1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,040 Speaker 1: Oyster farmers north of Auckland are having to temporarily close 2 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: their farms and destroy thousands of oysters because of a 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:09,639 Speaker 1: colossal stuff up by water Care. If I do say 4 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 1: so myself. A pump station overflowed earlier this week. It 5 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: dubbed twelve hundred cubic meters of sewage into the Maharangi 6 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: River and water Care's internal alert system failed. Apparently there 7 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: was a power power problem, so the fault wasn't discovered 8 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: until eight a m. Yesterday. So all the skunk has 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: been flowing into the ocean and flowing into oyster beds. 10 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:33,159 Speaker 1: And Anette done this chair of the Maharangy Oyster Farmers 11 00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: Association and joins me. 12 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:37,520 Speaker 2: Now, hello than that, Hi, how are you? 13 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: I'm good? How bad was the spill? 14 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,920 Speaker 2: Pretty bad when you equivalent to like two hundred thousand 15 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:48,239 Speaker 2: toilet slashes and one hundred and thirty concrete trucks. 16 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: Oh, that's an image I didn't need to hear. 17 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 2: Oh it puts it in perpective for your listeners. 18 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:55,600 Speaker 1: Of course it does. And how much actual damage was 19 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: done to the oyster farms or was the damage all 20 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: just done to the creatures into the water that they 21 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: have been poisoned. 22 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 2: Basically, the damage has been done to the water partment 23 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 2: because we can't harvest for twenty eight days because of 24 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 2: the threw to overflow and the farmers will have to 25 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 2: relocate their product to another harbor to filtrate out for 26 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,880 Speaker 2: a twenty eight day period, and the costs that's involved 27 00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 2: in doing that is huge for the farmers because you 28 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,200 Speaker 2: know when you harvest an oyster, you pick up the oyster, 29 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 2: your grad and you send it out to the shops. 30 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 2: This is where you have to pick up grade, take 31 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 2: it up normals or take it to another harbor, relocate it, 32 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 2: wait for another twenty eight days and hopefully with extensive 33 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,040 Speaker 2: testing through Ministry Primary industries, we can harvest our product again. 34 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: So that's twenty eight days where you can't sell a noise, 35 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: so you can't make money. You don't have any cash flow. 36 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 1: Plus you've got expenses because you've got to up and 37 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: move them to another place. Who's paying for this or now? 38 00:01:55,320 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: The question is more as water Care compensating anyone. 39 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 2: We got a little bit of compensation a few months 40 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,520 Speaker 2: ago when they did one little spill, but basically it 41 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 2: didn't cover one week's worth of bills at all, to 42 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 2: tell you the truth, So nothing from water Care, nothing 43 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:21,399 Speaker 2: from anyone, and all the farmers finding it very difficult 44 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 2: to even keep their heads above water at the moment. 45 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 2: So it's not an ideal situation when we've only probably 46 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 2: had a couple of months have been open. Next week, 47 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 2: we've got some amazing tides to be able to go 48 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 2: out and with our farms, and we can't do that now. 49 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 2: You know, in. 50 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:38,640 Speaker 1: Harvest you said there was another one. I mean, how 51 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 1: many times has this sort of thing happened? 52 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 2: I think by recording we might be up to about 53 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 2: thirty eight or thirty nine times for the whole year. 54 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 2: Good lord, it's just so wrong in every way. 55 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: Thirty eight or thirty nine times a mistake by water 56 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: Care has has infected an entire industry. Thirty eight or 57 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 1: thirty nine times in a year. 58 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 2: Yeah. They changed the legislation in twenty twenty two from 59 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:14,639 Speaker 2: two spills a year to two hundred, so they think 60 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,799 Speaker 2: they can just keep on dumping third into the harbor 61 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 2: two hundred times throughout the year without any notification to 62 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 2: any of them, with the farmers about the change of 63 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 2: the legislation they're put in place. 64 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: So when I said, ye know, it was a stuff 65 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,920 Speaker 1: up caused by a power cut or some power problem, 66 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: because the alerts didn't go off. In fact, because they've 67 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 1: got rights under the legislation, under the regulations that they 68 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 1: operate on, it's actually a regular occurrence as part of 69 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: their process. Is polluting your product. 70 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 2: It sure is. And the upgrade that they've donated Lucy 71 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 2: Moore Parks only like a couple of weeks old, and 72 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 2: you would have thought they might have had a backup 73 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 2: system or a generator that would pick up on our overflow. 74 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 2: When we got notorbyed fired about the spill, or was 75 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:01,880 Speaker 2: three fourteen in the afternoon. They were at the site 76 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 2: at eight o'clock in the morning and we didn't get 77 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 2: notified notification until three o'clock in the afternoon, and then 78 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 2: Ministry our Primary Industries notified us at three twenty five, 79 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 2: putting implementing a twenty eight day closure straight on to us. 80 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,640 Speaker 1: Is there any legal route you could pursue to get 81 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 1: water care to make some sort of restitution to help 82 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: your belieged farmers. 83 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,640 Speaker 2: That's something for the farmers to discuss. But we're hoping 84 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,599 Speaker 2: that water queue will come to the party. 85 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:31,359 Speaker 1: But it's just wrong. 86 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 2: I mean. 87 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: It's shocking and many people haven't heard this story. And 88 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,200 Speaker 1: the text machines melting down, it's just wrong because your 89 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:44,359 Speaker 1: industry is being ruined by somebody else's practices and stuff 90 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: up and they're getting away with it. 91 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, and when they send leads out to house owners 92 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 2: and wanting to come and afect accept your septic tank 93 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 2: and making sure you're not overflying down into a stream, 94 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 2: or they pursue a farmer because the cow turns the 95 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 2: wrong way and faces the string. They find them, but 96 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 2: they can just see what they want, all right. 97 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 1: Well, look, my greatest sympathy to your farmers and to 98 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 1: you and thank you for your time today. That is 99 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: Lynette Done, who is chair of the Mahurangi Oyster Farmers Association. 100 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: The text of melting Down, Okay, that's byes says someone 101 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,919 Speaker 1: water Care need to fit this bill entirely. Absolutely. Another 102 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:24,720 Speaker 1: texta says, imagine if a dairy farmer did this, they 103 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: would be crucified. That is a disgrace. Watercare should remedy 104 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,200 Speaker 1: all the oyster farmers. Thank you Mike for your text. 105 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:31,960 Speaker 1: The thing that got me is that this is part 106 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 1: of their normal practice. They flush it out. They flush 107 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 1: it out into the river, and then it goes out 108 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 1: into the harbor thirty eight or thirty nine times in 109 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: one year. 110 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 2: For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to 111 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,799 Speaker 2: news talks it'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow 112 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:49,600 Speaker 2: the podcast on iHeartRadio.