Artists for save our water

The farmers’ water wish list.

It is Canterbury’s new George Orwellian nightmare. It is the last day of january 2011 and a group of undemocratically appointed, mostly middle aged white men, called a zone committee, are meeting in Amberley to divi up the water of the Hurunui-Waiau catchment, meanwhile planning on paying lip service to community involvement about their deliberations, after the fact. On the wall of the meeting room is a sign proclaiming “Hurunui Wellness, In Hurunui, we live the lives the rest of the world would love to live.”

These meetings have to be pushed through double quick as the John Key appointed Commissioners who overthrew the elected Environment Canterbury representatives, want to “to stitch up water by July” so they have a plan to be notified by first of October. The Waiau flow and allocation has to be decided by February and the Hurunui flow and allocation by March. Never mind that the committee does not have the science or costings to make these decisions.

In their pre meeting briefing Lynda Weastell-Murchison,of Environment Canterbury’s Principal Consents and Planning Officer, advises the group that the zonal committee can find their “own integrated solution’ and that “if the law wont let us at the moment so we can find another way, legislative change.”

The tangata whenua belief that the water of two rivers should not be mixed can be got around. Makarini Rupene, the Ngai Tahu representative says of mixing the water of two rivers, “It’s not a fatal flaw. It can be managed”. To his credit he also says “It is the responsibility of those using the water to include the cost of filtering the water, the pollution”.

Mike Hodgen cannot see why water users should pay for predator and weed control, as he does not understand that when the river’s flow is controlled weeds proliferate and the breeding birds cannot see their predators.

These guys have an agenda and it is replumb the environment with dams and weirs to make farming more profitable. On the 31 January 2011 at what was termed an “ordinary meeting” concerned members of the public were twice excluded so that commercially sensitive material could be discussed in private.

On the table are having a weir at Lake Sumner and a 75 metre dam at the south branch of the Hurunui and Ngai Tahu Property’s option proposing in-canal hydro at Balmoral. They propose transferring water from the Hurunui River by pumping 70m to a canal and tunnel through to the upper Waitohoi River to be stored in a 100 m dam near Seven Hills.

They want to pump water from the Waiau River from a canal to a reservoir at Grampians or to a large storage in the upper Pahau.

They are considering a dam and reservoir on the Mandamus River with water pumped from the Hurunui River.

They want to construct a new race to supply Waiau river water to the existing Balmoral Forest. Ngai Tahu received this forest in their Treaty Settlement and now wishes to clear fell and convert to dairy.

They are considering pumping water from the Waiau River to a reservoir at Countless Stream.

Two further confidential options have been presented to the committee that the public was excluded from hearing about.

The group is concerned that Hanmer Basin is missing out on the economic benefit of having its river “managed”.

Lynda Weastell-Murchison advises the group shortly before the public is excluded once more “You will need to outline what the costs will be to the district if nothing goes ahead”.

Winton Dalley made the point that “if the add on costs were too great they would need a partnership with the greater community”. In other words they want you and I to pay for their proposed, grandiose despoiling of our pristine wild rivers. It is telling that David Bedford pointed out that missing from the list was having a good public supply of water.

The situation with the Hurunui zone committee is worrying enough but there are 9 other zone water management committees across Canterbury and they are all basically doing the same thing. Water management really means exploring options for more irrigation and exploiting every possible waterway (above and below ground) to achieve this.

The environmental/ecosystem/public health aspects of water management are simply a sop to the wider public and if implementation of them becomes uneconomical, the zone committees will find ways around implementing them – possibly by suggesting changes to the NRRP (Natural Resources Regional Plan) which has been 10 years in the making and almost completed.

At the Hurunui zone committee meeting, it was clear that the main goal of the committee is to get as much water out of rivers for irrigation and storage options and as soon as possible but the literature the CWMS (Canterbury Water Management Strategy) releases, reads quite differently.

From January 31 2011 update newsletter:
‘The committees already know what they need to achieve – this is defined by the targets. The targets have ten broad areas and set goals for the coming five years, as well as setting milestones in 10 years and 30 years.

The targets cover:
– Ecosystem health and biodiversity
– Braided rivers and natural character
– Kaitiakitanga
– Drinking water
– Recreational use and amenity opportunities
– Water-use efficiency
– Irrigated land area
– Energy security and efficiency
– Regional and national economies
– Environmental limits

To achieve these targets a collaborative and consensus-based approach is needed. We also need time for the right planning tools to be put in place to allow future decisions on how water is managed.’

Interestingly, irrigation comes quite low on the list of targets, but 95% of the meeting on January 31 2011 focused on the best economic way to get water for irrigation; the other targets seemed to be merely window dressing.

Lynda Weastell-Murchison, revealed a staggeringly short time frame for the Hurunui zone committee to implement its water plan, yet in the paragraph above the last sentence reads –‘ We also need time for the right planning tools to be put in place to allow future decisions on how water is managed.’

