Green
Not-So-Green New Zealand Has a Dirty River Problem
- Activists and powerful dairy farms battle over tainted rivers
- This month’s election could sway balance toward green lobby
This article is for subscribers only.
As a general election looms on Oct. 17, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has renewed a promise to make New Zealand’s rivers and lakes suitable for swimming for the first time in a generation.
For a government that is leading in the polls and has been widely praised for its handling of the biggest global health crisis in decades, nitrate levels in rivers may seem like a marginal campaign issue. But the debate goes to the heart of a conflict between two of the nation’s biggest assets -- its clean, green image for tourists and investors, and its 6.3 million cows.