoral success, it is hardly surprising half our old boys' club politicians enjoy the job (and what they can extract from it) for life.

The courts are, just barely, helping hold the line on further degradation of our tarnished clean green image; now it's time to take off the blinkers and push back against the rule of corporate agriculture in favour of real family farms producing healthy food and genuine viable futures.

Not to mention swimmable rivers and safe drinking water.

- Bruce Bisset is a freelance writer and poet.

- All opinions expressed here are his and not those of Hawke's Bay Today.