There has obviously been a decree from on high to get things done so the future of the Hurunui basin is being determined by a bunch of irrigation at all costs despite the environmental consequences, fanatics. Decisions are being made behind closed doors, in haste by people ill equipped to deal with the complex environmental situations. What we saw at the Hurunui zone committee are self-serving men plotting, lets remake the water environment to suit ourselves and stuff the environmental consequences. The farmers’ water wish list will be a nightmare for those of us who wish to preserve Canterbury’s last wild river .

.

Sam Mahon and Jane Zusters two of the Artists for save our water artists are in the Artists as Activists show at the Academy of Fine Arts showing in Wellington till September 12.

Sam Mahon has made a sculpture of Environment Minister Nick Smith’s head from cow dung and filled with the skeletons of birds to protest about the impact dairy farming and intensive development is having on the environment.The head opens up when a 50-cent or $2 coin is dropped in its base, and a dawn chorus is played, but the birds in the sculpture are skeletons.
“Money comes before the environment the sacking of the elected Environment Canterbury regional councillors and the weakening of water conservation orders in Canterbury would mean the region’s most pristine rivers would lose some of their protections.As a result, birds such as the endangered black-fronted tern, which lived on those rivers, would lose their habitat’.says Canterbury sculptor Sam Mahon.He wanted to highlight the impact farming was having on his local environment, where nitrate levels in the water were higher than was considered safe for consumption and agricultural industries placed a heavy demand on water supplies.
Last year, the simpler version of his sculpture sold on Trade Me for more than $3000.

Artist Jane Zusters spoke at the launch of Forest and Birds Save the Mackenzie CountryCampaign which was hosted by the Academy of Fine Arts.
“Today I want to talk a little bit about my work Crown. These are real letters sent by members of Parliament in response to our group Artists for save our water. We ‘ve been using art to make the public aware of the proposed intensification of farming in the Mackenzie country. The video for love of the Mackenzie Country was used to start the Mackenzie Guardians presentation at the water hearings at Environment Canterbury and then sent to various members of parliament. Three years ago most New Zealanders weren’t aware of applications to take millions of cubic meters of water from high country rivers to irrigate more than 27,000 hectares of the Mackenzie Country.

Taking this water for irrigation will severely affect the wetlands THE vegetation, THE SOIL, THE flora, fauna, fish and birdlife, AND DESTROY THIS UNIQUE LANDSCAPE. There are internationally significant bird habitats adjacent to these proposed irrigation sites. Eight species of threatened birds are here including the kaki or black stilt. Along with the destruction of wetlands, natural habitats and flow of numerous high country rivers and streams. we know from our experience of this type of intensive farming there will be many potential adverse effects from the farm nutrient runoff.
The value of high country tourism is estimated at $4 billion a year so why would we kill the goose that lays this golden egg.

To grant these water rights in this dry land is not in our long-term social, economic and cultural interests. The Mackenzie Country is more valuable to us long-term as a storehouse of our unique endangered plants and wildlife and possible world heritage site. I believe we need to balance the proposed economic development against the damage to the existing envirionment and the loss of happiness of birds and fish and us all.

We must preserve the Mackenzie Country for future generations otherwise our children will inherit the weeds and dried up rivers whose birds have gone.We need to have a vision for the basin. There should be a moratorium on development until that is sorted.

Close up of the video for Love of the Mackenzie Country playing as part of Zusters’ work Crown

The exhibition, Artists as Activists, opened 20 August at the Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, Queens Wharf, Wellington and runs until September 12.

It also features works from artists including Michael Smither, Grahame Sydney and poet Brian Turner.

Artists for save our water will be supporting this coming event so if you are an artist and you would like to be involved in some way get in touch.
email/ info@artistsforsaveourwater.co.nz
Water Walk
Waimakariri Wai/Water Walk – From the Alps to the Ocean

CANCELLED BECAUSE OF THE CHRISTCHURCH EATHQUAKE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Our Water Our Vote – Too Precious to Lose !

The Waimakariri Wai/Water journey celebrates one of Canterbury’s great braided rivers, the Waimakariri. It is a call to action to protect the Waimakariri as a source of Christchurch’s drinking water, as habitat for indigenous plants and wildlife and a focus for recreation. The river is central to the Coast to Coast multi sport adventure race, for tramping, fishing, picnicking, boating, and closer to its mouth for yachting, water skiing and white-baiting.

To celebrate the importance of all Canterbury’s natural waters a diverse group of 10-12 committed individuals will journey the length of the Waimakariri River from its source to the sea in September. Their spring time journey will start in the river’s headwaters, high in Arthur’s Pass National Park where snow melt from the mountains of the Southern Alps nourishes the river. Over the next seven –eight days they will mainly walk but also raft, kayak, cycle, and boat the river to near its mouth at Brooklands Lagoon.

