Peter Richardson said councils should not prioritise water bottling when allocating water to different uses. Photo: Supplied / Anna Cargin PhotographyAn anti-water bottling lobby group says regional councils have the power to decline consents, they are just choosing not to. "We believe that section 30 of the RMA [Resource Management Act] gives regional councils the power to allocate water to the highest and best use, which is certainly not water bottling." If the government gave that direction, then the regional councils would be down to follow it," he said. "The regional councils can't write anything into their plans that is contradictory or inconsistent with the National Policy Statement (NPS).

Source: Otago Daily Times September 28, 2019 06:45 UTC