Along the way they will be joined by rafters, kayakers, fishermen, jet boaters and other river users. They will visit several local schools, share stories with local residents and learn more of the many ways in which people appreciate and enjoy the Waimakariri.

Agribusiness is targeting the lands between the Waimakariri and the Rakaia rivers for a massive expansion in dairying. Fonterra wants a new milk processing plant at Darfield to process another 2.2 million litres of milk each day while Synlait and its proposed 51 % stake Chinese shareholder Bright Dairy Ltd want to double production at Synlait’s Dunsandel plant.

The Waimakariri Irrigation scheme already takes 11 cumecs for irrigation on the river’s north bank. Central Plains Water Ltd wants to take another 25 cumecs from the river for its massive canal and irrigation scheme. Appeals against this have been lodged with the Environment Court and may be heard later this year.

While focusing on the Waimakariri, the journey will highlight the need to cherish and respect all of Canterbury’s rivers, lakes, aquifers and lowland streams. Proposed think big irrigation schemes, more dairying and intensive land use across thousands of hectares and in areas never before contemplated such as the Mackenzie Basin risks serious depletion of our rivers, pushing nitrate levels in groundwater well above health standards for drinking water, and further pollution and harm to lowland streams.

If you care about the wellbeing of our waterways, who controls and uses our water, and Cantabrians being denied the right to vote in regional council elections until at least 2013 then please join us on the river journey or in the Christchurch section of the Waimakariri Wai/Water Walk from the sea to the city.

Please join us for the public part of the walk on Sunday 26 September from Spencer Park to New Brighton Pier (more details to come).

The event is being organised by Our Water Our Vote – a group of Canterbury citizens committed to the restoration of regional democracy and the protection of the region’s rivers, lakes, aquifers, and streams.

A detailed timetable for this event will be published in the near future.

For more information please contact:

Rosalie Snoyink – ph 03 3182632

Eugenie Sage – ph 021 1553937 or 03 329 3177

Janette Kear – ph 03 352 5782

Watch out for the postcard we just produced for our water our vote about the cairn erected in Christchurch’s Square

Jane Zusters one of the of Artists for save our water will be showing her art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington as part of the Artists as Political Activists 21st August till 12th September

The work Crown and the video for love of the Mackenzie Country are Jane Zusters’ response to proposed water extractions to intensively farm 28,000 acres of land in the Mackenzie country. The letters are real and from politicians who were sent the video that plays along with the painting.
See www.mackenzieguardians.co.nz
Our pursuit of gross national product at the expense of the environment is not leading to gross national happiness for our rivers and lakes and the birds and the fish. We promote economic activity on the presumption that the social benefits outweigh whatever damage it might cause. However the resulting ecological damage is surpassing our ability to assimilate damage and degrading the ecological integrity of our environment. I believe we need to implement a wholly different structure for environmental decision-making that prioritizes sustainability and maintains the integrity of the ecological systems that we depend on rather than economic growth.

“Artists as Activists”, the Academy’s showcase for 2010 are: Brian Turner, Sam Mahon, Grahame Sydney, Dean Buchanan, Michael Smither, Nick Dryden, Ian Hamlin, Don Binney and Jane Zusters
NZ Academy of Fine Arts
1 Queens Wharf
Wellington
Ph 04 383 584
Forest & Bird will be launching their ‘Save the McKenzie’ campaign at a
lunchtime opening also on 20 August
The show opens to the public at 10 am on the 21st with an artists discussion (over coffee) about their activism and art.

The police would not allow demonstrators to present John Key with a cake in the shape of a cow pooh at the occasion of Nicky Wagner celebrating the opening of her new office. The guest of (dis)honour was the PM John Key and the protesters who included the young man who jumped on the PM’s car and now has a $7000 fine, wanted John Key to know just how concerned we are about his actions on water and taking away our local body Environmental Canterbury vote. One of the demonstrators had come all the way from Waimate where her artesian well has been poisoned with e coli by nearby intensive dairy farming.

Where: Nicky Wagner’s Office, 222 Bealey Ave (Corner of Bealey and Madras St) Christchurch, NZ
Date: Thursday, 1st of July

SHOW SOLIDARITY AND JOIN THE RATES PROTEST

It was like being back in the 70’s as hundreds of Christchurch citizens, enraged at loosing their vote, heckled those arriving at a National Party function on the last day in office of the sacked Environment Canterbury representatives. The police were out in force and one would be water bomber was arrested.

Very few of the water interest groups of Canterbury took up the invitation of the National Party Canterbury / Westland Policy committee and paid $10 for nibbles with a cash bar available to hear “Canterbury water – a collaborative approach” chaired by Mayor Bob Parker with the other panelists being the Hon Dr Nick Smith- Minister for the Environment, Murray Rogers – Water Rights Trust, Peter Townsend – CEO , Mark Solomon – Chair, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, David Horn – director Canterbury Water.
The crowd screamed “sack Bob” and “we can’t drink money”.

The Government has dissolved the elected council of Environment Canterbury and replaced it with unelected commissioners. It has decided that there will be no elections as otherwise required by the Local Elections Act for ECan later this year. Instead until 2013, the region’s water will remain under the control of what has been termed the Bazley gang” National ’s own “lets have some dams” yes puppets. The credentials of the commissioners are weighted for irrigation and against the environment and ordinary citizens. For instance Tom Lambie is a chairman of the Opuha Dam partnership and Rex Williams is an engineer and businessman in cement production.They have the credentials to make dams.

The catalyst for all this was a review by Wyatt Creech that damned the elected council. Creech is a big player in the dairy industry (amongst other interests, he, along with John Key at one point, and other National figures are behind the Dairy Investment Fund which owns Open Country Cheese).

The report contains accusations that the ECan councillors are too worried about ’science’ and says their decisions are “science led rather than science informed”, which is basically equivalent to saying that ECan should turn a blind eye to the facts when they’re inconvenient for dairy interests. It goes on to say “large numbers of staff are “green” in orientation”, which means they are sin of sin, putting the environment before the interests of farmers hell bent on sucking our rivers dry for irrigation. The Rakaia River closed up at the mouth about 10 days ago. Virtually unprecedented. People at Rakaia Huts say low flows are causing back-up flooding. Also unheard of.

At the end of the day, the dairy industry, which has deep connections with National, just wants more water allocated for dairy farming. They don’t care that this is unsustainable.
Yesterday agriculture Minister David Carter, who has a farm in the Hurunui and stands to benefit from fast tracking irrigation in the Hurunui, threatened other councils who do not co-operate with National party agendas of water for farmers and bugger the environment . He has finally said it: ECan was sacked because it didn’t “co-operate” with farmers and give them all the water they wanted. And other councils had better do what they are told, or they too will be sacked:

Speaking at the Irrigation New Zealand conference in Christchurch yesterday, Carter said the Government had “no option” but to sack the councillors.
“We had to act here in Canterbury because the situation was untenable if we are going to seriously make progress in delivering this irrigation,” he said. “I would have thought what happened recently with Environment Canterbury would be a signal to all regional councils to work a bit more constructively with their farmer stakeholders.”

The protest began on the steps of Ecan where the crowd was addressed by Labour MP Brendon Burns, Greens MP Kevin Hague, Yani Johanson and sacked ECAN councillor Jane Demeter. The protest then moved 20 metres to the Copthorne Hotel where the crowd roared and hissed as participants arrived, sharing their rage at the loss of the democratic process in Canterbury.

RE OUR SHOW AT THE CHAMBER GALLERY RANGIORA

Government torpedoes own flagship water reform group

Five leading environmental and outdoor recreation groups said today that the Government legislation on water conservation orders passed yesterday under urgency has sent a torpedo into the Government-backed national forum working on water management reform.

The groups said the Government’s legislation to replace Environment Canterbury includes provisions that reduce the statutory protection of iconic rivers, opening them up for dams and irrigation use.

The water bodies immediately affected are the Rakaia, Rangitata and Ahuriri Rivers and Lakes Coleridge and Ellesmere, along with the application for protection of the Hurunui River, which was awaiting a hearing in the Environment Court.

The five groups said this change was pushed through parliament without any warning or consultation with the Land and Water Forum, which the Government set up last year to work on water management reforms that would be good for the economy and the environment.

“The Land and Water Forum has been the best environmental and governance initiative of this Government to date, but that is now in jeopardy following this major breach of trust from the Government,” Environmental Defence Society (EDS) chair Gary Taylor said.

The five groups – EDS, Ecologic, Fish & Game, Whitewater NZ and Forest & Bird – said it is hard to see how the forum can continue as a collaborative and trusting process after yesterday’s law change.

“Changing the rules for water conservation orders was not needed to fix any problems at Environment Canterbury. This Bill was used as cover to smuggle in a change in the law equivalent to allowing mining in national parks,” Ecologic executive director Guy Salmon said.

Fish & Game chief executive Bryce Johnson said: “A water conservation order is a national park for a river – there are only 15 in existence, but they provide bottom-line protection to just a few of our most precious and iconic wild waterways.”

Whitewater NZ patron Hugh Canard said: “Conservation orders are a national-level protection tool – just like national parks – and so it is utterly wrong to change their protection through a law about one region. Is the Government really saying that not one of our wild rivers is worth protecting?”

Forest & Bird general manager Mike Britton said: “The changes to the water conservation orders are as significant as the Schedule 4 mining issue – and to make it even worse the law has been changed with no consultation and no Select Committee process at all.”

“The new law is a giant kick in the guts for the thousands of Kiwi hunters and anglers who have collectively invested millions of dollars through the Fish & Game Council and other environment groups in securing protection for the select few rivers and lakes with conservation orders,” said Bryce Johnson.

“I would like to know whether industry groups – with whom we have worked so well within the forum – have been lobbying behind the forum’s back, despite the Ministers’ directive that that was not to happen. Or has the Government simply taken upon itself to leave the forum high and dry?”

Mike Britton said: “Forest & Bird considers the forum to be the sole good initiative of this Government on conservation, but its actions yesterday in unilaterally gutting our main river protection law seeks to destroy the only progress that was being made to protect our unique natural environment.”

The Land and Water Forum was established in 2009 by the Government to allow the three key sectors with an interest in water management – commercial, public and iwi – to reach consensus on reforms. It is funded by the Government and based on the Scandinavian model of ‘collaborative governance’ promoted by the National Party.

“The Government cannot ask stakeholders to behave in a collaborative manner unless it is prepared to behave in the same way itself,” said Guy Salmon.

Contacts:

Gary Taylor, Environmental Defence Society chair: 021 895-896 or 09 810-9594
Guy Salmon, Ecologic executive director: 021 548-336
Bryce Johnson, Fish & Game NZ CEO: 021 397-897
Hugh Canard, Whitewater NZ patron: 03 332-3414
Mike Britton, Forest & Bird general manager: 021 783-776

Ki Uta Ki Tai
(from the mountains to the sea)
1 February 2010

“We will be boating the Hurunui from Loch Katrine and Lake Sumner, spending two nights camping on the way out to the sea. We wish to explore the river as a whole.
Having visited the source and the main divide to gather water, five or six of us will journey on a raft. Anyone is welcome to join us for all or part of the journey in whatever craft they can handle..or in whatever way they see possible. We wish to meet people along the way wherever the river is special to them.
.. Edward and Penelope Snowdon.

Lake Sumner and the Hurunui river is the last East Coast glacial lake and river system in this country which is running free and undeveloped. All of our other East Coast glacial lakes have controlled outlets. Lake Sumner and the Hurunui have had had many development proposals over the years – there could have been a major highway across the alps, or the railroad, and there have been several schemes to dam it.
The Hurunui has wriggled its way out of all of these. Currently there are plans afoot to raise the lake and dam the north and south branches of the river, for intensive irrigation.

We wish to make a feature documentary telling the story of Lake Sumner and the Hurunui River, and the people of the river.

This film will include local people and places along the Hurunui. The film will work with the local communities who connect in a multitude of ways with the lakes, river and surroundings.It will be screened at local halls, pubs, churches, along the river bank and in cinemas in Rangiora, Kaikoura and Christchurch. It will be available for screening use for people working on environmental issues. Part of this film may also be included in a national feature film about water, which will be distributed and screened throughout New Zealand and the world.

Kathleen Gallagher and Mike Coughlan, Earth Whisperers Papatuanuku, and Healing Journeys
Wick Candle Film
www.wickcandle.co.nz, doygalpress@yahoo.com Ph 0064 3 3329192

Or contact Edward Snowdon and Penelope Snowdon-Lait
penslait@gmail.com Ph 0064 3 3849 768

Itinerary; Journey from mountains to the sea.

Wednesday 24th March

Water gathering at source of Hurunui, Harpers Pass.

Thursday 25th

Camp for night at Katrine

Friday 26th

Depart in morning; Rafting/ boating down Lake Sumner
Recognition / karakia for Sumner / Hurunui outlet
Running river down to Dozy stream above Maori gully
Camp with river runners and supporters.

Saturday 27th

Meeting with anglers, canoists and bug people
Down river travel, through Maori gully.
Camp; Hurunui camp ground, state highway 7 beside Culverden road bridge
Sunday 28th
Down river to mouth. Ngai Tahu welcome, Hurunui camp ground 2 pm.

the Hurunui River needs an angel to protect it from the National Government

He awa reo – River Talk – Artists for Save our Water
At CoCA 25th November – 12th December 2009
Reviewed by Jamie Hanton

Looking out Ramonda Te Maiharoa’s digital doors to the Waimakariri River and seeing the spectre of dairy farming beside the untouched scene undoubtedly prompts those with any interest in their land to begin re-evaluating their attitude to the precarious status of the region’s natural resources. The clear as crystal montage and the rest of the work in He awa reo gives a glimpse of a possible future and are a catalyst for questions to be asked of those in positions of power and of citizen bystanders.

‘Protest art’ carries a rather loose definition, as much for its range of media as its historically vast number of messages. Crucially, The River Talk Artists capture a number of voices and perceptions with an eclectic group show that comprises an array of disciplines. Work from Canterbury school children has also been included creating a truly representative show.

At its most successful, an exhibition of a dissenting nature can crystallise information and still remain impassioned. Better yet, they can provide a forum for voices that could potentially go unheard. The gurgling and rushing Waimakariri, while voluble, often goes unnoticed in the din of a debate. At times it needs those with oesophagi to speak for it. He awa reo amplifies the rumble of the river; with the hope that in the future the remark, “The people don’t even know it’s being given away” in Jane Zusters’ video work cannot be uttered.

Despite the range and variety of media there is a unified message and common thematic dichotomy running throughout the show, simply put, what we have now and what we will have should the Central Water Scheme go ahead. Linda James’ Waterfall series has its aesthetic roots in Van der Velden’s Otira Gorge works, as well as a geographical connection, the Waimakiriri begins its journey above the plains in the Otira Gorge. It is a sign that attitudes to the primacy and beauty of water as a vital part of Aotearoa have persisted over the course a century. Though in place of Van der Velden’s romantic darkness is joyous illumination, sun cast across the scene. Sally Hope’s small oil canvasses also revel in the light, as flecks of dusky pinks and murky khaki are reflected in the river; a kaleidoscope of perspectives. Her series presents a collection of rivers emphasising the plurality of the river, its many different things to many people. At once a place of recreation, of beauty and a habitat to all manner of creatures. Sam Mahon’s George and Irene Mura Schroder’s Threatened Mudfish make the living connection explicit. The nationally endangered Canterbury Mudfish, whose habitats have been destroyed as waterways have disappeared, becomes a tangible symbol of what may be lost if the proposed scheme goes ahead.

With irrigation comes the threat of a withering river flow; diametrically opposed is Jane Zuster’s invigorating Watertalk in which blueness and all its connotations are celebrated, a symbol of purity, hydration but also deep melancholy. Indeed, the thought of such deprivation is emotionally charged, Nigel Brown’s black singleted farmer is a portrait of conflicted sentiments as he stands in front of the land, looking away, arms folded in a practiced staunchness. Brown continues to successfully question and subvert long held symbols of kiwi-ness. The historic backbone of the New Zealand export market, farmers have in part the status of economically proclaimed guardians of the land, and potential executors of its Will. That their position in the debate is ultimately torn is spelled out in Brown’s We are water which states ‘if we abuse rivers, we abuse ourselves’ thus tying together the river’s life-giving properties and its living and thriving properties as a natural entity in and of itself.
Emphasising this point is Ben Woollcombe’s delicate watercolour Finding her way, Waimakiriri; an illustration of the will of the river, scything gracefully through the land. Irene Mura Schroder’s ceramic works capture a glorious wetness unusual for their medium, and the direct juxtaposition of Margaret Ryley’s Fragments of a river, a porcelain and stoneware work that exudes a more familiar arid texture, is striking.

Becky Turrell’s Path of Light stretches from one end of the gallery to another, a winding ochre track of vinyl that leads to Albert McCarthy’s Guardianship (Kaitiakitanga), which, in unison with Nigel Brown’s We Are Sorry invokes the roles and responsibilities the wider community has in protecting the land. Mark Adams’ moody composite photographic work of five views across the plains shows irrigation canals, but these artificial implements are dwarfed by the magnitude of their surroundings, yet there is an uneasy sense that such slashing will continue. However, there is a suggestion in the vastness of the scene that in this conflict there is not a singular path into the future, but options.

And this is the great success of He awa reo, through the high individual standards that the participating artists set for themselves the works collectively open the debate regarding the Central Water Plains Scheme to a larger audience, provoking viewers with works of great depth and clever aesthetic contrast.

from the blog//sciblogs.co.nz/crikey-creek
I’ve had an affinity with art since before I can remember. I went through a Seurat phase in primary school. Chalked up an asphalt car park with Picasso’s Guernica. And explained numerical modelling for my PhD defense with Colin McCahon.
Art and science both seek to offer narratives about the world. Science takes the objective path, or close to it, while art meanders along the more subjective. But they often overlap or complement each other, as was the case at COCA last Saturday.
The exhibition was by Artists for Save Our Water, an ensemble of 12 artists gathered essentially to protest a against reservoir and irrigation scheme that had been proposed for central Canterbury. I covered Saturday’s closing reception previously. (The Press was there, but they didn’t seem to be taking notes.)
After the reception, I took the opportunity to talk to a couple of the artists about their work.
Margaret Ryley is an artist and potter based in North Canterbury. While Artists for Save our Water is in its second year, she has been depicting water in her pieces for much longer. Her initial inspiration was the Ashley.
“I grew up playing in the river, observing the river, feeling the stones.”
But over time, Ryley has noticed things change. Both along the Ashley and the larger Waimakariri just north of Christchurch.
“The Waimakariri was this large river that you went over going into Christchurch. And in earlier years I can remember it flooding. I can remember my father having to go up round the gorge to get into Christchurch because then there was a huge volume of water. It’s not been the same since…”
It is this new, quieter river that Ryley conveys through her artwork. Pieces of pottery and porcelain lie scattered along an arc, the small white porcelain pieces framing the larger glazed clays, fitting materials for a river. There was no definite boundary, and in fact the pieces had been moved slightly by observers, much the same way that real rivers are.
The white porcelain pieces are the white stones of the river. Their occasional black lines represent both bridge and geological past. Of the clay pieces, the walnut ash glaze gives a golden colour, the copper a blue to mimic the water. But there isn’t much blue.
Ryley says of the rivers:
“There are more and more piles of stones and less and less water.”
Her concern is that a natural and beautiful ecosystem is being degraded by careless use. Nesting birds are deprived of suitable nesting sites. Charismatic braids lost. These are risks posed by greater abstraction of water.
As part of the Save Our Water project, the 12 artists toured the Waimakariri River, and the site of the proposed reservoir. I asked Ryley what new insights she garnered from this experience.
The first was the sense of how fleeting anything you do to the rocks was. They could become your canvas, but before too long the river would wash the canvas away.
“But also the magnitude of what people were trying to do to make use of the water which they see as being wasted going out to sea without any regard for the natural order of things. And to look at the area that they wish to dam, to have only the hilltops which would be islands in the middle of the dam and a great dam the overshadowed the township of Coalgate. It’s just horrifying that people could just think they could do that.”
The second artist I spoke with was painter Linda James. She has not always focused on rivers…
“But I have actually always done water; something about the power of the water.”
James is fascinated by the constancy and patterns of water flow, its circularity, its eddies. These features come across strongly in her three large paintings, each of a waterfall. Not of the Waimakarari, but made out as picturesque postcards.
I noticed the unconventional canvases: free-hanging, unframed and comprising a patchwork of smaller canvas pieces.
“I like the way it makes a texture and you get separate patterns going. Like you’ll get the big picture and then you’ll get the patterns of the surface.”
In one corner of one painting she has written the words ‘Out of the chaos’.
“There’s always these patterns that are formed in whatever you look at. … There’s somehow these patterns are always there but it’s so destructive. I mean if these rivers are in flood … Harmony can be so ruthless.”
Of the bigger picture of water use in Canterbury, James agrees that we should be growing crops and irrigating them, but not on such a large scale.
“It lacks any foresight.”

Canterbury’s water management needs a serious overhaul, according to artists and activists who gathered for an art exhibition at Christchurch’s COCA on Saturday.
The exhibition featured works by 12 artists brought together by local artists Sally Hope and Jane Zusters for the second annual Artists for Save Our Water project. The focus this year was on the Waimakariri River, and the proposed Central Plains Water scheme.
The artwork chosen as the banner of the exhibition was a work by Ramonda Te Maiharoa. Her composite image depicted a river being blocked by a line of wooden-framed glass doors. In their centre was a door handle and key-hole. The message was simple: With the right key, the CPW’s reservoir in the Waianiwaniwa Valley need not be built. And indeed, ultimately, it was not.
In attendance were advocates and politicians of a range of stripes, but all in agreement on the need to improve water management.
Murray Rodgers, Chairman of the Water Rights Trust and author of ‘Canterbury’s Wicked Water’, spoke about the need to shift water management in Canterbury to balance economic and environmental needs. He emphasised the need to think long-term, and to replace “undisciplined growth” with “sustainable growth“.
Rodgers was highly critical of successive governments, both Labour and National, for their bureaucratic hold-up and inaction on freshwater management, despite many good reports produced by MfE.
Rodgers further decried the degrading waterways, unfit to swim in, and lays blame on unsustainable agricultural practices:
“Cows are still shitting in some Canterbury waterways. Lowland streams run dry. Behaviours that cause the on-going rise in nitrate levels in ground and surface waters are expanding, those behaviours are not contracting.“
Rodgers’ leadership on water issues was subsequently praised by Dr Russel Norman, co-leader of the Green Party. Norman went on to stress that it was the NGOs and volunteers that are ultimately moving the discussion forward.
According to Norman, these events surrounding local water management and agricultural intensification are small snapshots of a bigger pictures. In the long run, he said…
“It’s about what kind of relationship do we want to have to the planet, and to our own local environment, and hence it’s about what kind of people do we want to be.“
Brendan Burns, MP for Christchurch Central and Labour spokesperson for water issues, acknowledged Murray Rodgers’ speech, saying that “almost all of what he said was absolutely, bang-on correct,” and conceded Labour’s past actions have not been entirely to the benefit of sustainable water management.
Burns also called Canterbury’s track record on water management “woeful,” and cited a recent Ecan report claiming that 1 in 5 farmers had been in serious breach of resource management consents, but he balanced this by saying that he has yet to meet any farmer who actually wants to damage the environment.
Both Brendan Burns and his National Party counterpart, Nicky Wagner, echoed Russel Norman’s sentiment that the issue of water management was about who we are. Wagner specifically recognized the work of artist Nigel Brown, and his piece ‘Water Through the Fingers’.
Changing the tone after the politicians, or at least changing the vocabulary, was artist and author of ‘The Water Thieves’, Sam Mahon. Mahon provided a geological and birds-eye view of the Canterbury Plains, woven over millennia by the braided Waimakariri River and her sisters. To Mahon, water mismanagement risks putting the “eternal weaver” to sleep.
While much of Saturday’s event was taken up by speech, it was the artists’ visual and textural works that provided the speech’s context. After the event I had the opportunity to talk to two artists about their works, why they were attracted to the water issue, and what they sought to convey. I will share their words with you soon.

Irrigators are sucking our rivers dry: update to He awa reo/ rivertalk opening 24 November

On October 30, 2009 Environment Canterbury gave Central Plains Water, a private  company, consent to take water from the Waimakariri and Rakaia rivers for irrigation on the Central Canterbury Plains. Waianiwaniwa Valley farmers were are delighted that their valley will not be flooded for a dam but a private company still got the water rights.

“Canterbury water belongs to all of us. We love our rivers but their water is being sucked up into irrigators and our rivers are varnishing. This is a sad day for our rivers and us all ” says artist Sally Hope

Twelve artists who care deeply about our  water and our  environment, are staging an exhibition about the  Waimakariri River at  Coca Gallery opening 5.30 pm, 24 November 2009.

At the opening Lady Diana Isaac will award the prizes for the three Canterbury School children who won Alpine Jet River rides for themselves and their families with their river art. Their art has been framed and will be exhibited along side the adult art.
Alpine Jets is threatened with closure if this scheme goes ahead.

At the closing of this exhibition at 2 pm, 12th December Russell Norman of the Green Party will be speaking, along with Murray Rodgers of the Water Rights Trust. The well known singers Malcolm McNeill and Rima Te Wiata are supporting the water cause by  performing.

email; info@artistsforsaveourwater.co.nz

he awa reo/ river talk
artists for save our water
Tuesday 24th November 2009
Saturday 12th December 2009

art celebrating our rivers
Opening 5.30 Tuesday November 24th, 2009
This is the second artists for save our water project comprising Mark Adams, Nigel Brown, Linda James,
Sally Hope, Sam Mahon, Albi McCathy, Margaret Ryley, Ramonda Te Maiharoa, Irene Schroder, Becky
Turrell, Ben Woollcombe and Jane Zusters. Sponsored by The Malvern Hills Protection Society and Alpine
Jets the artists journeyed the Waimakariri River seeking inspiration for this exhibition. The artists celebrate
through their art this magnificent braided river threatened by the proposed Central Plains Water Scheme.
water show
2-4 pm Saturday, December 12th, 2009 entry by donation
Featuring Murray Rodgers author of Canterbury’s Wicked Water.
Starring singers Malcolm McNeill and Rima Te Wiata formerly known as the kelp bags, the runoff, and paua patties
Accompanying this exhibition are the winning entries of a river art competition for Canterbury
School Children.
Tuesday – Friday: 10am – 5pm
Saturday – Sunday: 12pm – 4pm
COCA 66 Gloucester St. Christchurch. New Zealand. Ph: +64 (03) 366 7261
he awa reo river talk artists for save our water

Media release – November 5, 2009
Last chance for thousands of Canterbury school children to win art competition
Entries close on Saturday for thousands of Canterbury school children in an art competition designed to highlight concerns over the future of the region’s rivers.
The Canterbury Children’s Rivertalk Art competition closes this weekend.The project is drawing public attention to the Central Plains Water Scheme. This is affecting the Waimakariri and Rakaia Rivers and has been granted interim approval but may still be appealed in the Environment Court.
Environment Canterbury is hearing 34 companies and individuals who have lodged applications to take more than 164 million cubic metres of water from high country rivers and lakes to irrigate 27,000 acres in the Mackenzie Country.
Three Canterbury school children have the opportunity to win the river art competition and a prize of Alpine jetboat ride.
The wining artworks will be selected by artists Sally Hope and Jane Zusters and Lady Diana Issac of the Canterbury Water Trust at the COCA Gallery at 1 pm November 9.
The three winning entries  from three age groups will be framed and hung alongside the art of  Mark Adams, Nigel Brown, Linda James, Sam Mahon, Albi McCathy, Ramonda Te Maiharoa,  Becky Turrell, Irene Schroder, Ben Woollcombe, Margaret Ryley, Sally Hope and Jane Zusters …
These works will make up an exhibition — He Awa Reo -Rivertalk: art celebrating our rivers — opening at COCA Gallery on November 24.
Media advisory: For more information contact Nikki Wallace-Bell at the COCA Gallery 03 3667261 or Jane Zusters 021 376 960 or Sally Hope 027 339 8174